What does distribution through Spring Arbor mean?

This is a repost for any new readers.

*warning: Please don't read this if you choose not to be bored. This is for aspiring authors and writers. Actually, they may even get bored but I found it worth sharing.* :)

What does distribution through Spring Arbor mean? To answer this question you have to understand who Spring Arbor was originally. A distribution outlet created to handle work produced by CBA affiliated publishers with CBA being an association formed in 1950 by a group of Christian Booksellers. The Baptist Bookstores, as they were called, decided to create an association called the Christian Booksellers Association. They charged publishers to write narrowly targeted, sanitized and Biblically correct fiction (according to conservative evangelicals) that would appeal to their bookstore visitors. In return for the money the publishers paid, they'd be guaranteed a spot on shelves of all Christian bookstores (again, Baptist Bookstores only.)

Clearly CBA publishers didn't need help from the usual distributors such as Ingram or Baker & Taylor because the books they were producing were for a specific targeted market to begin with, and a specific group of bookstores only. After all this was an attempt to get more customers into the Baptist Bookstores not general market bookstores. Spring Arbor was the distributor.

CBA and later ECPA (the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, a group set up by affiliated publishers,) grew and did well with their market readers. At some point however, and for reasons beyond this authors/bloggers understanding, CBA decided that work produced by affiliated publishers now needed to be in larger bookstores as well. *scratching head at this. I thought the whole point in 1950 was for CBA to bring customers into the Baptist bookstores now called larger Christian booksellers, not send them elsewhere.*

Yet Spring Arbor wasn't set up for distribution to the general market bookstores. The solution must have seemed obvious: merge Spring Arbor with Ingram or perhaps Ingram asked to buy up Spring Arbor who knows. Nevertheless, the deal was struck and Spring Arbor is now officially Ingram's Christian arm.

What does this mean for CBA affiliated publishers?

That question is easily answered. CBA affiliated publishers could now easily get distribution everywhere!

What did this mean for all authors who are Christian and write work that doesn't offend many readers of faith and is enjoyed by many readers of many faiths?

That question too is easily answered.

Not a darn thing because while Ingram/Spring Arbor does accept work that isn't produced by CBA affiliated publishers and isn't targeted or doctored to appeal to that very conservative audience CBA meant for affiliated publishers to write fiction for, larger Christian bookstores here in the US (because it is only a US thing,) won't accept non-affiliated, non-targeted work. At least not until it sells well elsewhere. That's why you find C.S. Lewis on occasion and of course more recently The Shack on the shelves of larger Christian booksellers. Both authors sold well elsewhere first.

It does seem that CBA is certainly business savvy, doesn't it?

Both of my books have been approved by Ingram/Spring Arbor for distribution to the Christian market. Sadly, here in the US, the Christian market merely represents what CBA affiliated publishers have to offer. Because of this, distribution through Ingram/Spring Arbor doesn't stand to help any non-affiliated publisher or author at all. The merger simply means that narrowly targeted Christian fiction, not intended to be enjoyed by general market readers and set up to be very, very different from the very beginning can now easily flow onto the shelves of larger booksellers. Non-affiliated Christian authors do not get the same treatment in return. Like I said, business savvy not to mention very interesting. ;)