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Time to 'Maximize The Moment'
Theola S. Labbé -- 12/11/00
African-American Christians are an expanding market in search of more product



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As African-American publishing has boomed in the past decade, religion and spirituality titles for black readers have increasingly found a home in that bustling marketplace. Publisher initiatives are partly the reason--major Christian publishers have steadily produced more books, fattening the bottom line as they try to make up for years of neglecting book-hungry black Christian reader. Yet not all growth in this category slice can be attributed to those efforts. Strong word of mouth among core church audiences has translated into consistent, under-the-radar sales for many titles. And breakout authors Bishop T.D. Jakes and Iyanla Vanzant--writing books ranging in religious content from explicit Bible passages to repeated mentions of a "higher being"--have racked up mammoth sales, confirming the financial potential in this growing chunk of the African-American market.

Publishers and African-American retailers who spoke to PW agree that authors who continue to sell the best bring their culturally relevant approach to the everyday topics--work, home life, relationships and finances--that matter most to African-American Christians. Certain niches within the African-American religion and spirituality market--children's books and fiction in particular--have shown signs of growth this year, a trend that will likely continue as Walk Worthy Press, a Christian fiction imprint of Warner Books founded by agent Denise Stinson, releases its second and third novels in the coming year. Also breaking into this territory is Moody Press, the publishing arm of the Moody Bible Institute, with a series of Christian fiction books for African-American teens (seeFiction Hits the Mark, below).

More Demand Than ProductBlacks spent $310 million on books last year, according to the Chicago-based research firm Target Market News, which analyzes African-American spending habits. Still, that figure shrank for the first time since 1996, a change Target Market News president Ken Smikle attributes to a problem once thought to have been solved--lack of product. "Folks don't have enough stuff to buy of interest to them," Smikle stated.

Many in the industry confirm that gaps linger despite some successful inroads into the African-American Christian market in recent years. (Meanwhile, non-Christian specialty publishers and distributors say they continue to enjoy steady--though much smaller--demand for books about Islam and African religions.) A perusal of upcoming lists from general trade and Christian publishers indicates that next season will not likely remedy the drought, as offerings from major publishers of African-American religion titles will decline.
Big-time breakouts: Impressive
sales for Putnam (l.) and S&S.
Doubleday's Black Ink newsletter, which informs retailers about titles for African-American readers, will be without mention of a new religious or spiritually infused African-American project from its winter and spring 2001 lists. The same is true for Word, a division of evangelical Christian behemoth Thomas Nelson--now led by executive v-p and Publisher Michael S. Hyatt, who is "refocusing" the house's list after the departure of longtime publisher Rolf Zettersten to Time Warner. In January Nelson will publish Called to Conquer: A Daily Devotional to Energize and Encourage You in Word and Spirit by Atlanta Baptist pastor Eddie L. Long, but that is its sole offering specifically for African-Americans next season. Zondervan, HarperCollins's evangelical Christian unit, which successfully published world-renowned surgeon Dr. Ben Carson, is working toward inking a deal for his next book, said publisher Stan Gundry, but otherwise has nothing distinctly African-American in the works.
Although these and other publishers have chastised themselves in the past for overlooking the African-American reader, they now see any apparent decrease in title output as a result of market fluctuation rather than pointed oversight. But if the larger houses seem to have weakened in their resolve to serve this readership, the smaller, independent religion publishers--buoyed by the success of Jakes and Vanzant, an Oprah regular--seem to be more committed than ever.

Smaller Houses Step UpWalking the length of her Dallas, Tex., bookstore in search of African-American religion books, Black Images Book Bazaar co-owner Emma Rodgers was hard-pressed to find a title from a major publisher that is popular with her customers. Instead she cited Harvest House author P. Bunny Wilson, who speaks at Christian women's conferences and conducts marriage workshops with her husband, minister and gospel singer Frank. Wilson's latest, Seven Secrets Women Want to Know (July), highlights biblical principles to help single and married women find fulfillment and is a consistent seller in the store, as is Wilson's backlist, which includes The Master's Degree: Majoring in Your Marriage (1996), Knight in Shining Armor: Discovering Your Lifelong Love (1995) and Liberated Through Submission: God's Design for Freedom in All Relationships (1990), which has more than 100,000 copies in print.

