Christianbook.com for targeted fiction only.

I must say I was never more pleased than when my stories began to appeal to readers whom I never thought would enjoy my work. Right away I began to get my books into venues where these readers shop on-line and otherwise.

www.Christianbook.com is one such venue. When I contacted Christianbook.com as the publisher concerning being listed I was told this:

. . . we do not automatically carry all books published by Christian publishers, it would be up to Spring Arbor to contact us on your behalf and submit your book for consideration. We do not work directly with authors so you should contact your publisher to be sure they have contacted us. They should be able to make direct contact with our Buying Department.

First of all Spring Arbor is not a publisher and does not speak for any one publishing house. That's the publisher's job. Secondly, I stated I was the publisher. Thirdly when they say they don't automatically carry all books by all Christian publishers what do they mean?

Actually I really don't care. What concerns me is that an on-line bookstore seems to be discriminating in spite of making claims to the contrary. Here's a link that suggest strongly that Christianbook.com does indeed discriminate against Christian publisher/authors based on denomination and association. It's sad to think this sort of discrimination is honored.

I did finally get a hold of someone who stated, "oh, well we're not taking on any new publishers at the time," *go figure* but you can go to our FAQ and figure out just what we're looking for when we are accepting new publishers. Here it is:

2.3 I have a product. Can I get it listed with Christianbook.com?

Thank you for your interest in having Christian Book Distributors and Christianbook.com carry your product. Please be advised, though, that we do not accept any unsolicited product queries, proposals, or manuscripts. We simply cannot accommodate the numerous requests we receive and we do not review any materials sent to us; but we'd be happy to suggest other resources for assistance.

First, let us recommend the Christian Writers' Market Guide by Sally E. Stuart. This helpful book details submission guidelines and procedures for all Christian publishing houses that will accept unsolicited manuscripts. In it you will find a wealth of information to help you with your goals.

Also, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (www.ECPA.org) offers a manuscript consideration service at www.ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com. All book proposals posted to this site are available for viewing by every member of ECPA, providing worthwhile exposure to many publishers.

Finally, you may want to browse the "Editorial Services" chapter in Literary Market Place, published annually by R.R. Bowker. The section lists more than 500
professional organizations, many of which provide critique services relating to content, presentation, and marketing.

Please click on the following link to visit our Author Resources page for additional outlets for aspiring authors/artists. We wish you well in your pursuit!

So there you have it. The ECPA are a group of CBA affiliated publisher who write targeted fiction for evangelicals specifically. You have to be a member to even get access to their manuscript service. The Christian Publishing Houses listed in Sally's Stuarts guide, the last time I checked, were all publishers who target evangelicals and more sepcifically CBA affiliated.

And finally, these are all resources and not ways to for a publisher to get listed on Christianbook.com. While there are books on this site that aren't targeted fiction they are few and faaaaaaaaaaaarrrrr between.

So, it's save to say Christianbook.com is only interested in listing books targeting a very discriminating market of Christians. And before anyone says, "well, they have the right to operate anyway they want to" just remember that I never said they didn't. It is my opinion that they should be more open about what they will and won't allow on their site otherwise it's misleading. I spent A LOT of time having my work approved for distribution to the Christian market so I could sell my work in places such as this because I have readers here. Now I learn that this was a grandious waste of time!!!!