Walk Into Books Artville by Jonathan Evans

What’s up with Christian Retail?

Monday, May 10th 2010 - 09:17:30 AM

Twice in the last 30 days I have been interviewed about the “state of the industry.” The journalist’s questions were insightful and thought I would share some of them with you. My answers have been expanded beyond the original ones since I have more space to work with here.

1. What do you believe to be the most important trend in Christian publishing and why?

This can be a complex question depending on which part of publishing being discussed. The obvious answer is the digital revolution. While e-book sales are still only a tiny percentage of the whole, the foundations being laid today will have long term implications.

In fiction I have been encouraged by the continued diversity in publisher’s acquisitions. While “romance” is king, a great story can still get a chance.

In non-fiction there has been a concerted push by publishers to acquire only those authors with a built-in audience of some sort. This is especially hard for the debut writers who have enormous talent and insight but have yet to construct a personal following. I even had one editor at a publishing house write me the following after I groused about a rejection letter that didn’t square with what I knew about that publisher:

“…it seems we no longer trust the old methods of reading the market, trying to get ahead of the curve on reader tastes and needs, and so forth. Now we have to prove a book’s success in advance, on paper, using mathematics.”

That is a stunning statement but in a sense is not news. If writers have not come to grips with the fact that publishing is a business, then now is the time to do so. Never forget that without a “bottom line” (i.e. profit) the publisher goes away (or they downsize) and everyone gets hurt.

Some will read that and despair. Others will shrug and say, “What’s new?” I think it is exciting that the industry is becoming that much more professional and the demands on excellence, quality, and “big ideas” will only help create better and more successful books.

2. When were you last in a Christian store and why?

In February, while traveling on business, I visited a local Christian store to observe their layout, featured products, and whether our client’s books were in stock. This particular store is part of a Christian retail chain with multiple locations.

The results were mixed. A front-of-store cardboard display was empty of product which was a good for store sales – meaning they had sold out, but signaled to me that their buyer was much too conservative (“stack ‘em high and watch ‘em fly” vs. “keep it low and they won’t go”). Since I did not own that item they missed out on selling one to me.

3. What can Christian stores do to better differentiate themselves from other channels selling Christian products?

Remember that I was in the Christian bookstore business for over a decade and our store received the National Store of the Year award from CBA (The Christian Booksellers Association) in 1989. So while my personal in-store experience is now nearly two decades out of date, I still understand many of the nuances of Christian retail.

My answer to the above question is “Personal service and community building.” The competition isn’t always the online channels. Sometimes it is simply those outlets that choose the top 10 titles to display. Thus product knowledge and personal relationships are the key to customer retention.

We had a Christian store in our area where our family shopped because of a long term friendship we had with its owner. Unfortunately, after 35 years it closed its doors after the city decided to build light rail in front of her location and made it nearly impossible to visit. We really don’t have an alternate store within a reasonable driving distance, which is disappointing in a city the size of Phoenix.

The CBA store is still a powerful customer for the Christian publishing community. But as a whole is losing “market share.” This market share has been shaved by online retailing, big box retailing that siphons off bestsellers, and a general malaise for the specialty retailer. The gift side of the CBA store is where most stores will find their survival because it does not have the competition from online stores. I hear many who are highly critical of the non-book section of the Christian store. Let’s stop that, okay? Let’s consider changing the view of the Christian bookstore to one of a Christian “supply” store or, if you must, a Christian “boutique.” Wherever there are vital and growing churches there are vital and growing Christian stores.

At the risk of sounding out of date I remember that the Christian stores I managed, back in the 80s, served nearly 500 church accounts. Once we counted the number of student curriculum packets we sold in one quarter and were startled to find that we sold 10,000 pieces of student material intended for Sunday School education for children. So while we had some plaques and jewelry and cards and posters and knick-knacks in the store we also had curriculum, at least 3,000 book titles, and hundreds of Bibles.

