Blogger: Rachel Zurakowski
Location: Barnes & Noble, Santa Rosa, Calif.
While I was in the bookstore, I focused my research on historical romance. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we’ll start with the pictures of what I saw in the general fiction section:
The majority of the historical romance books in the general market section fell into the Jane Austen or Tudor categories. I was surprised to see those two Biblical fiction books.
All of the faced historical fiction were in the Jane Austen or Tudor categories. The shelf space in the fiction section was used mostly by “evergreen” projects (books that have done well for a long time) and new books by established authors. I was surprised (and somewhat relieved) not to see Pride & Prejudice and Zombies and Sense & Sensibility and Sea Monsters on the shelves, but then was shocked to find them in the teen section. That’s not where I would have shelved them!
In the religious fiction section I was one of two people browsing. The man next to me looked at me funny when I was taking pictures. 🙂 He was looking at The Shack. The Shack was faced and featured on a bestselling fiction display. The religious fiction shelves were filled almost completely with evergreens and books by bestselling authors. I, of course, was looking for historical romance and I didn’t find much!
Francine Rivers’ books were the most abundant and only three authors had historical romances on the shelves. The other two, Lynn Austin and Julee Klassen, both had one book in the store. I found this very sad! I didn’t pick up and read the back of every book, so I could have missed a couple, but there weren’t many Christian historicals in this large bookstore. Another day I’ll have to check out the local Christian bookstore to take an inventory. I hope my findings will be very different.
So based on my research (done at only one store, so it’s not very trustworthy), if I was going to write a new Christian, historical romance, I’d try writing something about characters from the Tudor or from the Regency period. If I could come up with a unique Jane Austen-type project with Christian content, that would be an ideal choice. I know author Debra White Smith has done books like this in the past (First Impressions, Reason & Romance, Northpointe Chalet), but could there be room in the Christian market for more at this time?
If you’re a historical reader, what time period are you drawn to? Would you pick up a Tudor or Regency book?
Rachel, I can tell you this: every Christian bookstore I’ve been in has more historical fiction than anything else. I’m surprised it wasn’t well represented in the “religious” section of the secular bookstore.
I love reading stories from the Tudor time period. Big Phillipa Gregory fan. 🙂
I must get busy and finish my sequel to Glastonbury Tor, set in the time of Tudor King Henry VIII!
Historicals are my favorite things to read and to write. I love the Biblical historicals by Rivers, Austin, and the Thoenes. From the secular shelves, I enjoy Tudors, Regencies, Federal period, even Medieval. I also enjoy futuristic fantasy with a classic feel.
If the Christian market follows the secular market by about two years, why is it so hard to market anything but Biblical historicals, westerns, and Amish stories in CBA?
I find it curious that booksellers insist evergreens, romance, and Amish are the only things that sell on their Christian shelves, when that’s pretty much the only thing they stock. Seems sometimes like a self-fulfilling prophecy. (No offense to the genres listed, as I realize their sales numbers do merit their continued success.) But it does seem like other genres frequently have to rely on word of mouth and online sales, and are then dismissed as “unpopular.” Having no visible presence in brick and mortar stores seems like quite a handicap. Or am I missing something?
Rachel,
Thanks for sharing the results of your research. You mention books that are “faced.” Aren’t these the result of payment by the publisher? (Unless an agent or author sneaks in and turns them, but we’d never do that, would we?)
Library Journal just printed a long list of forthcoming releases, and put Christian fiction in a short section at the tail-end. I wish there could be a way to let our books sink or swim with the general market material. Maybe you’d like to address that in the future.
Nicole, I was surprised too! I was shocked that the section was so poorly stocked. It made me sad.
Our local Christian bookstore seems to have a 50/50 split with contemporaries and historicals and they have debut authors represented on the shelves. Anyone else have an estimate on historical vs. contemporary in a local Christian bookstore?
Lynn, I understand where you’re coming from! It’s frustrating at times, isn’t it?
I’ll try to answer your questions and I’d love to have others pop in on this one as well…
I think you have to look at the Amish stories as “evergreens” at this point, but perhaps the Amish craze will pass someday? Just write the Amish books off as outliers in any market research. 🙂
Biblical fiction is actually just making a comeback now. It was very hard to sell a Biblical fiction up until about two years ago. The western romances have waves of popularity as well.
It does seem like booksellers like Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, etc. make books popular. I believe they do a lot of market research before they make selections for the stores.
While it doesn’t seem like it sometimes, the readers are the ones making the final decisions on what sells. We don’t have to buy what’s offered on the bookstore shelves and our purchases are what keep the booksellers afloat.
Richard,
Good question! I’m under the impression that the bookstore gets to pick which books are faced, but I’m checking on that for you. I’ll let you know what I find out. In the meantime, if anybody knows the answer to this, please speak up! 🙂 Thanks!
“I wish there could be a way to let our books sink or swim with the general market material. Maybe you’d like to address that in the future.” –Hopefully swim. 🙂 This is a good topic. Thanks!
I’m an historical author, but I’m avid reader of many eras. I prefer historical over contemporary. My least favorite time period is biblical fiction and probably Tudor, but I would still read them. My favorites are medieval, Regency, Victorian, and early 20th century up to WWII. I like American set historicals, but I do get tired of them and want European stories for more variety.
wow that’s great post. i enjoyed a lot to read it. Thanks a lot for sharing.
I’m a huge historical and historical romance reader in the Christian fiction market. Julie Klassen’s current The Silent Governess I reviewed had me reading all day and night. I also am a fan of Jill Eileen Smith’s Biblical fiction (David’s wives) and I am an easy kill for any time period, it seems. My list is long if it’s CBA. I am a big fan of Jamie Carie’s historical romances.
Because I’m such a huge historical romance fan, I thought that is where I should be writing. Sigh. If only it were that easy. My voice seems to drift out of the period. I guess it’s not true you should write what you choose to read? (I read all genres for review, but when I pick, it’s historical.)
My favorite period to read over the years has been the pre-Civil War and Civil War, but I also really love the 1870-80s and immigrant history. There doesn’t seem to be much in that area these days.
You hit me on one of my favorite topics. Thanks, Rachel!
With Francine River’s new book, Her Mother’s Hope and Sarah Sundin’s A Distant Melody, I am hoping the WWII time period becomes more popular. 🙂 Especially because my ms is that time period.