How to Get Your Book in Lifeway. Part One.

An excerpt from my Untitled:Gospel Diva novel...

If he[Sampson Solomon] weren’t a minister, I would have taken that statement as a truth instead of a pick up line. But in my business you learn quick to watch out for young, handsome ministers. They know that they can build a strong membership off of faith-filled, single women with strong desires to wed a young, handsome minister who has even stronger desires to be greater than T.D. Jakes and Billy Graham combined.

Ambition coupled with faith intoxicates the best of intentions like muscadine wine drizzled over Mama's buttered down pound cake for me when I’m on a diet. Sampson looked at me in that fall-off-the-wagon kind of way and so, my feet prepared to take off.


Today I spoke to Kathy, the manager at my local Lifeway Christian Store. Asked her why hadn't I seen any contemporary novels in the store, particulary those written under Moody publishers's Lift Every Voice imprint.

She said that Lifeway's corporate department makes the decisions. "There are so many books out there we don't have enough shelf space for them."

I asked her did demographics play a part in the demographics.

She honestly couldn't answer. Bless her heart. But she could order them for me.

However, I didn't want to order a book that I already had. I wanted to make sure that these authors get a fair share in the marketplace. When patrons come into Lifeway, I notice that they spend an extra ten minutes just browsing around in the store. If my friend, Tia McCollor, or my friend, Kendra Norman Bellamy's books aren't on the shelves, then how can let's say my friend Adrianne, who lives in Buford or my friends Maria and Tasha, who live in Atlanta who both used to frequent LifeWay stores stop going inside, because "there aren't any sistah books on the shelves", then how will Tia and Kendra compete? Or any contemporary fiction author(white, black or korean for that matter? What if my girlfriend, Ashley, a minister living in Denver, tells her church to go out and purchase my book(once I get a deal and get's published God willing)and her congregation can't find the book in the store? What if you happen to be in Lifeway and you just browse around to see what's new and my great book is stuck in cyberland on the Lifeway database?

Ordering is nice, but seeing a book on the shelf is tons better.

How many of us pick up a book we see in Walmart or Lifeway, because we saw it in the store and it peaked our interest?

How many of us would rather buy the book today, then wait ten days for Kathy to call us to pick it up?

How many of us authors would love to do a book signing there, but there aren't any books in stock for our audience to purchase?

How will contemporary fiction get on the shelves, if we can't get in good with a bookstore chain's corporate office.

Needless to say, I contacted Corporate. When I receive a response from then, then I will write Part 2.

Now back to Sampson Solomon and the Gospel Diva.

Writing to see what the end gon' be,

Dee