Appearances by dozens of authors boost sales fourfold

Gospel Book Store in Berlin, Ohio, knows how to draw a crowd. For the fourth year running, this retailer in tourist-bound Holmes County hosted a slew of Christian authors at its “Largest Book Signing” event, drawing customers from miles away.

“In the beginning, it was local authors only,” said Eli “Small” Hochstetler, owner of the Gospel Book Store and mastermind of the event. “It started out with 20-plus authors and has grown to 40-plus authors,” including “some national authors” such as Sue Thomas and Serena B. Miller.

Like many retailers, the Gospel Book Store had hosted a few book signings here and there, but in 2010, Hochstetler decided to take things to the next level.

“The holiday season was approaching, and we wanted to promote some of our local authors,” Hochstetler said. “We decided to do a book-signing party and call it ‘Berlin’s Largest Book Signing Ever.’ ”

As the event grew in subsequent years, Hochstetler changed the event’s name to “Holmes County’s Largest Book Signing” and added more participating authors. Ever since its inception, the signing has been held the second week of November because it was after election season and consumers were starting to think about the holidays.

“We want to provide an easy and unique shopping experience for our customers,” Hochstetler said. “And we wanted to be the first to start the serious Christmas shopping season.”

This year’s guests included local and national authors alike, and spanned across a number of genres, from fiction to children’s books, devotionals, biographies and cookbooks.

Despite the fact that Berlin Township is a rural community of less than 4,000 (according to 2000 U.S. Census figures) in the heart of Amish Country, the “Largest Book Signing” still manages to draw increasing numbers of fans and customers.

“We have people coming from out of our area and even out of state,” Hochstetler said. “It has gone from a way to promote authors to include a great way to provide unique customer service.”

“This was our best year ever!” Hochstetler added. “It is a four-hour event, and most of the authors were busy the entire time. Our sales for this event are four times [those of] an average day.”

Though it was not officially part of the event, award-winning Southern gospel outfit the Booth Brothers performed a sold-out concert at the local amphitheater after the event. The Gospel Book Store sponsors several such concerts each year.

Rounding up 40 authors to a single event is no small task, but Hochstetler’s approach continues to work.

“We let the authors know that it is a great opportunity to connect with the customers and their fans,” he said. “They are able to talk face-to-face about themselves and their books. Customers love to ask questions and it’s a perfect opportunity for that.”

“Authors also find it a great venue to visit and connect with fellow authors. This year we actually had authors who requested to sit by other authors because they became friends at last year’s event,” he added. “And unfortunately we now have to turn authors down because of limited space.”

As for getting the word out to the store’s customer base and community at large, Hochstetler and his employees take out radio and newspaper advertisements, as well as using company websites, email blasts, social media and flyers to help spread the word. 

“A book from our local tourist area that is personalized to a friend by the author makes a great gift,” Hochstetler said. “It has a personal touch and shows that you took some time to pick out something especially for them.”

Publicity was ‘great for the store,’ says owner

Christ Centered Life Store collaborated with Fort Myers (Fla.) Cash Mob to host a cash mob for the store Nov. 19. The cash mob is a fairly recent phenomenon, having grown from the desire to show support for small, independent businesses.

“Our goal is to bring the community together to support these great local businesses”, said Kathy Kalvan, co-founder of the Fort Myers Cash Mob.

The idea is simple: Gather a large group of people to descend on a business in a short time span and have each person spend $10-$20 in cash at that business.

“It’s like a cash injection for a small, independent business,” said Karyn Brooks, the organization’s other co-founder.

“There will be a festive environment with a high school ensemble singing carols,” said Danny Vera, owner of Christ Centered Life Store, before the event. “We are billing it as an early Christmas shopping event.”

“I saw the cash mob going on locally, and I contacted them and told them we would be a great spot for this,” Vera added. “They came and saw the store and agreed even though their network is not Christian.”

In addition to the singing ensemble, a local cupcake maker joined the festivities with her products, offering free cupcakes to patrons of the event as well as providing a platform for spreading the word about her business.

“It was a great event,” Vera said afterward. “The publicity and buzz was great for the store.”

