Thank you so much for publishing the wonderful piece in the December 2010 Industry Forum by David Almack. The title and subtitle said it all: "Reading is our industry's key to survival: Knowing and loving the books we publish and sell is essential to our success."

Like Almack, I've been distressed to realize the number of authors, publishers, editors, sales reps, store owners and frontliners who simply don't seem to care much about reading widely. Almack wisely reminded us of the joys of a passion for the printed page that must be central to our calling in the book world. That this is linked to our fidelity to God, our obedience to develop the Christian mind and our effectiveness in ministry in our complex world underscores the urgency of his good reminder. 

That our financial success is at stake may be most obvious, but it is these deeper matters—are we pleasing God, making a difference in the lives of others, being agents of Christ-like transformation of the culture, and are we nurturing the habits of heart and mind that form character and integrity and biblical wisdom that reading facilitates, that make our work so urgent? 

Even pastors and church leaders have too often been seduced away from the task of study and thoughtful disciple-making, so the local Christian bookseller sometimes has to supplement the feeble diets that some of our customers have. If we don't know and love books and insist on their value, how can we possibly expect others to?

So, thanks, Christian Retailing, and thanks, David. This was one of the most important industry articles I've seen in 30 years. I pray there is a renaissance of the renewed mind (Rom. 12:2) inspired by serious publishers, well-read reps and book-loving local shops who equip the saints to love and use books as tools for the kingdom of God. This piece is a wake-up call, and I'm sure many of us are grateful.

Byron Borger

Hearts & Minds

Dallastown, Pa.

www.heartsandmindsbooks.com

What do you think?

Share your opinions on these and other industry issues by writing to: Andy Butcher, editor, Christian Retailing, 600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, FL 32746. Or e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. we reserve the right to edit letters for style and content.

Family Bibles go from the coffee table to the dining room

A family Bible used to be an oversized, thick version of God's Word handed down with each successive generation recording information about the family's history in it. But new family Bibles are no longer just basic text editions recording births, deaths, baptisms, confirmations and marriages—and often collecting dust on bookshelves. 

 The subcategory now offers a variety of features—including color illustrations, drawings and art, children's stories and pictures as well as expanded notes and records sections—all designed to encourage family members to read the Scriptures together.  

"We believe the family Bible market is trending toward family engagement—not coffee—table fixtures," Zondervan Senior Vice President and Publisher for Bibles Chip Brown told Christian Retailing.

 One of several publishers that offer 40-plus different family Bibles, Zondervan has three in its line—Family Bible, Family Keepsake Bible and The Family Reading Bible—all in the New International Version (NIV) and retailing from $29.99-$49.99.

 Thomas Nelson offers two—Painter of Light Thomas Kinkade's Lighting the Way Home Family Bible, NKJV and Family Bible: KJV Edition, published as a commemorative edition marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Version (KJV).

More than 2,000 units were shipped on its release in October, and more than 1,000 units were ordered and shipped in December and January, "indicating a strong consumer response to the premium keepsake quality of this heirloom Bible for gift-giving," said Gary Davidson, senior vice president and group publisher of Thomas Nelson's Bible group.

Family Bibles account for less than 1% of every Bible purchased in Christian retail outlets, according to sales data from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). Zondervan's Family Bible, Duo-Tone burgundy was the best-selling family Bible during the past two years.

According to ECPA sales data for 2010, Nelson had the highest market share of the subcategory (36%), followed by Zondervan (24%), Oxford University Press (17%), B&H Publishing Group (10%) and Fireside Catholic Bibles (3%).

Nelson has published approximately 100 different family Bibles since 1970, including King James and New King James editions, as well as Catholic and Spanish editions—with total sales exceeding
1 million units.

SALES UPSWING

Karmen Kelly, buyer and owner of The Bible House in Searcy, Ark., told Christian Retailing that she had to backorder Nelson's Family Bible—which retails for $99.99—at Christmastime. 

"I ran out of stock twice, even though it's an expensive Bible," Kelly said. "We are continuing to sell it well this year. It's quality. When you compare it to other Bibles on the shelf, it's hard to turn that one down."

In business for more than 37 years and located 45 minutes from Little Rock, Ark., the 4,000-square-foot Bible House—which carries hundreds of SKUs in Bibles—has seen a surge in family editions.

