Five things you need to know about getting your book into indie bookshops:

1. Your book must have an ISBN number and barcode and be Nielsen registered.
2. Be prepared to give 35% – 40% wholesale discount off the cover price.
3. You need to phone first then ask if you can send a sample to them (be prepared to lose this stock if they don’t want to order more).



4. If they do stock your book they’re not likely to take more than a handful in the first instance.
5. Terms offered should be 30 days.

For more on publishing your own book and getting it to market, read Anna Crosbie’s How to Publish Your Own Book.

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2. Independent publishers – an author’s perspective
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Simultaneously, Craig Gailbraith from Drawbridge Productions in Cape Town, is making a film about Yookie’s incredible journey. I’m sure it will be a box office hit!

If you would like to develop your own skills in writing life stories as well as other non-fiction writing, why not work through the Crafty Writer’s free non-fiction course

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If you would like to learn more about how to write picture books, check out my series of articles on writing for children, and specifically the article on writing picture books.

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A Christian Writing Course

If you would like to try your hand at Christian writing then I have put together a short online course based on a series I presented at my church called Writing as Worship and Witness.

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TCW: What exactly is Christian speculative fiction?

JG: Christian speculative fiction is a fancy way of saying “science fiction and fantasy written from a Christian worldview.” There are many popular genres in Christian fiction, just as there are in the wider publishing arena. But unlike in secular publishing, where fantasy and science fiction are extremely popular, Christian publishing has not always appreciated the kind of fiction I affectionately call the weird stuff.

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term to include the sub-genres of science fiction, fantasy, time travel, supernatural thriller, horror, alternate history, modern magic, urban fantasy, vampire/Goth, and other wonderfully weird kinds of fiction. And Christian speculative fiction is a term that designates all of those same genres when they arise from the Christian perspective. (Yes, there really are Christian vampire novels and Christian horror – we call them “chillers.”)

TCW: So what kind of market is there for this sort of fiction?

JG: It’s fairly easy to identify the demographic that loves regular Christian fiction. In North America, at least, it’s white, Evangelical women of child-bearing through empty nest ages. It’s the delightful ladies who populate our churches.

Understanding who they are goes a long way toward comprehending why speculative fiction often sells poorly when published by Christian publishers. These wonderful women love their prairie romances and Amish stories and cozy mysteries and mom-lit. They don’t especially appreciate stories about mutant alien vampires who will eat your brains. Go figure.

Likewise, defining the audience for Christian speculative fiction may sound fairly easy. For one thing, it’s simply not the audience I’ve just described. So we know where Christian speculative fiction readers aren’t, but it’s harder to find where they are.

TCW: Could you describe your typical Christian speculative fiction reader?

JG: I like to describe the core readership as Christians who love The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Lost. Or even Christians who would go to a fantasy or comic book convention if given half a chance.

Such a definition gives us a quick idea of who we’re talking about. But where are those people? We know where they’re not, but where are they? There’s no Christian speculative fiction magazine. There’s no convention for it. There are no stores that cater specifically to them. Nor are they of a narrowly defined age, economic, or social status. They come in all ages, sizes, races, genders, and professions.

TCW:  Then how do you reach them?

JG:  The best way to find this group is to go online. Many of the core readership has self-identified and found each other in forums, blog alliances, and online e-zines. Here’s a starter list:

• Where The Map Ends
• The Lost Genre Guild
• Marcher Lord Press
• The Anomaly forums
• The Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blogtour
• Raygun Revival
• Mindflights e-zine

This hits the hardcore fans. It doesn’t include the many other fans who would join these groups if they knew about them or had the time. These are the people who love Ted Dekker’s novels but didn’t realize anyone else had written books like his. Finding those folks is harder.

TCW:  So you’ve got a market and you’ve got a product – why isn’t anyone (or hardly anyone) publishing for them?

JG: Most Christian publishing companies have basically written off the niche audience I’m describing. These houses do a great job of reaching their primary reader – the ladies I talked about above – and they are most interested in continuing to reach them. They’re not motivated to explore new markets, especially ones as hard to locate as this one.

TCW: Where would you advise writers of this kind of fiction to go?

JG: It follows that writers of this kind of fiction do not find a ready welcome at Christian publishing companies. Most agents won’t even represent a novel if it’s in a speculative category. They know they won’t be able to place such a book with any mainstream Christian publishing company.

That’s disappointing for many authors – but it’s great news for me. I launched my own small indie publishing company, Marcher Lord Press, to publish the finest in Christian speculative fiction and get it to this underserved niche audience. So when these authors get turned away by the regular Christian publishers, they come to me – and I get to cherry pick the most wonderful Christian speculative novels you can imagine.

I should point out that there are some Christian speculative novels that do get published through mainstream Christian presses. There’s Frank Peretti and Jerry B. Jenkins (Left Behind) and Ted Dekker, and more. There are even some new Christian vampire novels just releasing. However, by and large, such things are considered long shots. And when you understand what I described about the core readership these publishers reach, you can see why they’d think so.

