Into the Fire

Yesterday I reviewed the debut novel by Sara Mills, Miss Fortune. The heroine of the story is a Private Investigator in the late 40s. An entertaining story with a perfect ending, I ordered the second in the series published by Moody Publishers, Miss Match, anxious to see what Alexandra Fortune is able to do with her newly acquired information. Today I learned that Moody opted out of their contract for the third book in the series, and the reason for that is almost always a result of less than expected, or hoped for, sales.

I reiterate to you that I understand sales and profit margins. If you’re in business, you must make a profit to survive. But here is where I take exception to some—please note I said some—of the decisions made in publishing.

Francine Rivers is one of the most respected authors in Christian fiction, deciding after a specific experience with the Lord to write only for Christ, having already achieved success in secular/general market publishing. Her novel Redeeming Love is perhaps one of the best novels ever written in all of literature, not just CBA fiction. It’s truly a legend in its own time, and it has sold millions and millions of copies in many different languages all over the world. I cannot remember Francine Rivers doing any marketing for her novels. I could be way wrong here, but I don’t recall any overt marketing. Yes, she’s been interviewed occasionally, but beyond a website, I haven’t seen much of her on the web. You might suggest that she doesn’t have to—she has a solid fan base, Redeeming Love continues to sell in the Top 20 even after all these years. People always look for her Biblical Fiction and her older contemporary novels. One mention of a new novel by Rivers and her fans are on the prod. Well, you could say the same about Karen Kingsbury, but she’s out there hustling, promoting, being acutely fan friendly—a marketing guru.

Those of you who visit regularly know how I feel about marketing. It’s a curse. A necessary evil for an author if that’s even possible. Some authors take on the mantle heroically and gladly soldier on with their creative juices flowing into the seller’s mode. Not this lady. And not so many others. We’re told to get real: this is the “new” age of publishing. Publishers aren’t going to have the funds to celebrate your book beyond a certain dollar plan: YOU must sell your book. And who better, they ask. Well, I can tell you this much: I can better discuss my novels than anyone else but force feed them to others who might not even appreciate the genre, voice, or style? No way.

An author who I love (voice, style, genre, the works) emailed his/her “fan list” and asked “us” to buy the latest release on a certain date before a certain hour to get a certain rating on Amazon.com. Honestly, I resented being just a means to an end. A monetary outlet, nothing more than a customer for the marketing scheme. I bought the novel because I love the writer, but if this is what “marketing” has come to, I can assure you it will not include this author.

The point here is not marketing except to note that no matter what is done, marketing doesn’t always work. Good writing, good stories, great voices, interesting styles fall between the shelves, go unnoticed for whatever reasons, and people miss them. And those people miss out on good books. Sara Mills wrote a very good story in Miss Fortune. Friends of hers took up the cause of marketing her novel because she faced tragedy in her young life as the novel released. Even compassion and well placed authors asking their readers to purchase a copy of this novel to support the author in her time of need couldn’t elicit enough sales for the third book in the series to be produced. It just seems wrong. Can’t the print runs be reduced to accommodate smaller numbers for niche novels? Is Print On Demand really so farfetched in these cases?

We are told by professionals that paper and printing costs have gone up. No doubt they have along with most everything else. However, maybe if publishers shopped their printing needs around and stirred up some competitive pricing somehow, they could get good deals on smaller runs. Is it possible? Surely there’s a solution to make sure a good writer with an intriguing series isn’t stopped before the stories barely have time to get noticed. It really is a shame if there is no feasible remedy.

(If any publishing professionals want to weigh in here with some information, please do.)

Father, I recognize you hold the answers to these problems. You know the hearts of those involved. I pray Sara would receive recognition for her writing skills, that you would encourage her while you comfort her in this time of trials and grief. Bless her, Lord Jesus, as only you can do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.