Little known facts about the Christian publishing industry.

These are things I've learned along my journey. Since my blog seems to be visited mainly by aspiring authors and Christian ones at that, I thought I'd share in hopes of being helpful. In other words, if you want to hear about my books, don't bore yourself reading this. ;)

1. The larger Christian bookstores used to be the Baptist Bookstores and only carry fiction produced by fee paying CBA and ECPA affiliated publishers. They will occasionally allow non-affiliated published authors in when that author has made a monetary impact in the general Christian market. Very few books have achieved this status. C. S. Lewis is one and William P. Young is another. CBA was created in 1950 to serve a very conservative evangelical market excluding all other religious preferences and has only lately started looking at opening their doors to let affiliated authors write about other religions, usually in light of being a conservative evangelical though, for example Amish fiction written from a conservative evangelical world view or vampire fiction which isn't that at all since neither CBA or ECPA (a group of CBA affiliated publishers formed in the 70's) believe their core market readers want to read about vampires of lore or anything "demonic."

2. These larger Christian bookstores do not distinguish their market from the the general Christian market which is confusing or rather misleading IMO.

Click here to see who they view their market as:
http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art6-xianfiction.html There's a more understandable definition at cba.org.

3. Ingram purchased CBA's distributor Spring Arbor from them yet having your work accepted by Spring Arbor doesn't get you into larger Christian bookstores. However it did make it possible for CBA and ECPA affiliated publishers to flood general market bookstores with their highly targeted fiction. The merge upset many CBA and ECPA publishers because, according to blogs, they didn't feel Ingram understood their very targeted market. Many affiliated publishers threatened and did drop Spring Arbor as their distributor but seeing how things didn't really change all that much, they eventually came back, realizing that even if Spring Arbor was approving non-affiliated Christian work it didn't affect them. Larger Christian bookstore, both on-line and otherwise, still exclude and only place affiliated work.

4. Any blog tour, blogs, award etc . . . representing "the best in Christian Fiction" is generally only indicative of the best in CBA/ECPA Christian fiction.

6. General market publishing houses are just fine publishing stories written by authors who are Christians and do it all day long. However there seem to be many authors who write too "churchy" for a general market publisher and too "edgy" for CBA/ECPA publishers to touch.

7. Many affiliated published authors don't seem to think their publishers' affiliation has any bearing on them as an author. Sue Dent contends guilty by affiliation. Deal with it.

8. There are quite a few affiliated houses that do not advertise they are that. Here are a few major CBA or ECPA affiliated houses some operating as imprints of larger general market houses: Thomas Nelson, Waterbrook/Multnomah, Harvest House, Bethany House, Steeple Hill, Zondervan. For a more comprehensive list you can go to cba.org

I may add more as I experience them. ;)