Christian Publishing Industry Facts

Have you ever wondered why it's so difficult to land a publishing contract with a large Christian publishing house? Consider these truths about the Christian publishing industry:

• Most traditional (royalty) publishers receive between 500 and 5,000 unsolicited manuscripts per month and publish between 10-120 books per year, mostly from well-known authors or those they have asked to write for them.

• Books now make up only 20-25% of sales in a typical Christian bookstore. T-shirts, CDs, videos, gifts, greeting cards, music and knickknacks take up to two-thirds of the shelf space, leaving little room for the display of books that are not bestsellers.

• Most large Christian publishers spend their marketing dollars on big-name authors, so even if you do get a contract you are oftentimes just "filler" for their catalog.

A leading trade publication for Christian book publishers and bookstore buyers reported the following:

Thomas Nelson Publishers reports Nelson has cut its list by about half. Other publishers report about 10-20% fewer titles.

In the past, a book that sold 5,000 or 10,000 copies was thought to be a decent seller, but now, most publishers focus on books that have the potential to sell big.

Most publishers are focusing more on books that have the potential to sell big. Michael Schatz, Multnomah Books says: "We desire not to publish books that sell just 10 or 20,000 units, it takes almost as much effort to sell 10,000 as 200,000."

(Book Trends 2003, CBA Marketplace, March 2003)

At the Florida Christian Writers Conference, several faculty members promoted the self-publishing alternative. One of the most well-known agents taught a class titled, "Why Not Just Self-Publish?" He shared that he often recommends this route for those who have a market for their book.

These Christian publishing industry facts shed new light on the climate of our industry and further substantiate the need for emerging authors to investigate alternative methods of getting into print.