"We've had an upswing of families looking for them," Kelly said. "We carried maybe two to three family Bibles three years ago, but now we carry at least 10 different styles from five to six publishers. We've had a return for people looking for traditional Bibles with record-keeping pages in the front. They're willing to pay more for family Bibles." 

Besides Zondervan's The Family Reading Bible and Nelson's Family Bible, the Bible House carries the KJV Cornerstone Family Bible and Holman Family Bible Deluxe Edition (both Holman Bible Publishers/B&H Publishing Group), as well as Spanish and Catholic family Bibles. 

"We try to meet the needs of everyone in the market, especially because the category has definitely picked up," Kelly said. "I think people are searching for a return to roots, family bonds and traditional values. The family Bible is something that is associated with that. It's like tracing your heritage."

FAMILY FOCUS

"Traditionally, family Bibles are purchased as keepsakes or family heirlooms," Davidson said. "The success of our Precious Moments family Bible and the Thomas Kinkade family Bible testifies to the enduring value of family Bibles. ... Both of these Bibles were published in numerous editions that served a full range of customer and markets."

 Davidson said that family Bibles are "not a primary focus" for Nelson's Bible division, but added what is important is "getting families together to read the Bible and encouraging them to put God's Word into action together. ...

"Although at present we don't offer a wide selection of the traditional, larger-sized family Bibles, I would still say that we're focused on family in our Bibles," he said.

Brown said that Zondervan's Family Bible—first published in 1985—and Family Keepsake Bible fit the classic category of family Bibles. Both are large-format Bibles that include extensive family record sections with pages to record births, deaths, marriages and other family events. 

Sales for The Family Reading Bible have been strong. "We believe family Bibles fit into two very different categories," Brown said. "The first is the classic, coffee-table Bible category. This category has not experienced much growth in recent years. The second category is the family devotional category. 

"This is a growth area in the Christian market. Current Christian market trends indicate a clear shift toward emphasizing the importance of parents as spiritual leaders in the home." 

FIELD-TESTED

Zondervan's The Family Reading Bible was field-tested with 43 families to ensure that the reading plans fit the needs of families with children at various ages and stages of spiritual development. 

"The Family Reading Bible was based directly on primary research with Christian parents," Brown said. "We found that many Christian parents wanted to have family devotions, and thought they should be reading the Bible with their children, but were often unsure how to accomplish this."

The Catholic Family Connections Bible, with the New American Bible translation, was published in March 2010 by Saint Mary's Press as its first family Bible.

"We launched this Bible in response to customer requests to offer a family version of our best-selling Catholic Youth Bible, with nearly 2 million copies in print," said company President and CEO John Vitek. 

"Parents want to feel connected, and they want their children to feel connected to family,  their faith, their community," he said. "So, we looked to build the Bible around these essential connection points, to provide a Bible that is practical and helpful in everyday life. … 

"Catholic parents are looking for a Bible that gives them simple, easy-to-use, engaging material to help build a family practice of reading, studying and living out the teachings of the Bible and their Catholic faith."

Elsewhere, Tyndale House Publishers does not offer a family Bible with its New Living Translation, but that could change. "Tyndale is open to developing family Bibles, and may do so in the future," Jeffrey Smith, director of marketing, Bibles, for Tyndale, said. 

To read an extended print edition of this article, go to familyBibles.christianretailing.com.

What does Bill Wiese's 23 Minutes in Hell (Charisma House); Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Parent and The Power of a Praying Wife (both Harvest House Publishers); Sarah Young's  Jesus Calling (Thomas Nelson); and Patrick Morley's The Man in the Mirror (Zondervan) have in common?

Listen in as Christian Retailing News Editor Eric Tiansay discusses the sleeper hits, which are million-plus sellers, with Woodley Auguste, director of marketing and publicity for Charisma House; LaRae Weikert, vice president of editorial for Harvest House Publishers; Laura Minchew, vice president and publisher of children and gift specialty books for Thomas Nelson; and Don Gates, vice president of marketing for trade books at Zondervan.

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Christian Retailing's Retailing ReBoot, Soul Surfer's forthcoming premiere and this month's 42nd Annual Dove Awards—listen in as the magazine’s editorial team looks to the month ahead.

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So, here’s something to do while you wait (drum fingers, drum fingers) for an announcement about the industry-wide platform intended to give Christian stores a way of securing a slice of the digital book pie: Go buy an e-reader.

