More on CBE, Stickered Books, and Celebrations

I've had more than two dozen people write to ask, in effect, "Why are you bashing CBE?"

Hey, let me be clear: I thought the Christian Book Expo was great. Honest. The show itself was wonderful. Incredible authors. Great workshops. The panels were as good as any conference or trade show I've ever attended. So the problem wasn't the show, it was the way the show was put together, marketed, and sold. Nobody came. And that's awful.

Let me choose just one publisher to explore... The folks at Thomas Nelson must have spent a fortune on this show. They set up a big booth. They had a ton of books. And they brought in Max Lucado, Donald Miller, Andy Andrews, Patsy Clairmont, Shela Walsh, Robert Liparulo, Colleen Coble, and even Ron Hall & Denver Moore (the two guys who share their story in the New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different as Me). They did everything they could to make for a successful show. They not only flew those folks in, but put them up at a nice hotel and must have paid them something to do workshops and panels. In addition, they flew a bunch of Thomas Nelson staffers in to shepherd the authors and man the booth. That had to cost them a fortune. In other words, Thomas Nelson (and the other publishers who participated) did everything right. But the reason I called the show a "disaster" is because, after all this time and effort and money being invested, nobody came. There were no book sales, no big media push, and not even a huge relationship gain with readers.

Think of the losses for the publisher. And those losses are coming at a terrible time, when the economy is in shambles and book sales overall are down, causing layoffs and cutbacks in the industry. That's why I said the show was a disaster -- it was. I don't take any glee in that. I would have preferred the show was a huge hit, with jammed aisles and a huge boost to the publisher's bottom line. So... we move on, and hope for better decisions in the future. I hope they find an inexpensive location, work with churches and bookstores, and put on a great event somewhere next year. But what scares me about this is, after talking with some of the publishers, I don't think everybody will participate again. The show scared away most of the mid-level publishers from investing in this type of event in the future. So... yeah. That qualifies for the "disaster" tag.

If you want to read more about CBE, check out the three blogs Mike Hyatt did at www.michaelhyatt.com. (And if you're not reading Mike's blog, you're missing out on one of the really insightful posts in all of publishing. He regularly has good stuff to share.)

On to something happier, the Christy Finalists were released. The Christy Awards are given out every year to the best Christian fiction, and this year's list of finalists has quite a few surprises and first-time names on it. That just goes to show the breadth we're now seeing in Christian fiction. (The list also includes two authors I represent -- Lisa Samson for Embrace Me, and Claudia Mair Burney for Zora and Nicky. Lisa is already recognized as one of the great writers in CBA fiction, and Mair is a wonderful young novelist who has had a great first two years. A shout out to both of them.)

Max wrote to ask, "Is a place like CBE appropriate for an author to meet with an agent or editor and pitch their book?"

I suppose theoretically that's a good idea, but practically speaking it's almost impossible. Consider my schedule at a show like this... I might have 20 authors I represent show up. Then there are at least 20 or 25 publishers I need to meet with. And there are a bunch of agents and editors trying to create a list, so we're all setting up schedules months in advance. By the last couple weeks before the show starts, my datebook is filled to overflowing with meetings. So I may not be able to squeeze in something else... and even if I could, it will be for 25 minutes, and it'll be one meeting amid 100. You probably want to stand out a bit more. I'm not saying new author/agent meetings never happen at these types of things -- they do. But your odds are better to try and meet at a writing conference, or simply by traveling to meet the agent for coffee sometime. 

I also had some folks from Lifeway write me a note, defending the company practice of stickering certain books with the words, Read with Discernment. They asked me not to quote them directly, so I won't, but their basic arugment was that as booksellers they have a responsibility to protect the minds of Believers.

My response: Okay... so why sell name-it-and-claim-it nutjobs, but put a warning label on Rob Bell? Why sell mindless tripe from the likes of Benny Hinn but warn people to be careful of Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz? This doesn't strike me as really caring about the spiritual lives of believers, so much as defending a certain theological stance. You're willing to sell something weak to make a buck (see: Osteen, Joel), but you want to make yourself feel better by compensating with a sticker on someone not seen as being "with you" in the evangelical camp. That's just intellectually dishonest.  I don't agree with everything that comes from the pen of Brian McLaren (and, to be completely honest, I'm not sure Brian himself knows what he believes any more), but isn't a bookstore the last bastion of intellectual integrity? A place we can go to get all the opinions -- crazy though some may be? Hey, if you don't like a book, or feel a book is heretical, the response is simple: Don't carry it. If you believe a novel is pornographic, don't stock it. But to carry it, sell it, make a buck off it, then slap a lame warning label on it as a way of telling yourself you are "defending the faith" is one stupid way of doing business.

