Literary agent explains disparity between popularity of fiction and its slow retail sales

The Christian products industry is experiencing some hesitancy with regard to Christian fiction. Some publishers are nervous about the current state of affairs regarding Christian fiction and are in a wait-and-see mode before they attempt to expand their fiction offerings or try new things. Two Christian publishers either downsized or suspended their fiction programs last year. 

On the other hand, there are some Christian publishers who are truly excited about the growth potential of the category and are taking an aggressive stance toward it.

Similarly, some Christian retailers are doing quite well with fiction, while others are feeling lukewarm about it and, sadly, some are not doing well at all with fiction.

So, an important question has come to the fore: Is Christian fiction dying? Well, no, but it is interesting to explore the reason behind such diverse opinions on the subject. How can one group see great potential and another see little or none?

SOURCE OF CONFUSION

 Here is why I think Christian fiction is causing some publisher and retailer confusion right now:

First and foremost, fiction is the segment of book publishing and retailing most affected by e-book sales. In some cases, 50% or more of unit sales on a particular title can be digital. Because e-books are cheaper than printed editions, overall revenues to the publisher will decrease or remain flat while readership increases. For a particular novel, digital sales might be 50% of the units and 20% of the revenue. Because of e-books, a new business model eventually will emerge, but it takes time for publishers and retailers to adjust to new realities.

Retailers can easily recall how the decline in physical product sales were affected by music downloads (iTunes started in 2001), video download/streaming and audiobook downloads. The migration to digital delivery in music, video and audio resulted in a corresponding drop in physical product sales at retail. But knowing the cause doesn’t make it easier to handle.

The second major contributor to confusion about fiction is the relatively small number of titles published. Even in good years, the total output of new Christian fiction titles by the main Evangelical Christian Publishers Association members is not more than 250-300 annually (not counting Harlequin Love Inspired and Heartsong Presents mass market lines).

R.R. Bowker data from a couple of years ago indicates that the entire U.S. publishing industry (not including self-publishing) released more than 250,000 new titles annually, of which about 40,000 are novels. The data on Christian publishers is not completely accurate, but not long ago, the total output of books from Christian publishers was around 10,000 new titles annually. If Christian publishers followed the same ratios in fiction as the general market, there should be more than 1,000 new novels each year, not 250-300. Not every category growth problem is solved by doing more books, but in this case, I believe that factor has something to do with it.

Similarly at retail, when a category suffers a slowdown, reducing shelf space for it only hastens the decline. The huge disparity between fiction in general market retail and that in the Christian market would leave one to wonder whether some are giving up too early on it.

The final reason for confusion about fiction is there are a limited number of genres published by Christian publishers. Christian publishers cannot publish in as many genres as a general market publisher. For instance, erotica will never be a category in Christian publishing.

Combine these three things—eroding physical sales due to digital delivery, a small number of titles and relatively few categories—and maybe we can understand why it is rather confusing time in the Christian fiction category. 

HOW TO HELP

Beyond the usual store practices of stocking current best-sellers and new titles, what can retailers do about it?

• Begin with inventory. Carry the classic backlist, not just In His Steps or The Pilgrim’s Progress, but also authors who made the category successful in the last 30 years—Janette Oke, Frank Peretti, Jerry Jenkins/Tim LaHaye, Bodie and Brock Thoene and Francine Rivers, to name a few.
• Add a new genre of fiction that heretofore you have not carried or promoted. This is to grow your customer’s taste for a wider type of fiction.
• Consider rearranging the fiction section by genre to help readers find new authors. Perhaps employ a variation of the umbrella categories that the Christy Awards uses.
• Encourage fiction reader groups among your customers. They will help show readers how fiction can communicate spiritual truth in an effective manner.

Steve Laube, founder and owner of the literary agency with which I work, was a retailer before getting into the publisher side of the equation. In 1989, his Berean store in Phoenix was named CBA Store of the Year. I asked him to give his perspective on how retailers can sell more fiction:

“The key was that great story that got people telling their friends. Word-of-mouth. Second was a staff that was knowledgeable about the various fiction offerings. Hand-selling is still a critical piece of what makes the physical store a destination. Hand-selling is a form of word-of-mouth. For example, when Mrs. Sally came in the store each month and asked us, ‘What’s new?’ we could direct her to the latest and greatest because we knew the type of stories she liked and the type of stories that were on our shelves. That principle has not changed over the years. I am always attracted to the part of any bookstore that has a ‘Staff Recommendations’ section. I find it fascinating to see what other people think is worthwhile to read.”

Keep in mind that if readers don’t find what they need in the Christian store, they will look elsewhere, and personally, I’d rather they find a lot of great reads among titles from Christian publishers in Christian retail stores.  

• Prev
• Next