If you can, support your local Christian store, they serve a vital role as the Supply Sergeants of the Kingdom.

4. Do you own an e-book reader and if so what kind and what are you currently reading on it?

I have owned the Kindle since it was first released (currently using the Kindle 2). I last read a client’s manuscript on it while traveling (uploaded from my computer to the Kindle). In addition I also re-read Phil Vischer’s Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story after hearing him speak on the topic at a recent conference.

I have resisted the lure of the iPad so far. I plan to wait for the second version to see if some of the bugs get worked out. Unfortunately the “swiping” motion on the screen gives me a bit of vertigo. I find that standing in the Apple Store playing with it gives me a slight headache. So I may never be able to use one comfortably.

1. What do you believe to be the most important trend in Christian publishing and why?
This can be a complex question depending on which part of publishing being discussed. The obvious answer is the digital revolution. While e-book sales are still only a tiny percentage of the whole, the foundations being laid today can have long term implications.
In fiction I have been encouraged by the continued diversity in publisher’s acquisitions. While “romance” is king, a great story can still get a chance.
In non-fiction there has been a concerted push by publishers to acquire only those authors with a built-in audience of some sort. This is especially hard for the debut writers who have enormous talent and insight but have yet to construct a personal following.
2. When were you last in a Christian store and why?
In February, while traveling on business, I visited a local Christian store to observe their layout, featured products, and whether our client’s books were in stock. The results were mixed. A front-of-store cardboard display was empty of product which was a good for store sales, but signaled a buyer that was much too conservative (“stack ‘em high and watch ‘em fly” vs. “keep it low and they won’t go”). Since I did not own that item they missed out on selling one to me.
3. What can Christian stores do to better differentiate themselves from other channels selling Christian products?
Personal service and community building. The competition isn’t always the online channels. Sometimes it is simply those outlets that choose the top 10 titles to display. Thus product knowledge and personal relationships are the key to customer retention. We had a Christian store in our area that we shopped mostly because of the long term relationship we had with its owner. Unfortunately, after 35 years it closed its doors after the city decided to build light rail in front of her location and made it nearly impossible to visit.
4. Do you own an e-book reader and if so what kind and what are you currently reading on it?
I have owned the Kindle since it was first released. I last read a client’s manuscript on it while traveling (uploaded from my computer to the Kindle). In addition I also re-read Phil Vischer’s Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story after hearing him speak on the topic at a recent conference.
5. How have you been able to use social media effectively in your work?
The key word here is “effectively.” Our agency doesn’t necessarily need to market our services like a traditional retail business would. However I connected my industry related blog to Facebook to help populate the information more effectively.

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New Releases April 2010

Sunday, May 2nd 2010 - 04:36:26 PM

Below are new books published last month which our agency represented.
(In alphabetical order by author. Descriptions are from publisher’s web sites).

April 2010

Who Speaks to Your Heart?: Tuning in to Hear God’s Whispers
- Stacy Hawkins Adams
Zondervan

‘I wrestled with whether a God that I couldn’t see or touch would be willing to single me out from the millions of other people who wanted love, attention and help.’ To women all over the country, from all walks of life, this uncomfortable uncertainty is all too familiar. Now—for inspiration, for affirmation, for a divine connection—you have a new place to turn … to this authentic look at what it takes to pursue God with abandon, by acclaimed author Stacy Hawkins Adams.

Offering insight, inspiration, and practical ideas on how to connect more often and more deeply with God, Adams helps give you and women the world over the courage to go deeper and grow deeper in God’s word to hear Him more clearly. Women young and old will be empowered and renewed by Adams’ reminder that—regardless of the labels placed on you by society, your family, your friends, and even yourself—your best and most important title is the one given by God … chosen vessel.


God in Pursuit
- Joseph Bentz
Beacon Hill

What is the turning point that causes a curious journalist and atheist to walk into a church and be converted to Christ the first time she takes communion? At what point is a lifelong atheist and head of one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century persuaded to turn to Christ? What leads a woman, who had a Mafia contract on her life and who appeared on the FBI s Ten Most Wanted list, to become a Christian in prison and then start a national outreach ministry that has touched the lives of thousands of children?