This will likely not be a popular idea out in some parts of our retailing community, where there are folks for whom names like Kindle and Nook are muttered with the same degree of distaste once reserved for Wal-Mart.

But, with a nod to Swiss theologian Karl Barth, who advocated Christians do life with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other, let me suggest that Christian retailers need to do business with their P.O.S. printout in one hand and an e-reader in the other.

In much the same way that Wal-Mart has become accepted as just another (even if regrettable) fact of life—and some Christian stores have actually come to welcome the mega-merchant, wild as that may seem—the digital book is here to stay. So we might as well all start getting used to it.

Times are tough for many stores, but it seems to me that there isn’t one out there that can afford not to invest $100 or so in some type of e-reader. You may not like them for any number of reasons, but you can’t simply ignore them. Well, not if you want to stay in business long-term. 

Feel free to prefer the tactile experience of a “real” book and maintain that reading on a screen isn’t the same immersive experience as your turn-the-page paper copy. Worry, even, about the long-term implications for reasoning and reflection of digital publishing (which sometimes seems to think the actual words are less important than all the cool stuff you can click to).

Just be sure to use one of those devices so that you understand their appeal (at least to others)—and their limitations—and can better position yourself to adjust business in the light of their existence.

And while you are doing that, take some time to think about what the growth of the e-book market may mean, not just in overall print sales (and how you are going to make up that revenue elsewhere), but also for different categories.

"Christian retailers need to do business with their P.O.S. printout in one hand and an e-reader in the other.”

Take fiction. Lovers of novels are often ravenous readers, especially if they are enthusiasts for a particular author or genre. Just look at how well Thomas Nelson’s $5 fiction promotion has gone, for instance. For fiction buyers, the  opportunity to spend less on non-print editions may be seriously appealing, so how can you strengthen your store in their minds? Do you host or support reading groups?

Then there is backlist. This has long been touted as a strength of Christian retail, and publishers have defended general market sales by pointing out that purchases there can push shoppers to Christian stores in search of older titles. But now some publishers are giving away free e-backlist (I think I just invented a word) titles or  offering them really cheap.

Admittedly, the number of titles available like this is proportionally small, but what might the trend mean for consumers’ perceptions of backlist’s value? The category isn’t going away—STL Distribution North America believes in it strongly enough to have invested more than $1 million in equipping its center with a new print-on-demand facility that will soon be offering overnight shipment—but it is going to change.

Reference is a whole other area. Search features in digital titles are an attractive option, but some serious Bible teachers and students still like to pore over the actual paper. Of course, they can buy them online, so how can you connect more closely with local pastors and others in church leadership?

And finally, spare a thought for publishers who are wrestling with their own e-book questions. It’s not all high-fives and hallelujahs for them either.

Certainly, they are glad to have another avenue through which to sell their books, but it’s not all a slam-dunk. They get less for the copies they sell, and while some production costs are down, obviously, many houses are having to invest large amount of time and money into developing and managing new systems.

Then there is the subtle but significant impact on marketing from e-book sales as they lose secondary advertising. Consider: Fellow public-transportation passengers or Starbucks sitters now see the plain back of your Kindle or Nook, not the cover of the latest Karen Kingsbury you are reading.

But change is here, so the question is how to deal with it. When Wal-Mart led the general market inroads into Christian books, music and videos a few years ago, some in our community just bemoaned the threat. 

Others went to check out what was there to see how they needed to adjust their shelves and look for ways they could compete. Counter-intuitively, CBA even invited a former Wal-Mart senior executive to offer advice at a winter show. Now, I sometimes hear of Christian stores talking of having Wal-Mart as a near-neighbor as one of their strengths because it means there is a lot of traffic.

In the same way, the digital conversation needs to become not how we can ignore e-books and keep our customers from finding out about them, but how to find the good and the potential. And that has to start with knowing a bit more about what we’re facing.

The ever-changing children’s market requires constant refreshing

Laura Minchew, vice president and publisher, children’s books and gift books, Thomas Nelson

“Breadth of product offering is very important. It is a critical balance between frontlist and backlist titles for children.”

The children’s market changes and moves at lightning speed. Only a few years ago we were researching sound chips for novelty books and now we are creating applications for iPads. From toys to television and from books to snacks, the children’s world must be cutting edge in technology and innovation.

