Christian fiction is a formidable segment of the religion and spirituality category, but no one knows just how big it really is. Steve Oates, v-p of marketing for the Bethany House unit of Baker Publishing Group, says that based on industry data, he estimates the market to be in the $75 million–$85 million range.
Though large and small publishers are all active in the market, a few key Christian houses dominate. At the top are Baker’s Bethany House and Revell imprints, Tyndale House, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, with its Thomas Nelson and Zondervan imprints.
Chief among the problems confronting these publishers is pricing. With the advent of e-books, and the proliferation of self-published titles and low-priced backlist books, the downward pressure on prices is significant, Oates says. “There is a race to the bottom in price, and this makes selling new books for something resembling full price very challenging.”
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