What is that moment at which God s disruptive Spirit invades the lives of even the unlikeliest of individuals, drawing them into relationship with Christ? Joseph Bentz calls this the tipping point.

In God in Pursuit, Bentz identifies and celebrates the sparks that allow faith to catch fire in the lives of new believers who were once hostile or indifferent to God. Filled with insight, encouragement, and solid biblical wisdom, this earnest examination shows readers how those tipping points from doubt to faith operate throughout the Christian life as they confront spiritual crises and grapple with questions that will bring them deeper into relationship with God.


Sing
- Lisa Bergren
David C. Cook

It’s 1886 and the St. Clairs are living out their dreams in three very separate parts of the world—Paris, Brazil and Colorado. And while each has found a measure of success and joy, each are haunted by past sins and secrets. As they face the biggest struggles and challenges of their lives—including facing off with an old enemy—each must discover the power of homecoming, and what it means to sing praises to God, even in the midst of loss.

Odessa St. Clair McAllan has adapted well to life on her beautiful Colorado ranch, but nothing has prepared her for the devastation that the winter of 1886 brings. And while she and Bryce struggle to find their way out of their loss, far away in Paris, Moira St. Clair discovers she has been robbed by her manager and has fewer options than she imagined. Meanwhile, Dominic, working the boxing rings of South America, loses the wrong fight and ends up shanghaied by a frustrated sea captain. Can all three manage to find their way back to a reunion in Colorado.especially with a former menace who reemerges, bent on bringing each of them down?


Setting Boundaries with Your Aging Parents
- Allison Bottke
Harvest House

This important book will help adult children who long for a better relationship with their parents but feel trapped in a never-ending cycle of chaos, crisis, or drama.

With keen insight and a passion to empower adult children, Allison charts a trustworthy roadmap through the often unfamiliar territory of setting boundaries with parents while maintaining personal balance and avoiding burnout. Through the use of professional advice, true stories, and scriptural truth, readers learn how to apply the “6 Steps to SANITY.”


Cowboy Protector
- Margaret Daley
Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense

Two years ago, Hannah Williams left the Witness Protection Program–and she’s been running ever since. To stay ahead of the mob, she changes her name and location constantly. So when she takes a job caring for a Montana rancher’s sick daughter, she expects to leave soon. But little Misty Taylor tugs at Hannah’s heartstrings–and so does her handsome father. Hannah knows Austin Taylor suspects she’s keeping secrets. But how can she tell him the truth without endangering the pair she’s come to love?



Love Lessons
- Margaret Daley
Steeple Hill Love Inspired

Homeschooling his daughter is new to devoted single father Ian Ferguson. To ensure his child gets a good education, the busy CPA hires a temporary tutor. Twenty-three-year-old college student Alexa Michaels is too young—and too pretty—to be right for the job. Yet his daughter is coming out of her shell and learning. Still, Ian is traditional, and sweet Alexa—who graduated from the school of hard knocks—is challenging some of his old-school ways. Can this dad learn some valuable lessons about love, family and faith from the least likely teacher?


Lucky Baby
- Meredith Efken
Howard Books

All Meg Lindsay wants is to give a child the love and acceptance she wished she’d been given. When she talks her reluctant husband into adopting a Chinese orphan, she expects her dream to come true. But becoming a parent has a way of opening up painful doors from the past, and it’s all Meg can do to hold her new little family together. What started as a good intention could destroy her marriage and her family, especially if the daughter they’ve grown to love abandons them, too.

Meg’s journey is a magical one as East meets West and imagination aligns with reality. Lucky Baby takes the reader on a realistic yet mystical journey into the complexities of family life.


