Most books aren’t sold simply because they exist — they’re sold as part of a strong marketing plan.
N. J. Lindquist
Let’s assume that as a Canadian author, you’re primarily interested in being published in Canada. How can we change the current situation in Canadian Christian publishing?
Well, The Word Guild (a national association with the mandate of connecting, developing and promoting Canadian writers and editors who are Christian) has actually been working hard in that area.
I see three key issues:
1. Quality.
We have to make sure that all products published in Canada are high quality – comparable to anything published by U.S. publishers. That’s a pretty big challenge, especially if you’re self-publishing.
In the past, the majority of self-published books simply looked and felt as though they weren’t quite “good enough.”
What we need is a product that is excellent – not only in content, but in every little part; writing that flows and carries the reader along; a cover that is focused, colorful and attractive; a well-done interior layout; and back cover copy that truly makes you want to read the book. Those skills involve superior writing; superior editing (concept, substantive, copy, proofreading, etc.), superior design (both the artwork and layout), and superior advertorial writing.
Most authors (if any) simply don’t have the resources to do most of these things well. The solution is to either hire people with particular skills or find a self-publishing company to do them for you. Most authors can’t afford or don’t want to pay what the “best” editors, artists, etc. would charge, so they settle for less.
And most self-publishing companies don’t do a superior job. (The good news is that Word Alive is doing a far better job than others have done and that is the primary reason they are worth talking to if you’re thinking of self-publishing. However, the onus is still on you to make sure the quality is in every part of your book.)
I was delighted to see the number of books published in Canada by various publishers that won awards at The Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Awards Gala. Sure, some of the publishers are very small. But unless I’m mistaken, Ken Taylor started his company to publish the Living Bible. Only much later did it become the royalty-publishing giant it is today.
2. Distribution
Unless you’re doing a lot of speaking (either in person or online) where you can sell your books, or you’re in a niche market that you know well, you’ll need a distributor in order to sell many books. Again, in the past it’s been virtually impossible to get a distributor for a self-published book. And for most people, there’s a real lack of understanding as to what distribution even is. It isn’t only having your book available through Amazon and Ingram or the self-publishing company’s Web site if someone wants to order it.
True, that’s better than nothing. But having distribution actually includes being in a catalogue and having a sales team out presenting your book to buyers for stores, libraries, and other retail outlets. Most books aren’t sold simply because they exist – they’re sold as part of a strong marketing plan. The biggest advantage Word Alive has as a publisher of self-published people is that Word Alive is also one of the few Canadian distributors to the Christian community.
3. Branding
The key problem for Canadian publishers is actually that no one is looking for us because they don’t know who we are or even fear what we are. People “need” branding. And as one of our members who works in a Christian bookstore has indicated, most of the branding we’ve had in the past has been negative.
The typical Canadian Christian consumer (and that includes many of us) has either never even thought about the fact that the Christian books she buys are all American; or worse, has assumed that if a book is published in Canada, it’s because it couldn’t get published in the U.S. by a “real” publisher and therefore isn’t as good; or simply buys products by authors he knows or has seen promoted on TV or in a sales flyer, or through a large display of books.
And in the past, books published in Canada have rarely, if ever, been hyped on TV or appeared in sales flyers or in displays. Even when a book was actually written by a Canadian but published in the U.S., there was rarely any acknowledgment of that fact.
These are all things The Word Guild and others have been working to change over the last 7 or so years. And we are seeing some changes.
The key reason my company (That’s Life! Communications) published Hot Apple Cider just over a year ago was to see if it could open some doors for us as Canadian writers. We had the opportunity to give out 30,000 books with World Vision’s “branding” behind us. We felt that if we could put a high quality book (excellent writing, excellent cover, layout, the works) into the hands of people across Canada, that would be like putting a giant wedge into the door that might hold it open to get more books in. I think it has definitely been a huge help.
Unfortunately, our distributor R. G. Mitchell went into bankruptcy last summer just before the big push in the stores was to begin. So all our fall 2008 marketing plans went out the window (along with some money they owed us.)
But nevertheless, between the authors and TLC, we’ve managed to sell over 10,000 copies of the book in addition to the 30,000 World Vision received. A Canadian bestseller is 5,000 (someone said recently a Canadian Christian bestseller is closer to 3,000), so we have definitely done well.
We still feel Hot Apple Cider should be able to sell another 10,000 or 20,000 books easily if we can figure out a strategy for letting people know it exists.
What we are finding is that when people stop and think about it, a high percentage of them do want Canadian. But it has to be good. If they buy Canadian and the quality isn’t there, then it’s a set-back for all of us.
So the doors haven’t swung wide yet, but they are open a crack, and we simply have to keep applying the pressure by keeping these three things in mind and coming up with more ways to support our Canadian publishers and to let people know the Canadian brand is “honesty and quality.”
N. J. Lindquist
Co-Founder, The Word Guild
http://bluecollarwriter.com/njlindquist/