TCW: There are many unpublished Christian writers who are told their work is not ‘Christian’ enough. Can you comment on this?

JG: I know that some Christian novelists struggle with finding balance in their fiction. Sometimes they find themselves too Christian for secular publishers and too secular for Christian publishers. That’s a real dilemma.

We’re currently living in a publishing revolution. Soon there will be no dilemma. Marcher Lord Press is an example of a small, agile publisher that can operate with low overhead to successfully reach a niche audience. Other presses like mine will pop up soon, now that the Internet and other technology allows publishers to bypass the traditional brick-and-mortar bookstore model and sell directly to the consumer.

TCW: Does this mean you don’t apply the same ‘moral’ yardstick that mainstream CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) affiliated publishers use? (For more on this see Simon Morden’s essay  Sex, Death and Christian Fiction)

JG: In Christian publishing in North America, whatever standards are applied to fiction in general are applied to speculative fiction. Perhaps more so. Christian speculative fiction is on thin ice anyway, as far as traditional Christian publishers are concerned, so if a speculative novel contains even a modest amount of sex, violence, or foul language, it can become a convenient reason to simply say no to the whole project.

Violence usually gets a pass in Christian novels, even in mainstream Christian publishing. I have a friend who jokes about the body count in my own (Jefferson Scott) novels. It’s a strange kind of arrangement for these books: you can kill people left and right but can’t say a curse word.

So to be accurate, I should maybe say it this way:

1. Sex – almost none is allowed in CBA fiction
2. Profanity – almost none is allowed in CBA fiction
3. Violence – just about anything goes so long as it’s not gratuitous or too disturbing (for whoever is in charge of determining such things at any given house)

TCW: Do the same standards apply at Marcher Lord?

JG: My standards at MLP are not quite as strict as at mainstream CBA houses, but are more or less the same.

TCW: There is also a sense that only the ”right kind of Christian” gets published? What kind of Christian worldview is acceptable? Who becomes the arbiter of that?

JG: Most CBA houses are evangelical Protestant and reach an audience that is primarily evangelical Protestant, so that’s the determining factor there. These publishers are looking for Christian fiction that arises from the evangelical Protestant worldview and will be familiar to their readers.

That doesn’t mean that Christian fiction from these houses can’t talk about Catholics or Muslims or whatever else. And it doesn’t mean they don’t challenge readers to consider other viewpoints on the Christian spectrum. It just means that the thrust of the story and of the author need to be supportive of that evangelical Protestant tradition.

Note that these publishers aren’t saying that they’re judges of what Christian worldview is acceptable. They’re saying they reserve the right to publish novels they agree with and that their target audience will agree with.

TCW: Back to the new wave of Christian speculative fiction. What kinds of books might now get published?

JG: Books that don’t fit the traditional classifications, that’s what. This is great news for those authors of Christian horror, fantasy poetry, off-brand comic books, and more. It will also give rise to a certain lawlessness where you’ll be able to find any kind of depraved wackiness for sale, but that’s the nature of the Internet anyway, so I think we’ll be okay.

We’re seeing the dawning of the age of publishing in which authors can successfully find smaller and smaller niche audiences. And for fans and writers of Christian speculative fiction, that’s a very good thing.

TCW: Thanks for visiting The Crafty Writer, Jeff.

JG: Thanks for having me!

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TCW: I know you’re an accomplished writer in many fields, but would you agree that you are best known as the author of Christian Chicklit?

PC: My first books were Christian Chick lit, and I’m still comfortable with that, although I don’t dye my hair pink these days. I’ve given talks and interviews on the subject. As long as people buy the books, I’m happy.

TCW: How do you feel about being categorised in such a way? Has it been beneficial to your career or detrimental?

PC: I haven’t found it a problem so far. If I need to, I’ll use a pseudonym for other genres.

TCW: Is the label one you suggested when you sent in your first proposal for Theodora’s Diary or was it one slapped on you by publishers, marketers and / or the press?

PC: I was amazed to discover that I wrote Christian chick lit. It came up in my very first press review for Theodora’s Diary. However I do consider Adrian Plass and Helen Fielding as my influences. I was delighted to get the credit for inventing a genre.

TCW: Why do you think there’s a compulsive need to categorise books as something-or-other lit?

PC: People – publishers and readers – like what they can relate to. They like comparisons to something that already exists: “this book is a Jane Austen-meets-John Grisham” or whatever. They like to have something on which to hang their hat.

TCW: What are the pros and cons for the writer?

PC: This need to categorise can be turned to the writer’s advantage if they make the comparisons themselves when pitching to the publisher. The disadvantage can be a sort of literary type-casting.

TCW: And the reader?

PC: I suppose it can lead to certain expectations from the reader, but it is good to have a following. I still get e-mails asking if there are going to be more Theodora books. I don’t think I’m going to turn my hand to hard-bitten war stories or erotica, although some of my stories and plays are very different from the Theodora books.

TCW: Would you advise still-to-be-published writers to target a niche market or genre?

PC: I would advise them to write what they think they can write really well. Write their passion. If it fits into niche all the better, but niches can be limiting. Pitching a book that would only be bought by your Auntie Mabel and her dog isn’t going to get publishers excited.