Day-votions for Women
- Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Zondervan

Introducing a new series of Day-Votions™ from bestselling inspirational author Rebecca Barlow Jordan. This beautiful, lighthearted series of devotional books is perfect for you and is a perfect gift for women of all seasons, and all stages of life. From deepening your walk with the Lord to strengthening your relationships with others … mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and women everywhere will find page after page of powerful spiritual encouragement within. Each ‘day-votion’ points to a biblical truth, affirming with every reading that God is faithful no matter what challenges you face. With forty devotions per book in this three-set series—Day-Votions for Grandmothers, Day-Votions for Mothers, and Day-Votions for Women—designed to bring you into deeper relationships with God, your family, your children, and your friends … inspiration is certain.

“Rebecca Barlow Jordan is one of the great devotional writers of our time. With warmth, originality, and brevity, she has crafted an effective tool for busy women who want to have daily com-munication with God but sometimes run out of time. Her com-bination of biblical truth, real-life examples, and poignant appli-cations help her readers to focus on one transformational action step each day.” – Carol Kent, author of When I Lay My Isaac Down


Day-votions for Mothers
- Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Zondervan

“What a beautiful gift of encouragement for mothers! From cover to cover, Day-votions for Mothers spoke to my heart. I was chuckling one moment and deeply convicted the next. Rebecca Barlow Jordan ended each devotional with practical applications, thought-provoking quotes, and prayers that I could incorporate as my own.”

- Jennie Afman Dimkoff, international speaker, biblical storyteller, and author of Passionate Faith, Ancient Truths for Contemporary Women


Day-votions for Grandmothers
- Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Zondervan

“Jordan’s delightful Day-votions for Grandmothers touched my heart as a grandmother of sixteen and brought many smiles of recognition. This sweet collection of ‘grandma’ stories will warm your spirit. I especially enjoyed the story about Beanie Babies–since I have four such ‘babies’ of my own!”

- Karen O’Connor, speaker and author of Bein’ A Grandparent Ain’t For Wimps


A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind
– Karen Scalf Linamen
Waterbrook Multnomah

The architects of pop culture have never been the leading authorities on what is best for you. So turn your back on the lies that you are not thin enough, not successful enough, and not glamorous enough! Physical perfection is not the goal.

Instead, let Karen Scalf Linamen take you on a journey from a limiting and unhealthy body-image to a life of feeling good about yourself—body included. When you learn the secrets in A Waist Is a Terrible Thing to Mind you can change what you crave, what you eat, how you think, and ultimately how you live.

Along with Karen’s trademark humor, you’ll find practical, common-sense tools to help you accept who you are today and take the steps that will make you the person you were created to be. Along the way, you’ll enjoy the new, improved, imperfect you!


Five Ministry Killers: How to Defeat Them
- Charles Stone
Bethany House

What if you could find a way to renew your enthusiasm for ministry? This is the book for you. Deftly analyzing and applying the latest previously unpublished research, Charles Stone has identified major causes of frustration and burnout among pastors and church leaders. But the book doesn’t stop there. Here is a practical plan that will:

  • Show how to defeat obstacles with the potential to kill your ministry
  • Illustrate healthy ways to respond to aggravating issues
  • Minimize the draining effects ministry places on you and your family (with wise insights from Sherryl Stone, the author’s wife)
  • Demonstrate how to share with others what they can do to help
By learning to open up with vulnerability, own up with humility, show up with integrity, and speak up with courage, you can experience healing and renewed joy in service to Christ, your family, and your church.

“A delightful guide to anyone in ministry. Just as you need a guide to keep you from making horrific mistakes when you go on a camping trip–mistakes that could embarrass, hurt, or even kill–Charles Stone’s book on the Five Ministry Killers will make you laugh, cry, and in the end may save your ministry. Get it, read it, enjoy it, and then learn.”
–Elmer L. Towns
, Co-Founder, Liberty University, Dean, School of Religion Lynchburg, Virginia


Blaze of Glory
- Jeff Stuecker and Alton Gansky
B&H Publishing Group

United States Sgt. Major Eric Moyer and his Special Operations unit have been called in to track down a wealthy Egyptian terrorist who is believed to have sordid ties to a sudden increase in female suicide bombers. Chasing El-Sayyed through Italy, they soon gain interconnected details about a Mexican drug lord who is plotting to kill the U.S. and Mexican presidents. Now Moyer and his team must stop not one, but two madmen on separate continents. And with a new member of the unit hiding his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, a third problem begins to boil.