Our children are becoming media savvy as preschoolers, which means we have to deliver products to meet their ever-progressing level. Throw in the fact that the children’s market customer has this terrible habit of growing up, leaving publishers and booksellers with a completely new audience every five to seven years, children’s publishers are constantly turning their wheels trying to keep up with the ever-changing landscape. 

With all that in mind, booksellers may be left to wonder if there is a future for inspirational children’s books.

Yes, there is still a strong market for kids’ product.

The good news is that with approximately 4 million children born each year, the kids’ market is large and always fresh. In a recent survey conducted in the 2009 Book Consumer Annual Review, 37% of books given as gifts were to children, with the religion category having solid percentage of unit sales and dollar volume. 

Parents are very interested in providing faith-based products for their children. Whether it is in the form of books, DVDs, activity kits or toys, children’s products have a strong place in the market.

To meet these unique needs, Thomas Nelson has created a children’s strategy team that cross-functions between publishing, marketing and sales. The goal of the team is to look forward, spot trends and offer new products that align with the current and upcoming innovations and themes for kids. 

QUALITY AND INNOVATION

Parents are looking for inspirational products that mirror or exceed the quality of what the general market is offering, and kids want products tied to hot trends. 

Everyone knows that girls love all things fun, festive and sparkly—why can’t their Bibles look the same? We felt that developing a girl’s Bible that is glittery and girly would perfectly combine both needs and wants. So we created our Sequin Bibles line—full-text Bibles in a child’s translation bound in floral fabric and embellished with shiny sparkly sequins.

In the same way, our best-selling “God’s Little Princess” line by Sheila Walsh was inspired from the princess themes of movies and toys.

REFRESHED BRANDS

Another research finding is that brands need to be refreshed and updated. In the general market even the classic brands refine and refresh their look from time to time; think Strawberry Shortcake or Barbie. The combination of a classic, familiar brand and a refreshed, more modern look offers great appeal to the parent, mixing both nostalgia and current tastes.

For us, that has meant refreshing the successful Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends brand, which has touched the lives of more than 5 million families since 2003. We have come up with a new and updated look, yet are keeping the same lovable characters, voice talents, fun storylines and the trusted teachings.

PRODUCT BREADTH

Christian stores have a tough job due to the breadth of product they offer, endeavoring to meet a wide range of needs in sometimes limited space. But I love my Christian bookstore because the breadth of inspirational product offerings for children cannot be found anywhere else. 

If you go to a general market bookstore, the breadth of general market titles is wide. Thinking of the picture book wall, a parent knows they can find a wide array of books on every topic. However, the inspirational section of a general store does not often compete with that of a Christian bookstore. 

Breadth of product offering is very important. It is a critical balance between frontlist and backlist titles for children: Imagine going to a general market bookstore and not finding the classic Goodnight Moon. Backlist titles are critical to customers feeling that the store maintains the books they come in looking to buy. 

At the same time, we’ve seen stores focus so much on backlist that they don’t bring in enough frontlist and their department looks stale. No parent or child wants to go to a children’s section in a store that looks exactly the same as it did on their last visit. Look at a toy store and you’ll find what is new and hot. Sure backlist titles are in the store, but the frontlist is what keeps it fresh. 

The breadth of backlist gives Christian bookstores the competitive edge, and the new releases featured make it feel fresh and fun.

Designating a children’s specialist—a staff person passionate about children’s products—really makes a difference in the ability to keep a children’s department looking fresh. A children’s specialist is likely to know what is hot in a child’s world, and will help buy and merchandise accordingly.

CROSS-MERCHANDISING

With crammed schedules and little time to shop, parents are relieved to discover products from authors they know and trust. Christian bookstores have a unique ability to make this cross-promotion easy and to increase the total sale by merchandising various product genres together.

A mom who is an Andy Andrews fan and purchases The Butterfly Effect will still be an Andy fan if she sees the kid’s version of that message for her child in The Boy Who Changed the World. And if the books are side by side, you’ve just doubled the purchase. But if the children’s book is in the kid’s section and the adult book is on an endcap or in the trade book section, then your shopper may not even notice that Andy has a children’s book.

Instead of relying on customers to do the legwork to know these books exist, cross-promotion via merchandising and placement impacts sales. 

If multi-genre merchandising is impossible, include signage near the trade book that says, “If you like The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews, look for his book The Boy who Changed the World in our children’s department.”