TCW: As to the Christian part of the label, did you try to get Theodora published through a secular publisher?

PC: I tried a couple of agents first, who were not interested, but I did my research and HarperCollins (UK) were the first and only publisher I sent it to. I was very fortunate that they liked it and published it initially under their Marshall Pickering imprint, which went on to be acquired by Zondervan, a publisher of Christian books based in Michigan, who are still part of the HarperCollins family, all part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Confused?

TCW: Would you agree with the widely-held belief among Christian writers that ’secular’ publishers are anatagonistic towards them and their writing?

PC: My honest answer is, I don’t think so. Publishing is a business and they publish what they think they can sell. Most publishers specialise to a greater or lesser extent. If religious books is not one of their fields, of course it’s going to be turned down.

TCW: Would you define all of your writing output as ‘Christian’? Why or why not?

PC: A difficult question. I think my faith influences my life and therefore my writing. Themes such as grace, forgiveness, transformation, sacrifice, etc which are central to Christianity, also work beautifully woven into stories. If you’re asking if I’d use my writing to preach or evangelise, I’d say no.

TCW: In your opinion, what defines a book as ‘Christian’ or otherwise?

PC: That’s a difficult one. For simplicity of categorising a book, I’d define it as one written by someone with a Christian faith, published by a niche publisher and with the intended readership made up of Christians. Having said that, it is a weak definition in that any book may have elements in it that are drawn from, or point to aspects of Christianity, intentionally or unintentionally. For instance ,there are many books that don’t meet my first definition but that use some of the themes I mentioned above. “A Christmas Carol” is one of the most Christian books I can think of, as it deals directly with themes of repentance and rebirth.

TCW: Do you think someone who doesn’t define themselves as a Christian can still engage with and enjoy Christian literature?

PC: Of course. The themes I mentioned are universal and common to the human condition. But I suppose a book that used a lot of jargon or had “in jokes” might alienate a reader.

TCW: In your experience of meeting readers, what preconceptions do people have about what a ‘Christian’ book should be?

PC: I suppose people’s preconceptions may revolve around things like no swearing, no sex and that God gets a mention. I’ve had some very strange comments when books haven’t lived up to people’s expectations. Some people, particularly some American readers, expect Christian books to have absolutely no alcohol and no gambling, not even a raffle. These are cultural differences and it’s important to know what a particular publisher and their readership expect.

TCW: How does the Christian book market in the States differ from that in the UK?

PC: It’s much bigger. Exponentially bigger. More readers and a lot more writers. From a business point of view it’s more successful too. Many more books are bought and sold and there are several prestigious conferences every year where new writers learn from old hands. In the States “Christian” books are far more likely to be sold through mainstream bookshops than they are here.

TCW: How does this affect you as a writer?

PC: Most of my books are sold in the USA. It’s really nice, and still seems a bit weird, to get e-mails from people in America who have read them.

TCW: How much do you consider the potential readership while writing?

PC: More so as I understand more about the business of writing. My first book was just for me. My current book is much more focussed on who might read it – although I’m having fun too.

TCW: What advice would you give to British fiction writers hoping to get published through a Christian publisher?

PC: Do your research. Find out what kind of things the publishers take, and target them. There are only a few publishers based in the UK that take fiction, but they are accessible. You can meet them in person at places like the Christian Resources Exhibition, and ask them directly. Most Christian fiction is published by American publishers and like all publishing, it is not easy to break into. Some people find it is helpful to attend conferences like Mount Hermon and Glorieta, if they can afford it.

TCW: Finally, what are you currently writing?

PC: A play for a school’s tour of Rome and a murder mystery that I hope to sell to the mainstream British market.

Penny has very kindly offered to judge a mini-chicklit competition on The Crafty Writer. If you would like to enter, just write a short chick lit scene in the comments box below – maximum 200 words. The winner will receive a signed copy of Theodora’s Diary. And if you don’t want to enter the competition but have something you would like to add to this discussion, please feel free to weigh in.

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I’ve been wanting to write an annual spiritual devotional. They are either daily or weekly. The best ones, in my opinion, are those that realistically reflect the year’s progression. So this year I intended to write a weekly devotional called A Gardener’s Gospel which will follow my garden and my spiritual life through a full year’s cycle. I was just planning on making weekly notes in my handwritten journal then at the end of the year putting it together. But then it came to me, hey, why not use the blog as a writing journal? By the end of the year it will already be all typed up and ready to put into book form (with a bit of editing, of course!). And if I get any feedback along the way, all the better. Now many of you are probaby thinking: what’s she on? That’s what everyone does. But let me tell you, for me, this is a big breakthrough. I’m not going to be just blogging about my garden, I’m going to be blogging about my garden within a definitive timeframe and for a very specific writing purpose. It makes me feel better about myself anyway.

If you want to know more about how to start blogging visit the aforementioned internet manager’s post on blogging for beginners. And if you’re a little bit nosy about what’s going on in my garden, check out A Gardener’s Gospel.

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