Bringing Out the Best in Your Husband
- H. Norman Wright
Regal Books

Bookstore shelves are full of titles that tell women how to get what they want out of their man. But affectionate, long-lasting relationships thrive when the tables are turned— when each spouse focuses on giving, not getting. Bringing Out the Best in Your Husband delivers biblical and practical, proven ways to encourage the man in every reader’s life.

This new book from bestselling author H. Norman Wright is packed with stories from wives struggling to understand their husbands’ needs and desires; every woman will see herself and her marriage reflected in these deeply personal accounts. Readers will also hear the other side of the story: Men share the ups and downs of their marriage experiences, and reveal the secret longings of their hearts. Every principle is presented with a true-to-life story so that wives can see the effects of encouragement, prayer, romance and inspiration on marriages just like theirs. Based on his experience counseling thousands of couples over more than 40 years, Dr. Wright shows how great an impact spouses have on one another and how to turn that impact into a loving, joy-filled marriage that stands the test of time.


Bringing Out the Best in Your Wife
- H. Norman Wright
Regal Books

Most “relationship books” are written for women, but women aren’t the only ones who want happy, enduring marriages. Bringing Out the Best in Your Wife is written with men in mind, men who want to build a satisfying relationship but just aren’t sure how. The secret, Dr. H. Norman Wright reveals, is mutual affirmation. But first, husbands have to understand that women receive respect and encouragement differently than men. When husbands discover how to speak the language of love their wives understand, relationships are taken to a whole new level.

Dr. Wright lays out biblical and practical ways husbands can bring out the best in their wives. Readers will find firsthand testimonies from men just like them, who share the daily frustrations of living with a person so different from themselves. They may also be surprised by what they learn about women from the personal stories told by wives striving to make their marriages work. Each step toward a healthy, satisfying relationship is presented with a real-life situation that men will find immediately familiar. And as readers take each successive step, they will see the positive impact that encouragement, prayer, romance and inspiration have on the marriage they’ve always wanted.


Sons of Thunder
- Susan May Warren
Summerside Press

Sophie Frangos is torn between the love of two men and the promise that binds them all together. Markos Stavros loves Sophie from afar while battling his thirst for vengeance and his hunger for honor. Dino, his quiet and intelligent brother, simply wants to forget the horror that drove them from their Greek island home to start a new life in America. One of these “sons of thunder” offers a future she longs for, the other—the past she lost.

From the sultry Chicago jazz clubs of the roaring twenties to the World War II battlefields of Europe to a final showdown in a Greek island village, they’ll discover betrayal, sacrifice, and finally redemption. Most of all, when Sophie is forced to make her choice, she’ll learn that God honors the promises made by the Sons of Thunder.



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Rumor Control

Thursday, April 8th 2010 - 08:00:04 AM

I was talking with an editor this week who asked me, “How are things going? I hear that your agency is barely making ends meet and that you’ve had to take on other type of work to survive.”

I must admit that I was so startled by this rumor that words nearly failed me.

“Where did you hear that?” I exclaimed.

“Oh it was at a recent writers conference and folks were talking, and your name came up.”

At the risk of sounding defensive, let me set the record straight. While there is no question that the publishing industry is in a mode of risk management, our agency is very healthy. We have the privilege of representing a large number of highly successful authors whose books are selling and whose new books are being contracted. Plus we have recently placed some first time authors and added some new veteran clients to our roster. In fact, if my projections hold true, we will break our single year sales record by the end of this calendar year. As of April 7, 2010 we have already contracted 29 new books. And, as our new monthly announcements show, we continue to have a lot of great new books being published.

