Is Spring Arbor CBA? Of course they are. A fee paying member!

**And by "of course they are," let me reiterate that this is MY opinion and based on what I consider being a part of something is. That's just in case someone wants to get technical. Ingram/Spring Arbor and CBA will most assuredly claim otherwise based on their own interpretation. Does it matter? Not really.**

The wonderful thing about having your own blog is that you can deal with things in your own yard. So here's a comment left on one of my post that I felt was important enough to address here section by section otherwise you get bogged down in the sort of double-speak. The italics is from the writer and my response follows. I found it to be a very intriguing response.

From Eric Grimm purportedly of CBA. At least that's the way he signed the blog entry.


Hi Sue, CBA is a trade association and has nothing to do with deciding which books a wholesaler or distributor, such as Ingram/Spring Arbor, carries or sells.

Ingram/Spring Arbor is Ingram's so-called Christian arm which is why many call it Ingram/Spring Arbor and not Baker & Taylor/Spring Arbor or name-your-distributor here/Spring Arbor. You see no other distributor/wholesaler has a specific "Christian" arm that I'm aware of.

And of course the Christian Booksellers Association, a trade association, has nothing to do with deciding which books Ingram/Spring Arbor approves for distribution to the "Christian" market now that Spring Arbor is owned by Ingram and not run and owned by CBA the trade association that spawned it and sold it to Ingram way back when. HOWEVER and this is a BIG however, books "approved" for distribution to the "Christian" market by Ingram/Spring Arbor have no more hope at seeing the inside of a "Christian" bookstore than any book not approved. The only books that automatically and without question see the inside of a "Christian" bookstore on-line or otherwise are those published by CBA affiliated publishers who write for a very targeted and denominationally restrictive audience. I still can't get into a Lifeway or a Mardel's or any other "Christian" bookstore and that's with both titles being approved by Spring Arbor. The only thing that can happen is those bookstores CAN order them if someone wants one. Of course no one promised otherwise so I guess that's okay.

CBA does not charge fees to stores to carry books.

Who said they did? CBA charges fees to publishers who want to have their books in denominationally exclusive "Christian" Bookstores. And of course they require them to write within denominationally discriminative guidelines. Interesting to note too that no publisher who is affiliated with CBA has to seek approval from Ingram/Spring Arbor. Well isn't that interesting.


Spring Arbor Distributors is a division of Ingram Book Group, a private company.

True dat! But then that's pretty obvious.

CBA has no ownership, investment, or other financial connection to the company.

Okay.

Spring Arbor is a CBA member.
Ooops, that's sort of a financial connection so forget the okay from a moment ago. This comment sort of negates that one.

CBA does not censor books

Ridiculous statement. They do censor books all day long. They sensor them to appeal to their core market audience and admittedly do so. Many member publishers even go as far as to list the very restrictive submission guidelines. Amazing that someone would make the statement that this doesn't happen. CBA was formed in 1950 by Baptist Bookstores of the day so that they could provide store visitors with targeted fiction that wouldn't offend them. They've not moved far enough away from that agenda to appeal to anyone other than that very "closed" market.

or otherwise prohibit trade association members from buying what they want to purchase or sell.

This part is true. But who cares. It doesn't mean anything.

Retailers sell books based on what their customers will purchase, not on a discriminatory selection process,

"Christian" retailers or rather CBA member stores sell books based on whether they are put out by member publishers. Sorry. Done that. Been there. Was hung up on by each and every member store I called even after I told them my book was approved for distribution to the "Christian" market by Ingram/Spring Arbor. They look at affiliation first, then they'll consider it second if it fits their core-market audience. But that's on a store by store basis.


other Christian stores sell products that reflect who their customers are, which mostly they are active Christians.

Other Christian stores? I assume you mean non-member Christian stores. Who knows.

Bottom line is it's a waste of time to seek approval from Ingram/Spring Arbor as the only benefit is that a non CBA title can be ordered through CBA member Christian bookstores. So authors save yourself the time and headache. It ain't worth it!!!!