Also serving up a mix of gospel and girl talk is Michelle McKinney Hammond, whose first book, What to Do Until Love Finds You: Preparing Yourself for Your Perfect Mate (Harvest House, 1996), sold more than 65,000 copies in hardcover for the small charismatic publisher. (Many of the popular Christian authors in the African-American market are charismatics, with roots in Pentecostal black churches. Their sales successes have found them publishing homes even at non-charismatic houses; see "Flowing into the Mainstream," Religion, Sept. 11.) In January Harvest House will publish Hammond's What Becomes of the Broken Hearted: The Path Toward Healing and Hope. "Smaller publishers are going all the way to the bank with it,'' Rodgers said of serving the African-American reader. "They're giving the people what they want, and the price points are good." Another small charismatic publisher, Harrison House, is releasing two titles this month: Keith A. Butler's God's Plan for You: Finding the Purpose of Your Life and Leroy Thompson's Money with a Mission: Putting Your Money to Work in the Body of Christ; both apply Christian principles to finances and other life issues.
Judson (top), Harvest House (r.) and
Augsburg are all pursuing black readers.
"Some of the large publishers have done a good job,'' conceded Pneuma Life president Derwin Stewart, citing Word's work with Tony Evans (The Perfect Christian: How Sinners Like Us Can Be More Like Jesus, 1999). But there should be more titles, said the head of the Maryland-based publisher of Juanita Bynum's No More Sheets: The Truth About Sex (1998), which was released in paperback in August; African-American retailers report it is a reliable bestseller in their stores. "For the publishers who are slowing down, it may have been a trend, but for us it's business as usual." Stewart plans to continue in that business, co-authoring with motivational speaker Willie Jolley (A Setback Is a Setup for a Comeback, SMP, 1999) a series of what he calls "finding out what you do best" books laced with Bible passages. Jump and Grow Wings on the Way is slated for April, followed by Preparing for Take-Off and Refueling While in Flight sometime next year. Pneuma also has titles from two Grammy Award-winning gospel singers: Richard Smallwood's Total Praise (Sept.) is an autobiography, and in Eternal Victim and Eternal Victor (Jan. 2001), singer Donnie McClurklin tells his life story with an eye to helping people overcome abuse and addiction.
If the African-American Christian market was more isolated before T.D. Jakes, then that pastor of a 10,000-member interdenominational and multiracial Texas church has had an integrating effect on the industry by breaking into mainstream retail. Destiny Image repackaged three of his early publishing successes, Woman Thou Art Loosed: Healing the Wounds of the Past (1993), Can You Stand to Be Blessed: Insights to Help You Survive the Peaks and Valleys (1994) and Naked and Not Ashamed: We've Been Afraid to Reveal What God Longs to Heal (1995), into a gift set that publisher Don Nori successfully pitched to Wal-Mart for the Christmas season. The discount chain has agreed to carry the Jakes collection in 2,000 stores nationwide, and it will also stock two books by Myles Munr , president of Bahamas Faith Ministries International: In Pursuit of Purpose (1992) and Maximizing Your Potential: The Keys to Dying Empty (1996).

There was a time when that kind of arrangement with a mainstream retailer was available only to "the elite of the top Christian or a secular publisher," Nori noted, and he attributes the change to the proven crossover appeal of Jakes, solidified at Putnam in 1998 with The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord, which has sold 750,000 combined in hard and softcover, followed by Maximize the Moment: God's Action Plan for Your Life (1999), which sold 350,000 in hardcover and is still shipping strongly, according to J l Fotinos, director of religious publishing for Putnam. The Great Investment: Faith, Family and Finance, Jakes's fall title, is nearly sold out of its first printing of 200,000 and is off to an even faster start than his two previous Putnam titles, Fotinos said. The result of this success, said Nori of Destiny Image, is that "retailers are more interested and are looking at African-American Christian writers."