THE CHILDREN’S PURCHASER

At first glance you would think the children’s department should target only the child, but remember the actual buyer of products in the children’s section is likely a mom or grandmom. 

We want children to feel safe and comfortable in our children’s departments, but when it comes to signage, it is good to address the felt need that the parents feel for the child, such as “A great book to inspire children to help” next to Max Lucado’s One Hand Two Hands. And every shopper in the children’s section has the goal in mind of helping grow a child’s faith.

No doubt we will continue to see a variety of changes all around the children’s market, but one thing is for certain. As long as there are parents (and grandparents), there will be a market for children’s products to help kids develop a rich and strong love for God. 

The whys and hows of using social media effectively

If social-media network Facebook were a country, it would be one of the most populous on Earth, with more than 500 million active users. We talked with several Christian retailers about how they view and use the online service.

Taking part in the conversation were:  

?Angie Adams, co-owner of Guiding Light Christian Store in Barboursville, W.Va.

?Kira Brant, owner of Kira’s Cottage Christian Gift and Book Store in Franklin, Ind. 

?Michelle Cousins, owner of Capstone Christian Store in Mechanicsville, Va.  

?Dan Panella, owner of Vine & Branches in Lodi, Calif. 

?Todd Whitaker, manager of New Life Christian Stores in Forest, Va. 

Study Bibles are the category’s heavyweight champions

If Bibles are the cornerstone of a Christian retail store, then study editions are one of the foundations of the category. Study Bibles account for around one out of every three Bibles purchased, according to sales data from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), and while the retail price is typically higher than for other editions, it’s less of a concern to purchasers.

ECPA data for the first 10 months of 2010 found that leather and imitation-leather fine bindings accounted for 73% of study Bible revenues, while Tyndale House Publishers research has revealed price to be only the third most important criteria for purchasers, behind translation and features.

Christian Retailing's Retailers Choice Awards, Moe Girkins leaving as Zondervan's president and CEO and Rob Bell's upcoming book on heaven and hell stirring a backlash on universalism—listen in as the magazine’s editorial team looks to the month ahead.
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Christian Retailing's Retailing ReBoot event, the $5 million marketing campaign for the updated New International Version and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader releasing on DVD—listen in as the magazine’s editorial team looks to the month ahead.

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The digital revolution requires dramatic changes by publishers and retailers alike

Tami Heim, partner, 
The A Group branding agency

I  was the president of Borders Inc. when I felt the first tremors in the retail world. An annoying Internet startup called Amazon began stalking my stores, stuffing flyers in books on front tables and parking minivans wrapped with their brand logo in our parking lots. Even more irritating, this startup became the venerated poster child for the entire dot-com explosion, illustrative of the coming challenges for all retailers. 

The book industry is now in a period of complete reinvention. This time nobody is exempt. All industry players have been knocked off their game and must think differently in the search for steady ground. The days of lavish advances are evaporating; a project’s viability is now determined based on an author’s existing platforms, networks and ability to do some heavy lifting to market and promote the book.

Tracking changes in the way stores handling their cornerstone category

 An industry survey by Christian Retailing 

In the midst of a wildly gyrating economy and continued changes in the retail environment, the sale of Bibles remains a backbone of stability for Christian retail stores. 

Our latest Vital Signs survey focused on this cornerstone category, finding some changes by and opportunities for retailers.

One Bible category needs careful attention, but offers good returns

Other Bible categories like one-year and award editions may have larger market shares and more clearly defined selling seasons, but devotional Bibles offer a strong niche for stores able to keep on top of the opportunities.

From Mother’s and Father’s Days through graduation to Christmas and other points on the calendar, devotional Bibles are a highly popular gift choice—as evidenced by Evangelical Christian Publishers  Association (ECPA) data from 2010 that found 45% of Bible sales were for pricier leather or imitation-leather, fine-bound editions.

New trends and advice on in-store promotions

From Karen Kingsbury’s contemporary series to Bodie and Brock Thoene’s “Zion Diaries” to Wanda Brunstetter’s Amish tales and Lori Copeland’s Westerns, romance is a wide-ranging and growing category in the Christian market. 