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he added. “Keeping our name top of mind is so crucial, and taking the lead in cool, social-type events also brands us as a store that is keeping up to date with the times. Win, win, win.”

Acquisition brings together pair of century-old houses

Moody Publishers acquired Camp Hill, Pa.-based WingSpread Publishers on Nov. 4. The acquisition brings another storied publishing house under the 117-year-old Moody umbrella.

The WingSpread division of now-former parent company Zur Ltd., also has a long history in publishing, starting as a missionary periodical in 1880 under the name The Gospel in All Lands. The company expanded and developed its line of publications to include books, and today has an extensive backlist of titles. Of the 138 titles acquired by Moody, 57 were written by A.W. Tozer, from whose book, WingSpread, the company’s current iteration takes its name.

“We recognize this is a great opportunity for our authors to engage with one of the leading Christian publishers,” said Raymond Paton, Zur’s vice president of operations. “We are certain Moody Publishers will carry on our legacy of printed Christian publications with impeccable integrity.”

“Moody Publishers was honored to be approached by WingSpread with this opportunity, and it will be our great joy to continue the widest possible distribution of these life-changing messages from A.W. Tozer and many others,” said Greg Thornton, senior vice president of media at Moody Bible Institute—parent company of Moody Publishers. “The Moody Bible Institute has a long-standing history with the works of great men like Tozer in our publishing division and the recorded messages preached by Tozer that have been preserved in the Moody Radio archives.”

The newly acquired titles will be integrated into Moody Publishers’ Spiritual Life and Ministry Team, led by Associate Publisher Duane Sherman. Sales of the former WingSpread titles will continue to be available through stores and online channels.

Thanksgiving sales to fund Haiti building project

Family Christian Stores and the chain’s customers raised $278,673 Thanksgiving weekend to help build a new neonatal orphanage in Haiti through Family’s Haiti Challenge program.

“Just look at what our customers did,” said Family Christian President and CEO Cliff Bartow. “Their generosity and desire to do good are inspiring. Together we can now look forward to seeing these resources used by our God to rescue the lives of some of Haiti’s most vulnerable as He sees this project all the way through to completion.”

The monies raised through the  challenge will be used to begin building the orphanage in partnership with God’s Littlest Angels, a ministry that has been serving the children of Haiti since 1994.

In Haiti, one in five children die before the age of 5. Sixty percent of those do not reach their first birthday. Haiti also has the highest rate of maternal deaths in the Western Hemisphere, the chain reported.

“The situation for Haitian preemies—and particularly orphaned preemies—is especially dire,” said Dixie Bickel, co-founder of God’s Littlest Angels. “But God continues to amaze us with how He provides for the children we serve.”

“We are grateful to Family Christian and its wonderful customers for their incredible generosity,” Bickel added. “Lives will be saved because of it.”

“Together, Family Christian, its customers and my reader friends used this past Thanksgiving weekend to send a message: Orphans matter,” said No. 1 New York Times best-selling author Karen Kingsbury, ambassador for The Haiti Challenge.

Groundbreaking for the orphanage will happen in February. Family Christian will continue its efforts to cover the entire $500,000 cost of the building project by inviting customers to donate directly to the orphanage  online at  www.FamilyChristian.com/Haiti.

When complete, the facility will be able to serve more than 75 babies at a time. Once children are nursed to good health, they will transition back to their birth family or to an adoptive family. To date, 100% of the orphans in the program have found a home with “forever families.”

Kindle retailer program, Sunday delivery and the advent of high-tech drones could shake up retail

Amazon.com has recently introduced a slew of changes that impact retailers, their customers and the marketplace.

The development that most directly affects retailers is the Amazon Source program, billed as a partnership with retailers—including independent bookstores—through which brick-and-mortar stores can sell Amazon’s Kindle.

The program offers two options: the Bookseller Program, which allows retailers to purchase Kindles for resale at a 6% discount, while also earning a 10% commission on every e-book purchased on the device for two years after purchase; and the General Retail Program, which offers retailers a 9% discount on the devices, but with no e-book commission.

The online giant also is working with the U.S. Postal Service  to deliver packages to Amazon Prime members on Sunday, starting in the Los Angeles and New York City areas.

