Recently I read an author's blog who mentioned who their agent was. Knowing that this agent only submits work to targeted "Christian" publishers, I was intrigued. I never doubted for one moment that the author had not found a general market publisher through this agent but yet I just had to know.
I can now accurately report that no, the author does not have a general market publisher. They were published by Stone House Inc., Wesscott Marketing Inc.'s "Christian" arm (no they don't give up easy) or rather the imprint Wescott created to serve that very targeted market of Christendom that CBA and ECPA affiliated publishers were set up to serve in 1950. And the proof is in the authors they've taken on, (if you need proof.) Most are already writing for other affiliated houses. You can follow this link to see for yourself: Wesscottmarketing.com
So for my author friends, don't be fooled by the title of this blog. There's no such thing as Christian Crossover Fiction! It's simply fiction produced by targeted "Christian" publishers attempting to get you to read their authors by proposing that they don't indeed write for a very specific audience of Christian readers.
Just don't want my author friends wasting their time. If you're attempting to find a general market publisher, you'll need to stay away from any publisher that claims to put out crossover Christian Fiction! And readers need to stay away if they expect to find anything other then heavily edited fiction that only appeals to one particular segment of Christians. If that's what you want to read then fine, by all means enjoy!
I can now accurately report that no, the author does not have a general market publisher. They were published by Stone House Inc., Wesscott Marketing Inc.'s "Christian" arm (no they don't give up easy) or rather the imprint Wescott created to serve that very targeted market of Christendom that CBA and ECPA affiliated publishers were set up to serve in 1950. And the proof is in the authors they've taken on, (if you need proof.) Most are already writing for other affiliated houses. You can follow this link to see for yourself: Wesscottmarketing.com
So for my author friends, don't be fooled by the title of this blog. There's no such thing as Christian Crossover Fiction! It's simply fiction produced by targeted "Christian" publishers attempting to get you to read their authors by proposing that they don't indeed write for a very specific audience of Christian readers.
Just don't want my author friends wasting their time. If you're attempting to find a general market publisher, you'll need to stay away from any publisher that claims to put out crossover Christian Fiction! And readers need to stay away if they expect to find anything other then heavily edited fiction that only appeals to one particular segment of Christians. If that's what you want to read then fine, by all means enjoy!
I was wondering about that term as well. Mostly because that is the only term that comes to mind as 'workable.' Here is the thing - I wrote a book recently that was released in May (Land Run). I had a CBA agent (not knowing what else to do with it) - but he could not sell it. No problem. So I went to a publisher where the story setting is (seemed appropriate). They list it as General Christian Fiction. This is a 'man-made construct). 1) What does Christian Fiction or Christian Writer mean? - What is a Christian plumber or Christian Telephone guy? CBA would say it is a plumber who doesn't cuss. Really?? What about non-Christian plumbers...who are very good at what they do (a bit insulting to them as businessmen..to sugest they are less ethical or mature). So - my novel would not make the CBA niche because it does not fit their weird script. It does not hit the General Fiction market because there are (authentic) Christian characters (though they are in every neighborhood and sometimes very interesting people). My agenda is to write anything I want that is real, truthful, fitting to character/scene/plot and informs the story. That means the result is real. There are people that are fearful that you have an agenda, or fearful that you do not have one. Whether that be 'nice' unbelievable characters or vampires packed with gore and sex. So I find this term 'crossover'...since 'I wrote a realistic story' does not have a $ niche in the marketplace anymore. A story is what it is (for me) and a reader brings unknown baggage to it and takes away from it what they will. Looking for a better genre description for the novel though if someone can help me with that.
ReplyDeleteJust understand that it isn't me calling them a vanity press. They are that by definition. The fact that they attempt to avoid being defined this way only makes matters worse for them.
ReplyDeleteVanity presses work for some but not for most. A vanity press that runs circles saying they aren't one should raise a red flag for anyone. I'm so sad for all the authors who've learned about Tate Publishing the hard way. To those who aren't aware of these folks just google them. Please.
Also I don't define the market as CBA or non-CBA. CBA is a niche market. They provide denominational fiction to a very targeted market limited to their "brand" of Christian.