Catch 22--Why CBA May Not be the Place to Publish

For those of you unfamiliar with CBA--it stands for Christian Booksellers Association. It's changed names over the years, but most of us still call it CBA. CBA publishers produce books for the Christian market be it fiction, non-fiction, children's books, etc. What they have in common is the theme of faith in the saving grace of Jesus' death and resurrection. In fiction that plays out through characters who either live consistent lives of faith or characters who struggle toward that faith. The message is sometimes overt, but hopefully, if it's well written faith is intrisic to who your characters are.

Just as a novel about a happily married couple doesn't ring true without moments of physical intimacy (I'm not talking about anything graphic here) so would life in America without the message of faith lived out in people's lives. We are a people of faith. If someone in your family dies you'll see this plain and clear in the outpouring of love and messages of hope from your community.

If you've come to that relationship of love with Jesus as I have you'll want to reach your readers with this message that has transformed your life. But if you publish your books at a CBA house your books will be sold mostly to Christian bookstores--most shoppers there already share your hope. Those who need the message rarely venture into a Christian bookstore. We're preaching to the choir. And if you do push the envelope with your writing with edgier characters and plot lines, the bookstore owners--who tend to be much more conservative than the publishers you're publishing with--may not choose to carry your books at all.

So, how do we reach the market we're looking to reach? Maybe we're choosing the wrong publishers. Or perhaps our publishers need to sell more through traditional channels--think Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble (although even here your books will be relegated to a back shelf labeled "religious"). More publishers are going this route but with bookstores still pigeon-holing our work what are we to do? It's a catch-22, that's for sure.

Some have managed to break through this barrier. Leif Enger's Peace Like a River had far stronger Christian themes than my books, yet his was sold as a mainstream piece of fiction. Why? Simply because of who he chose to publish with.

It's food for thought.
More later,
Traci DePree