In other words, The Steve Laube Agency is alive and well and is not having to scramble to survive.

Which brings me to the larger issue about rumors. After questioning this editor a little further it became evident that they had either misheard or misunderstood what was said. I am grateful that this editor asked me directly or I would never have known what was being said. Please don’t think that what I write next is directed at this person. Instead I’m addressing the issue of rumors and gossip in general.

Why is it that some people tend to believe gossip over actual truth? And then why do they spread the “news” to others without verifying the facts? These rumors can take a tragic turn. I know a friend whose career was nearly derailed by a nasty rumor. It took that person years to recover their reputation. Another example was last July when Michael Hyatt had to quell rumors being spread about Thomas Nelson Publishers. As it has been said, “Some bring oxy­gen and oth­ers expel CO2.”

The publishing community is a small one. And the Christian publishing industry is even smaller. I try, albeit imperfectly, to verify a rumor before ever repeating it. This is the right thing to do. Stop gossip before it starts. It may be that we “like” to hear bad news (why do we slow down to look at the accident on the freeway?). And good news sounds like bragging. In fact the above paragraph about our agency will come across as braggadocios to some.

Let us endeavor to keep our own counsel. And undergird all matters with a Christ-like spirit. Celebrate each others victories and pray for each others miseries. We all have both. But rumors and gossip have no place in either.

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HarperStudio is History

Monday, April 5th 2010 - 05:13:01 PM

Back on March 17 I blogged about the changes at HarperStudio and asked if this could mean that division would close down. Today it was announced that it has come to pass, the division is no more.

HarperStudio had made big news by setting up a low advance model in exchange for high royalties. It was termed a “profit sharing” model. (of course define “profit” first… :-) ) Plus they sold their books on a non-returnable basis to the stores, both online and brick & mortar.

It was a highly creative idea and caused quite a stir, especially when there was talk of a 50/50 profit split.

My questions are these. Does this mean the end to the experiment of “profit sharing” in publishing?Also…

Did the model fail to produce the necessary revenue or did the acquisitions team fail to select the right titles?

At the risk of being a hindsight prophet, I think it was the latter. Don’t get me wrong. The books themselves are quality titles for the most part, but none of them became “blockbusters.” The model might work if the book generates enough revenue. But the combination of a modest list, with no break out bestsellers, and the fact that the stores could not return slow moving titles probably contributed to conservative buying patterns and kept the big box retailers from “stacking ‘em high.”

What do you think?


The original announcement can be found here, but the content is reprinted below.

HarperStudio, the unusual imprint founded two years ago by Bob Miller, is being shut down and its books and staff will land at other HarperCollins imprints. Miller left Harper last month to become group publisher at Workman (Shelf Awareness, March 16, 2010).

The final titles to be published by HarperStudio will be the summer 2010 list. All fall titles and titles scheduled to be published thereafter will be published by other HarperCollins imprints. In a memo to employees, Michael Morrison, president and publisher of U.S. general books and Canada, said that Harper “will be contacting agents and authors to discuss the best editors and imprints for” its fall and other future titles. “All of our imprints are happy to discuss profit sharing scenarios on a book by book basis.”

Debbie Stier, associate publisher of HarperStudio and director of digital marketing for HarperCollins, continues as director of digital marketing and continues to acquire books for all imprints as editor-at-large. Kathryn Ratcliffe-Lee continues to report to Stier.

Senior editor Julia Cheiffetz is moving to the Harper imprint. Assistant editor Katie Salisbury continues to report to Cheiffetz.

Jessica Wiener continues as director of marketing.

In its brief life, HarperStudio published mainly nonfiction, offered low advances with profit-sharing, tried to sell titles on a nonreturnable basis and signed many authors who were well-known in other fields or were writers who wanted to try projects that differed from their usual ones.

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