BookShopTalk: Crack CBA Code Part I

reprinted from Rejoice Atlanta News 2004.
by Davidae Stewart

Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life, a book about finding the meaning of life through God, has sat on the New York Times bestseller’s list for a gazillion weeks, and currently ranks #2 as of August 2005. Most readers bought this book on-line at Amazon.com, from their church bookstore, or at superstores: Waldenbooks, Target, Family and Walmart. However, seventeen percent of those book buyers bought their book at neighborhood [mom and pop] bookstores.

According to CBA founder, Bill Anderson, “in the early 1980s, the average Christian retail store was a mom-and-pop outlet in a remote location…but, [today] many of them are struggling to survive.” As the demand for Christian books increase, the demand for secular companies to share its profits increases, thereby, challenging the future of mom and pop retail stores.

Pastor George Terrell, owner of Joy Unspeakable Bookstore in College Park and pastor of Crossroads Christian Church in Riverdale, states that many big chains “sell from the top ten percent of the market, which deeply discounts books”. Because of these stores ability to penetrate book sales, stores like Walmart penetrate the Christian publishing industry’s overall mission.” When secular hands are buying more publishers and distribution centers, then the mission of this industry begins to deteriorate. It becomes profit oriented instead of ministry oriented...to be continued.

Question: If 19% of christian book buyers only seeing the top ten books in the industry(go to my CBA Top Twenty for August) then how will other novels get a fair share in the market. Particularly, how will christian fiction written by minorities get a fair chance in the market, especially since most white readers hold a prejudiced notion that our stories are not universal?

I'll talk to my writing buddy, Tia McCollors' this month about cracking the Essence Top Ten and aspiring to crack the CBA Code(wink, wink, Tia) And will post Part II of Pastor Terrell's bookstore ministry and his answer for struggling Mom& Pops.

Writing to see what the end's gon' be,
Dee