Christian Retailing brought together a number of in-the-know publisher representatives to discuss the ins and outs of the category. Taking part in the conversation were:

• ?Sue Brower, executive editor, fiction, Zondervan
• ?Susan Downs, senior fiction editor, Summerside Press
• ?Melissa Endlich, senior editor, Love Inspired, Steeple Hill
• ?Rebecca Germany, senior fiction editor, Barbour Publishing
• ?David Long, senior acquisitions editor, Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group)

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: As a category, how is romance fiction doing in the Christian market?

Long: In general you see Christian fiction being driven by a lot of real “name authors.” You have Karen Kingsbury, you have Joel Rosenberg, you have these people who are identifiable as brands. Outside of that, I think when you start looking at categories, romance, whether it’s in historical or in the different flavors of romance, really does seem to be at the top of the market’s reading list right now. Bethany House has been in historical romance pretty much right from the beginning. We published Love Comes Softly—what else is that but a romance in many ways? And so we’re continuing to see particularly on our end, we are a little bit heavy on the historical romance, but it’s performing well for us.

Endlich: Romance in the Christian market is super healthy. We can’t give our readers enough books. We started out 14 years ago in 1997 with three books, and starting in January, we’re offering 14 books a month. 

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: What subcategories of romance fiction are doing very well?

Brower: We all have our one or two Amish fiction authors. Mine is Amy Clipston and she is doing extremely well. I think the other areas are the historical and the suspense. What I’m finding for our line is that we’re primarily categorized as contemporary, suspense or historical with romance. When we categorize as strictly romance, we don’t fit with that genre quite as well. We have a healthy (presence), particularly on the contemporary side with Karen Kingsbury, Alison Strobel and DiAnn Mills, where the romance is the stronger piece to it, but they have very good plot-driven stories that are not dependent on the romance to intrigue the reader.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: What do you think of the Amish subcategory and other subcategories?

Germany: Amish is definitely strong, and it kind of surprised us when Wanda (Brunstetter) took off. We didn’t really set out to create a best-seller or phenomenon to follow Beverly Lewis or anything like that, but it just seemed timely that there was this interest in Plain people and plain and simple faith, so it is interesting to see how every house seems to have their Amish line. We are continuing that with some Mennonite fiction that we have from various authors. 

Downs: We are inclined to try and experiment with a lot of new things. Summerside Press has only been publishing fiction for three years now. We’ve found great success with our “Love Finds You In” line. That features real towns across America, and the romance is set in that real town. We do 12 titles a year. Half or more are historical romance and half contemporary. And of course, like everyone else, we see the Anabaptist/Amish (is) very popular, although we don’t have a specific line or specific author, we do sprinkle those among all of our fiction, so we’ll have a title or two that carry the Anabaptist characters. 

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: “Love Finds You” has done very well, I understand.

Downs: Yes and expanding. They’ve really taken off. That has really been the bread and butter up to this point of our fiction lines. We discussed in our editorial board meetings what the secret behind the Amish/Anabaptist fiction was, and we decided that it was that simple lifestyle, characters that the reader can relate to and taking the reader back to a simpler place or time. So we have launched a series of books called “When I Fall In Love,” and those feature books with song titles that were popular back in the 20th century. Each book is titled with a song and the era the story is set in when the song was most popular. For instance, Love Me Tender or Unforgettable, Some Enchanted Evening, Stranger In the Night, those are all some of our upcoming titles. And we’re hoping to really play on that time of life that takes us back in our memories to a simpler time.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: Who is reading romance these days?

Brower: I don’t think it’s any different for Christian women than it is in the romance category at Barnes & Noble. It’s all women. There are subgenres within the romance category itself, and so you have those women who prefer the historical or the contemporary or the it’s not really chick lit as it used to be, but it’s that sarcastic, kind of witty character. Then there’s also the suspense. I think she is anywhere from 18 to 80. My mother is 84 and she continues to read romance. She skips over the juicy parts and just enjoys the story and the hope. I would guess that a lot of them are either moms or have families, but it is a wide age range and I think that it will last forever. It’s been one of the most popular categories for years. It’s been over 50% of the bookstore sales for a very long time, and I think it’s going to continue that way.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: Are there any new trends?

Endlich: For the Love Inspired group of lines, we are finding a lot of authors recently that are under 35, and we think it’s fabulous adding something fresh and new voices.

Downs: It’s probably too early to see if it’s a true trend, but we’re seeing more and more interest in World War II-era stories. 

