Category: Insights (Page 2 of 2)

The New Trend

Some CBA publishers have dabbled in the YA marketplace, and not done well economically. When you sell a book for only $4.99 it’s a challenge to make money from it.

More recently books geared for older youths are selling in trade format in the $12 range. They run 300 pages or more, and cater to the same kids who gobbled up Harry Potter and Tolkien. Witness the success of Bryan Davis’ Dragons In Our Midst series, and Donita K. Paul’s Dragonspell series, both of which launched in the CBA market, but have now crossed over to selling on the shelves of Wal*Mart.

Some have called these types of fiction crossover fiction in that the fiction transcends the YA audience to appeal to older youth and adults alike.

If you’re writing to sell, take note of this trend!

The Economics of Trade vs. MM Formats

Consider the economics of book publishing, particularly in the CBA (Christian Booksellers) marketplace.

Fiction books are typically published in either hardback, trade paperback (5″x8″ to 6”x9”) or mass-market paperback (4″x7″) formats. When was the last time you saw a CBA fiction book in a mass-market paperback format? [Tip: some refer to these formats with the abbreviations ‘HC’ (hard cover), ‘Trade’ (trade paperback), and ‘MM’ (mass-market paperback)].

Why do CBA publishing houses avoid this size?

Economics. The CBA marketplace is a bit different than the books you see at the grocery store or other market outlets. CBA booksellers cater to a niche market, and customers will buy a trade paperback as readily as a mass-market paperback. The trade paperback may command $12 while a mass-market paperback sells for no more than $8.

Do the math. You can see which will make the publisher more money.

Young Adult (YA) novels don’t look like YA books anymore. Walk into any bookstore and you’ll see the books becoming bigger, thicker, and with beautiful covers.

The marketplace for Young Adult books is changing. Two reasons:

1) Harry Potter & Tolkien Books
2) The Economics of Trade vs. MM Formats

Harry Potter & Tolkien Books

First let’s think about the Harry Potter effect. Prior to H.K. Rowling’s blockbuster success with the Harry Potter series, conventional wisdom was that young adults wouldn’t read books over 200 pages. Harry Potter books are thick, almost Bible-like in size.

Now things have changed. Youngsters have voted with their pocketbooks to purchase books in the 300 to 400 page range. The Lord Of The Rings movies then rode on the coattails of Harry Potter to sell 400-500 pages books to a YA audience.

To be fair, this is really a change in the older YA marketplace. The 10 to 15 year old crowd has blossomed into a distinct buying group whose demand publishers are now rushing to fill.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the way economics is shaping the market.

The afternoon Art & Soul session includes a very interesting session about the Christian Fiction industry.

The Publishing Panel consisted of:
John Wilson, Books & Culture: moderator
Lil Copan, Paraclete Press
David Long, Bethany House Publishers
Jon Pott, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

There were a series of questions posted by John Wilson, the moderator, with some interesting answers. Below are some of the highlights.

Trends in Publishing

John Wilson:

Is there a particular trend going on in publishing?

Jon Pott:

The CBA market is the fastest growing market segment.

David Long:

We’re seeing a large blurring of what a CBA book is these days. There used to be a very specific notion of what Christian Fiction was — very clean, no language — due to the increasing popularity of Christian fiction books, a lot of those lines are beginning to grey and blur. Many new books have very little [overt] Christian content.

Paraclete Press to Resume Fiction Novel Contest

Last year Paraclete Press hosted a literary fiction award at the Calvin festival for full-length novels. Leif Enger was the judge. Paraclete Press acquired rights to the winner and 3 of the finalists. Lil Copan announced that they plan to make this an ongoing, bi-annual event.

Themes Publishers See Too Much

John Wilson:

Is there [a type of fiction] that if you see another example of you’ll vomit….

David Long:

Chick Lit. Everything we see [in Chick Lit] is just cliché. The cookie cutter effect.

The other one [is] Left Behind.

John Wilson on Dan Brown:

You think, “Oh God it can’t get any worse than this”, and then you see the imitation book!

(laughter)

Lil Copan:

Dan Brown clones. Books on grief.

Jon Pott:

I’m starting to develop an allergy to Celtic spirituality.

On Ecumenical Trends

Lil Copan said:

Lot of people interested in the intersection of faith and literary fiction. In liturgical press, Catholic & Episcopal, lot’s of richness and history there for the literary fiction marketplace.

John Wilson:

[noting the recent death of Pope John Paul II]

There is far more crossing of barriers between different streams of Christian traditions.

Jon Pott:

Eerdman’s comes out of Dutch Calvinist tradition. There is more dialog between Orthodox and Protestants than there once was.

Lil Copan:

We’ve been purposeful in our ecumenical approach. We publish books by Orthodox, Presbyterians, and Mennonites. Frederica Mathewes-Green is as an example. A lot of people are interested in what another tradition has to say about spiritual silence.

Jon Pott:

We’re seeing a recovery of the earliest Christian writings, such as The Desert Fathers.