Today Publisher's Weekly posed an interesting discussion regarding the smart moves mainstream publishing houses have taken to bring contemporary Christian stories to the marketplace. The author further implied a challenge to Christian publishers to make the same choices or else:
Source: Publisher's Weekly: Mainstream Houses Market Christian Fiction.
“By limiting our choices in publishing and retailing to only those books that have a direct Christian message, we are effectively driving [readers] to buy from the competition.” Reidy called for publishers, retailers, agents and authors to “expand the universe of what's possible in the world of Christian publishing and retailing.”
My response:
“By limiting our choices in publishing and retailing to only those books that have a direct Christian message, we are effectively driving [readers] to buy from the competition.” Reidy called for publishers, retailers, agents and authors to “expand the universe of what's possible in the world of Christian publishing and retailing.”
I so agree. Not only are Christian publishers driving readers to buy from the competition, they are driving writers to not see CBA publishers as a viable option for them. Mainstream faith fiction writers, who oftentimes write about urban themes or are African-American writers have been ignored, shunned and sometimes ridiculed for writing with a more expansive Christian worldview. Kudos to Thomas Nelson for giving Nicole the spotlight she deserves.
Kudos to Reshonda, Jacquelin, Pat. The list is growin with more authors who have been successful mainstream writers are Sherri Lewis, Tiffany Warren, Pat Simmons and Victoria Christopher Murray to name a few.
Submit your responses to Publisher's Weekly to be a part of this conversation. Digg the article and mine, then join me on Twitter this month as we begin counting down the best Gospel Fiction books of 2008.
