Religion Update
-- Publishers Weekly, 9/23/2002
| What's Inside
Though the conventional wisdom has been that these books sell best in
religion specialty stores or through the major chains, general-interest
booksellers also can do well with the category. In this issue of
Religion Update, we picked the brains behind a broad cross-section
of independents around the country, to find out how they sell religion and
what kinds of titles and topics do best where they live. We also take a fresh look at book clubs, asking whether, in the face of
proliferating sales channels, the club business is still healthy. What are
they doing that's new or different? How are they keeping members happy and
coming back for more? Do the clubs still provide critical help for
publishers to reach targeted markets? All of us know how important it is for authors to get booksellers on
their side, to make the most of enthusiastic handselling, as well as the
traditional promotional efforts of publishers. But there are many other
ways religion/spirituality titles succeed in the marketplace. Today,
authors realize it's up to them to find every avenue possible to get their
books into the hands of readers, and in this issue we also examine the
many ways book-buying decisions can be influenced. The readers are there,
waiting to be found. --Lynn
Garrett |
Sales of religion books were
good before September 11, 2001, and very good immediately afterward, even
if for the worst of reasons. The initial steep spike in reader interest in
Islam seems to have leveled off, with a few now-classic titles taking the
lion's share of sales. There was another small spike in September 11
titles with a religion angle around the anniversary of the attacks; that,
too, can be expected to subside. Still, anecdotal evidence suggests that
religion and spirituality books continue to enjoy solid sales, even in the
current downturn.
Like perhaps no other genre, books on religion have the potential to reach millions of people around the globe. Worldwide ministries, international outreach efforts and denominational ties all provide some authors with an enormous platform from which to promote their books; those writers whose titles find their way to the bestseller lists are often the best connected, at least on the nonfiction side.
What
Customers Want
In the bookselling business, few sections rely on handselling so heavily as religion. And the word is spread in the other direction, too--religion sections lean heavily on customer recommendations for inventory decisions.
Seeking
New Members
Book clubs are the comfortable shoes
of bookselling: dependable, unflashy, practical, appealing to a small group of
confirmed readers. Even as direct-to-consumer marketing proliferates through a
variety of channels--including clubs, catalogues and the Internet--major
religion book clubs continue to report solid sales and level membership numbers.
Books
in Brief
Religion books from small presses
In
Profile
Four authors who have found a following: Sylvia
Boorstein, Julia Cameron, Coleman Barks, and John Eldredge
All
Faiths Calendar
Selected observances from September through
November
