How to Publish a Christian Book That Finds Its Readers
By John Herring
A well-made book that nobody finds is a quiet kind of failure. Authors know it, and most of them plan for it last. They put two years into the manuscript and two weeks into getting it read. I'd like to flip that.
Faith readers buy on trust. Readers of Christian books don't shop the way mainstream readers do. Many of them don't browse. They take a recommendation from a pastor, a small group leader, a friend, or a speaker they heard in person. Trust comes first, and the purchase follows. That is good news for the author who has real relationships, and a hard lesson for the one who hopes a good cover will do the work alone.
Start with one reader. "Everyone who loves Jesus" is not a reader. Pick one person. Know what she is asking, what she has already tried, and where she gathers: a Wednesday-night group, a ministry email list, a retreat, an online community. If you can describe her clearly, you can write the book's description for her, and you can find her. If you can't, the book isn't ready for market yet, no matter how finished the manuscript is.
Count your real platform. Your platform is the people who would take your call. A pulpit, a classroom, a ministry mailing list, a podcast, a speaking calendar, a denominational network. Followers who have never heard you speak count for less than forty people who know your name. Be honest about the number, because it tells you what a realistic launch looks like. A small, trusted audience can carry a good book. It just carries it differently.
Build the front door. For most readers, the first look at your book is a web page: the cover, the title, the subtitle and the description. That page is the bookshelf now. The description should name the problem your reader has and say plainly what the book does about it. Skip the praise for your own work. This is where careful editing and design pay for themselves, and it is why Amazon page setup belongs in a launch plan and not an afterthought.
Work three channels.
- The people who already know you. Tell them personally. A note to forty people you know beats a post to four hundred you don't.
- Churches and groups. If your book can be read together, say so, and make it easy: discussion questions, a group-study version. A book used in a group introduces itself to everyone in the room.
- Online discovery. A good Amazon page, honest reviews from early readers, and an email list that you own.
Treat the launch as a season. A launch day is a moment. A launch is closer to ninety days. Line up early readers before release and ask for honest reviews. Announce to your list, then follow up. Ask a few friends to share the book with one specific person, not to "spread the word." Then keep going. Most books that find their readers do it slowly, one person telling another.
What we do, and what we don't. At Brookstone we can set up your Amazon author page, write the launch press release and announcement email, prepare social media assets and a one sheet, and put the book into distribution. I want to be plain about the rest: relationships can't be outsourced. We bring the tools and the professionalism. You bring the voice and the people who trust it. If a publisher tells you otherwise, be careful.
If you'd like to talk through where your book fits and who it is for, schedule a discovery call. We will tell you honestly what we see.