Tackling a different retailing issue, the Christian Booksellers Association is concerned about how retailers in inner cities and urban areas are faring, and plans to address their challenges on an industry-wide basis through a task force that will convene in January. CBA member services director Mary Chapman said this step to address the needs of the African-American religion books industry is not the newest CBA has taken, "but it is the boldest step. The overriding issue is minority representation in store ownership and product mix."

What's Doing in DenominationsEven in this new climate, some mainstream retailers willing to approach denominational houses would find few African-American religion titles. While some Protestant church-owned publishing houses--such as United Church of Christ trade imprint Pilgrim Press and American Baptist Church-affiliated Judson Press--have long histories of serving African-American readers, others are only now gearing up. Ronald S. Bonner, multicultural resources manager at Augsburg Fortress Publishers, was recently hired to address the exclusionary history within this publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, where he estimates that only 5% of the backlist consists of books written by African-Americans.

In October Augsburg announced its intention to reach beyond its core ELCA congregational audience and break into new trade markets. "The needs of people of color really isn't something that has come up on a daily basis," Bonner said of the Minnesota-based publisher, but that is changing with this new initiative. He created a catalogue, "African American Religious Voices," that was distributed to black churches. With swirling colors and an Afrocentric design, the catalogue features theological and preaching resources aimed at the black preacher, but also includes Mother Goose Meets a Woman Called Wisdom: A Short Course in Self Determination by popular motivational speaker Linda H. Hollies, a Pilgrim title (July) that retells classic Bible stories to give women spiritual guidance and inspiration.

While happy to distribute for Pilgrim and for Judson, Bonner--who said he is helping Augsburg research a daily devotional for African-Americans--hopes the catalogue will feature more Augsburg titles in the future. But he admitted that convincing black authors to sign with Augsburg is a hard sell right now. "A lot of the top preachers in the country have relationships with Judson and Pilgrim, and I'm not going to shake them."

Meanwhile, Hollies will author a church resources book next year, and Pilgrim has two other upcoming African-American titles: Baptist minister Lee H. Butler's A Loving Home: Caring for African American Marriage and Families (Dec.) and My Mother Prayed for Me: Faith Journaling for African American Women by LaVerne McCain Gill (Dec.), who pastors a UCC church in Michigan.

United Methodist-owned Abingdon Press (40 Days in the Wilderness: Meditations for African-American Men by Kwasi Issa Kena, 1998, and Mother Wit: 365 Meditations for African-American Women by Abena Safiyah Fousa, 1996) has also created an editorial position to focus on African-American church resources and will complete its research in February, said Tamara Lewis, developmental editor for the line. "We're trying to fill a gap in curriculum and Bible study for our churches."

The Jakes effect and the popularity of Vanzant (whose Until Today!: Daily Devotions for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind is due from S&S in December) has Judson Press associate publisher and marketing director Linda Peavy excited about the crossover potential of two of their titles. Good Meat Makes Its Own Gravy: 135 Servings for the Soul by Walter S. Thomas, compiled and edited by Allison Elizabeth Brown--which Peavy dubs "the next God's Little Instruction Book"--is being promoted as a Christmas gift book. Thomas's first book, Spiritual Navigation for the 21st Century: Sermons from Walter Thomas (Judson, June), is in its second printing. Judson's second crossover title, Peavy said, is What's Love Got to Do with It: Love, Power, Sex and God by Frank A. Thomas, edited by Jini Kilgore (Apr. 2001), which uses the Bible to tackle relationship topics. "Simply because it's an African-American author d sn't mean the audience is exclusively African-American,'' Peavy noted.

Westminster John Knox Press, which is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., is a good example of the challenges of entering a niche market. As it stays true to its core academic audience, editorial director Richard Brown told PW its sales reps have had a hard time getting its books into African-American stores, especially with so few African-American resources to offer. "There's not instant name recognition,'' Brown admitted. But WJK has published such notable African-American theologians as Cornel West and J. D tis Roberts. And two upcoming titles may have crossover appeal, said Brown. They include a book by first-time author and Yale medical student Alita Anderson called On the Other Side: African Americans Tell of Healing. Slated for release next summer, the title addresses difficult physical and emotional journeys of African-Americans. Brown is also looking for breakout sales from the expected controversy around A Whos ver Church: Welcoming Lesbians and Gay Men into African-American Congregations by Gary David Comstock (May 2001).

