True, in a time when the unchurched and unchurched population is constantly increasing, publishing a book where the return is above the cost can be difficult. And several authors, in the name of true vocation to their vocation, were and still are writing books at a loss in a sincere hope of getting the message across to the masses. The numbers are discouraging. Fewer and fewer Christian authors make it in the publishing industry. The spirit of future authors, even with talent and a true vocation to spread the Word, is tarnished by the always marginalization of the Christian faith. Now it seems that there is no incentive to publish a Christian book.
To give you a concrete idea of the shrinking Christian market, here are the hard facts you need to get past when publishing a book. The actual growth in the number of Christians does not correspond to the actual growth of the population. While the population has grown exponentially since 1900, churches have only grown 50%. To illustrate, assuming that Americans were only 10 million in 1900 and 100 million today, the population grew by 1000%. Whereas Christians, assuming they were only 1 million in 1900, are only 1.5 million today with a 50% growth rate! And of the 350,000 churches in America, 75% or 4 out of 5 are declining or stagnating. 80-85% of those churches are already down as well. Which means they are no longer experiencing any growth and are struggling. To translate, this generation is the largest unchurched and unchurched era in American history. And as alarming as it is, the number of next-generation clerics is also dwindling. Just a mother 7% of clergy are 35 or younger in 1999 (imagine the number today!), up from 24% in 1975.
These numbers are not intended to discourage you, but to inform you of reality. And to let you know that due to this harsh realization, the need to promote your book is already an imperative. If you write a book without proper promotion, your publication will be tied to back issues and that will almost guarantee your book will fail.
So how do you overcome all these challenges? First, you must have a concrete marketing plan to promote your book before launching it. If marketing isn’t your thing and you need help doing it, there is an online publishing course that can give you invaluable insight and method to market your book at a fraction of the cost when you hire a professional. Some sites not only guide you through the entire marketing process, but can also provide advice on how to write and present your book effectively. The people behind this website are aware of the declining number of Christian authors and advocate for you to become an effective author to give you an incentive with your effort to spread the Gospel. Your publishing effort has to be profitable for the effort to spread the Gospel to be sustainable.
