Do you have any problems marketing your books because of the CBA?
This was asked of me on a fellow author's thread on FB. Since I'm not in the habit of hi-jacking threads I've opted to answer the question here on my blog so that perhaps it will help other aspiring authors.
The simple answer is yes.
The more complex answer is that of course there are going to be problems when an association is assigns a broad label such as Christian to a product or business which is so very targeted. By virtue of the name itself one would assume that before CBA there was no fiction out there for Christians as a whole to enjoy. Nothing could be further from the truth. C. S. Lewis was there, Tolkien, Stoker, you name them and they were there.
At the time CBA formed, Baptist Bookstores didn't even dabble in fiction. They were more or less gift shops and suppliers of Sunday School Material. When they decided to branch off into fiction they also decided that regular Christians just couldn't write fiction that wouldn't offend their very targeted market. The work they produce is tailored to that audience. It's watered down for their taste and in no way appeals to general market Christian readers and never has.
Because my work has appealed to that audience many of those fans have called my work "Christian" fiction. I've had to scream at the top of my ever loving voice to proclaim otherwise and that's sad because I am a Christian and should be able to use the label without having my work thrown into a category with books such as The Left Behind Series that, as one reader put it, "has readers praying for the return of Jesus so the series can hopefully end and put us all out of our misery!"
So yes, CBA makes marketing my book, which isn't written specifically for that market, very difficult. Define your market and be done with it. I want the label Christian to mean what it's supposed to mean; a broad label that defines many walks of faith.
As an author who writes general market horror, I should've never had to know who CBA was or is. But if I didn't know and if I hadn't learned, I'd be dead in the water right now due to lack of sales or interest because readers would think I write for that targeted audience.
The waters sure are murky aren't they? No wonder there is so much confusion in the market place. I've heard so many people say that Christians should only write Christian material...but who gets to decide what is and isn't Christian? I can't see things getting any clearer,with agendas being involved, can you?
ReplyDeleteFor the record folks, Lee here is the one who asked the question. ;)
ReplyDeleteLee it is my opinion and many others that a writer should write what they feel led to write. As far as what is and isn't Christian, no problem. The different branches under the broader label get to decide what is Christian for their readers. Christian is not a market in itself.
If someone hands me a book and says it's Christian I know right away that it's fiction written and targeted for evangelicals. No one else knows that because it doesn't make sense. The next logical question should be, "Oh. Christian. What belief system does it speak to."
The waters weren't murky until 1950 when Baptist Bookstores decided there was nothing inherently wrong with using the broader label "Christian" to define their very targeted fiction. ;) Like nobody could see how that would cause confusion. Look at the mess they've created today. UGH!!!