Brown said, "We've begun to wise up and realize there are a lot of talented authors, and it's time to start publishing more books by and for African-Americans."



Fiction Hits the Mark

In the novel Singsation (Walk Worthy, Apr. 2001) a biblical passage quells the unease of Deborah, an aspiring R&B and gospel singer, as she waits for an important phone call. "As Jesus told the people on the mountain, worry is the opposite of faith," she reads in the sixth chapter of Matthew.

African-American readers waiting for more Christian fiction suited to them need not wait any longer with the debuts of Walk Worthy Press, announced in May as an imprint of Warner Books, and Lift Every Voice, the new African-American imprint at Moody Press, launched in June. These and other Christian fiction publishers now offer stories featuring African-Americans characters who pray to God, muse on how He can help them and talk openly about "being saved" as they manage work, school and relationships.

"There was just this big hole in what I wanted to read out there," said agent Denise Stinson, who has represented such big-name African-American authors as Pearl Cleage and T.D. Jakes. She used $100,000 of her own money to start the independent Walk Worthy Press after unsuccessfully trying to find a home for Temptation by Victoria Christopher Murray, a novel featuring God-fearing African-American men and women working through friendships, marriage and single life. Warner arranged a co-publishing venture with Stinson, who will handle editorial duties while Warner provides distribution and sales assistance and lists WoalkWorthy's books in its catalogue. Temptation (Sept.) has already gone back to print--for a total of nearly 30,000 copies--spent a month on the Blackboard bestseller list and is an alternate selection of Doubleday's Black Expressions book club. Next up after Singsation is ChurchFolk by Michele Andrea Bowen, slated for fall 2001.

When Moody Press wanted to enter the African-American Christian market, it reached out to the Detroit nonprofit Institute for Black Family Development, which put together a mailing to black churches across the country and suggested African-American church conferences where Moody authors could make appearances. Moody also partnered with an African-American-owned distribution company Renaissance Distributors of Woodbury N.J. In July the Lift Every Voice imprint released Sheep in Wolves' Clothing: When the Actions of a Christian Turn Criminal by Joseph Williams, in which the author tells of his conversion from crime to Christ, and Planting the Seeds of Hope: How to Reach a New Generation of African-Americans with the Gospel, edited by Matthew Parker, president of the Institute for Black Family Development, and Eugene Seals. The press also released two novels for African-American girls in July as part of the Payton Skky series, named for the main character, a high school senior. In Staying Pure, Payton tries to please God and her amorous boyfriend, and in Sober Faith, she fights pressure to go along with her friends who experiment with drugs and alcohol. The author, Stephanie Perry Moore, heads Soul Publishing, a small African-American Christian fiction press based in Virginia that has released four titles about relationships to serve as cautionary tales for teens and young African-American adults. Flame (1999), Perry's first book, tells of the struggles of a couple after they have premarital sex.
Multnomah's singular
success.
"There's a huge interest in religious fiction," noted Greg Thornton, v-p of Moody Press. And in African-American Christian fiction, he said, "there are wide-open possibilities for presenting wide-open characters who are relating to God and other humans through the day-to-day issues of life." The third title in the Payton Skky series, SavedRace, is slated for January.
Other Christian publishers are also serving this market niche. Multnomah garnered a strong review in Library Journal for Sharon Ewell Foster's novel Passing by Samaria (Jan.), set in 1919 Mississippi, which tackles racism and love; the novel has sold more than 55,000 copies to date. Her follow-up, Ain't No River, which is due in February 2001, has a 25,000 first-print run, of which about half is already sold. Foster is the only African-American Christian author writing fiction for Multnomah, but that may change, marketing manager Karen Walker told PW. "Without a doubt, the potential is unlimited. This is a market craving Christian fiction just like any other, but the product is simply not there to meet the demand." With the demonstrated success of commercial fiction in the general African-American market, publishing more novels for African-American Christians d s seem like a no-brainer, said Warner Books publicist Christine Saunders; "I don't know why publishers didn't think of it before."
--Theola S. Labbé

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