Long: We haven’t acquired as much toward World War II. We are actually seeing more of World War I, into the 1900s. ... We’re seeing (1918) Spanish Flu, kind of pre-Depression, I don’t know if it’s this time period and some of the echoes that people are picking up on, so I think the early 20th century just in general feels like it’s coming to the forefront a little more. 

Brower: The prime time was Americana 1890s, post Civil War to the beginning of the 20th century. Now you are going over that curve and into the 20th century as people look at that as an historical time. Even maybe five years ago I don’t know that we would have classified World War II as historical yet. … I am (also) getting more opportunity for Civil War romance or historicals, and I believe there will be a little bit more interest in them as we come up to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which is in April of 2011 because there will be lots of programs on television.

Endlich: In our Love Inspired Historical line, we are doing a few Civil War stories. But getting back to World War II for a second, for so long we have been hearing about the greatest generation, and it’s been in our psyche. What’s ended up happening is the people in the greatest generation, (we) have been kind of slowly been losing them. So there are less and less people who think of that as recent times and younger people coming in who see it as historical, so I would guess that’s probably why more people are looking at that and World War I as historical eras instead of a “when I was alive” kind of thing. 

Downs: For the majority of readers, it would be their grandparents’ generation ... and many of them are gone now. 

Germany: I think you’re absolutely right, and it could continue as people want to learn more about their grandparents.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: What do you think is the role of writers’ associations?

Long: Romance Writers of America, I don’t know how long it’s been around, but you talk about a vocal voice for romance and that’s just a powerful organization with just a lot of people behind it. I think the inspirational side of that has been coming along. They are a small component of it. Within the Christian market, you see American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), which I think has grown leaps and bounds, and it’s gaining that presence and that stature. I don’t know the percentage of authors that we publish that are members of ACFW, but it’s a pretty substantial number.

Endlich: ACFW in particular does an amazing job helping their authors with mentoring programs, writers who have been writing for a long time helping authors who are just coming up, really just helping increase editorial and making it stronger and helping to get authors published. I remember I went to ACFW conference a couple of years ago, and it was very small, and now I hear that the conferences are 1,000 people.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: How would you advise store book buyers in this area of romance?

Downs: If there were any way possible to feature series rather than cataloging by author name, it would be an interesting study to see if you could do both. 

Long: Try to have a fiction advocate as part of the staff reading these stories and being able to make informed choices. … Readers come in and they’ll always look for the name authors, but being able to then talk about a newer author or somebody who might have flown under the radar a little bit is just a great way to build loyalty. 

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: Have you seen any unique ways to hand-sell?

Long: I’ve seen stores start blogs, review blogs. … It’s just, “I sat down with this book, and this is who it reminds me of and this  is one I can recommend.” You could find a lot of hidden gems among all publisher lists. I think just broadening the number of authors who readers are coming in and taking a look at (will help).

Germany: Our local bookstore is doing something that’s a little old-fashioned. They are somehow tracking their buyers and their favorite authors, so they’ll send a postcard and say, “Hey, Wanda Brunstetter’s newest title is available and you’ll want to come in and get it on this date.” It seems to be a fairly effective thing especially for a small-town small bookstore to bring that traffic in. Usually they will offer 10% off. 

Brower: Many of our books, in fact, almost all of them now have discussion questions in the back, and I would encourage the stores to create book clubs or an environment where a book club could meet. Sometimes people don’t want to admit they read romance because it’s not thoughtful reading when, in fact, it is and what helps that is having these book club questions. Utilizing the tools that are in the books themselves where they have discussion questions, the trailers that are on the Internet—so many of the books have trailers. They could easily set up something in their store that is a nonstop loop of all the different books and that would certainly get a lot of the newer readers out there. I see that as the most critical piece that the Christian bookseller can do. They have the opportunity to have the depth that other big box stores or mass-market stores don’t. They can really push the new authors. They can create that space for talking about romance and also provide them the middle books in the series and the backlist.

Downs: I actually know a few authors who have held conference calls with book clubs to discuss the discussion questions from the authors, so a bookstore could arrange, if they worked on it far enough in advance, to actually have the author address a book club group in the bookstore, online or in a conference-call kind of setting.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: What is the future for the category?

Germany: It can morph into different categories and subject matter, but I think romance in general will always draw readers’ hearts. 

Long: The books are going to look different, but I think in general these books are absolutely here for as long as we are.  

Read excerpts here and listen in on the complete conversation at: http://roundtable.christianretailing.com.