Amazon has also raised the bar for free Super Saver shipping to $35 instead of the $25 minimum order consumers have long been accustomed to from one of the Internet’s most-trafficked shopping sites.

When Amazon began Super Saver shipping, it was a factor in the shift many online retailers made to cheap or free shipping. Speculation is already whirring as to whether or not the move may push more shoppers toward Amazon’s Prime membership, which offers free two-day shipping after a $79 annual membership. Others imagine this may put a dent in Amazon’s business.

The final piece of big news to come from Amazon’s camp was the company’s unveiling of a revolutionary new delivery method: flying drones. A prototype drone was revealed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on CBS’s 60 Minutes, along with the company’s plans to roll out the Amazon Prime Air service in the next several years.

Drone helicopters would transport packages of up to five pounds from one of Amazon’s expanding number of fulfillment centers across the country to a customer’s doorstep in 30 minutes or less. The company faces a number of hurdles—from Federal Aviation Administration rules on drone aircraft to the prototype’s range limitation of 10 miles—before the program can get off the ground.

Sale of Women of Faith live events brand partly to blame

HarperCollins reported a drop in sales for the fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30, though the publisher’s overall earnings increased.

Revenue decreased 7%, a $24 million drop, compared to the corresponding quarter in 2012, according to the quarterly report filed by parent company News Corp. The sales slump was “primarily due to softness in the Christian publishing marketplace.”

The report also cited “a $9 million decrease resulting from the sale of the Women of Faith live events business and the decision to exit the third party distribution business.” HarperCollins sold the Women of Faith live events business to WME Entertainment in August, though the publisher made no public announcement of the sale. Thomas Nelson will continue to publish books under the Women of Faith brand.

HarperCollins’ overall earnings during the period in its book publishing segment increased $3 million—an 8% rise—versus the same period the year before, “primarily due to the impact of cost containment initiatives and lower manufacturing costs reflecting the continued shift to e-book sales.” 

E-book sales represented 22% of the publisher’s revenues during the quarter, compared to 15% in the same period of 2012, a 31% increase.

Admission from President and CEO Thom Rainer hailed as ‘step toward healing’

LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer apologized for a decade-old Vacation Bible School (VBS) program published by the company that was perceived as offensive by many Asian-Americans. Rainer’s apology at the Mosaix conference in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 6 addressed the controversy around the Far Out Rickshaw Rally—Racing Towards the Son program, which was derided by critics as promoting racial stereotypes.

“Ten years ago, LifeWay’s Vacation Bible School material used racial stereotypes that offended many in the Asian-American community,” Rainer said in a video apology played at the gathering of more than 1,000 multiethnic church leaders. “I wasn’t part of LifeWay then, but I am now. And I’ve recently learned that decade-old offense is still a point of hurt for some.”

“As president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, I want to apologize,” he added. “I am sincerely sorry stereotypes were used in our materials, and I apologize for the pain they caused.”

Several Asian-American leaders responded to the apology, including Paul Kim, pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church in Cambridge, Mass.

“I want Dr. Rainer to know I accept his apology with deep gratitude on behalf of our Asian community and desire we move forward for the kingdom’s service together,” Kim said. Kim and a group of Asian-American pastors will meet with LifeWay’s leadership in early 2014 to discuss next steps.

Asian leaders who attended the conference included Ray Chang, pastor of Ambassador Church in Brea, Calif., and Asian-American coordinator for the Evangelical Free Church who agreed that “LifeWay’s apology is a step toward healing.”

Soong-Chan Rah, professor of church growth and evangelism at Chicago’s North Park Theological Seminary, told attendees the apology allows the wounds to start healing.

”I am so thankful for LifeWay, in their words this morning, in a public setting, to say we were wrong,” he said. “I am so thankful because now the healing can begin and the reconciliation we have not been able to have can begin.”

LifeWay also pledged to continue to train its staff in being culturally sensitive.

“I will lead our executive leadership staff to engage in dialogue and conversation with ethnic leaders that we might go forth together to strengthen believers and reach people in North America and around the world,” Rainer concluded in his apology.