[Correction: Lifeway doesn't stock Benny Hinn. In fact, they're not really favorable toward any charismatic. So, granted, I could have used a better example... They sell C.S. Lewis, who (1) smoked a pipe, (2) drank alcohol, and (3) believed in infant baptism! Or how about if I point out they carry Adrian Rogers books -- a great guy, and a man I did some writing for and respected very much. But Adrian also wrote that he believed Jesus never drank wine. Honest! I know this because he asked me to create the chapter for him. While I think Adrian was wonderful, this one point was, um, not exactly in sync with the biblical text. My point is just that bookstores offer a wide variety of theological perspectives. We read ALL books with discernment, so let's not pick on a couple authors because there's something about their theology we feel doesn't toe the party line. This harkens back to the heresy that salvation is found in checking the right boxes on a test. Knowing Christ as Savior isn't evaluated just by what theological positions you hold, but by who you are as a representative of Christ in the world. If a bookstore feels a book is so bad they need to warn readers away from it, then it seems like they are compromising their values to actually sell a copy.]

Imagine you're a conservative, you walk into Barnes & Noble, and they've put warning labels on the books from Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, P.J. O'Rourke, and Rush Limbaugh. But there's nothing on the inane ramblings of Bill Maher or the spiteful, unfanny rants from Al Franken. Wouldn't you feel as though they had done a disservice to readers? I don't care if they want to sell Al Franken -- I just want to make sure the bookstore is a marketplace of ideas, isn't run by the government, and doesn't turn into a mouthpiece for one particular political party. The same holds true in Christian bookstores. I'm not a charismatic, nor am I a baptist, but I don't want to see CBA stores stickering books with things that warn me from engaging their ideas. Our local Barnes & Noble sells Mein Kampf. They dont' feel a need to sticker it. "Nuff said.

One last item, and it's the most important one of all: the lovely and talented Patti MacGregor hit the big five-oh! Our small group surprised her with a great birthday party, complete with black balloons and medications for coming ailments. We've been married for 27 years, and Patti has not only stuck by me through all the moves and all the mistakes, but she's still convinced she married the right person. (Please don't text her and let her know the truth -- that she married a dope not really worthy of her. I prefer we keep that a secret a while longer.) Love you, darlin'.

Comments

[Ramona Richards]

Chip, I've had a number of people tell me your comments on CBE were spot-on. And in one case, I was told you didn't go far enough with the disaster image. Wayne Hastings (Nelson's Bible Group Publisher) also mentioned that the show might have been better suited to consumers if it had been set up like a bookstore (making authors and categories easier to find) instead of a trade show.

On a happier note, I saw this morning that Susan Meissner's Shape of Mercy is also nominated for a RITA. Congratulations to you both on that one.

[Keri Wyatt Kent]

Lifeway is run by the Southern Baptist Convention. What i find more disturbing than the "stickering" issue was their decision last fall to sell, but not publically display, a copy of Gospel Life magazine that featured --gasp!!-- five women pastors on the cover. They didn't refuse to sell it--but they kept it behind the counter and you had to ask for it. Ahem. You can read about it here:
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2008/09/18/gospel_magazine_pulled.html

[PatriciaW]

Not going to bash Lifeway or SBC but I totally agree with your view on this issue.

On CBE, my thinking even before last weekend was, how come the Internet hasn't been plastered with information about this thing? An occasional mention, yes, but not the kind of marketing one would expect for a consumer show. Until I saw a couple of blogs announce the admission coupon, just days before the event began, I didn't realize it was intended to be a consumer show. I thought it was a trade show. I'm betting a lot of others did too.

[Richard Mabry]

Chip,
As you know, I was there (and I have the receipts from paying $10 a day for parking to prove it), and I have to agree with what you said about the CBE. It was great in many respects, but could have been so, so much better. I hope this didn't ruin the chances for a new, improved, well thought-out and publicized version next year. And, although I love my home town, please not at the Convention Center.

[Carol]

I just wanted to say I enjoy your blog, and like the way you explain your thinking. I was raised a Southern Baptist, and agree it's sometimes hard to understand the positions the Convention takes.

I had to chuckle over your comments about your wife's birthday, and congratulate you both for sticking together for 27 years. My husband and I just celebrated our 27th anniversary on March 20, so I know it is a real accomplishment.

[Heather]

So say we all.
(Regarding stickers.)
I could possibly understand some sort of rating system for fiction as they do with movies, if Lifeway wants to help their readers with "discernment" (although I wonder what they'd rate the book of Judges: R for violence, sex, and general rebellion?), but on theology itself? And, as you pointed out, with their lack of discernment (shall we call it undiscernment?) leading the way?
Oy vey.
But I suppose it's their business, and they can cry if they want to.

[Carol L Daubenmire]

Man, keep beating the warning drum of censorship. It incenses me when Christians stop thinking, or encourage others to stop thinking. That's what happens when we only listen to people who think exactly like we do.We lose the art of discernment.

I purposely read edgy books to understand the edge and to decide which side of the edge I stand on. I love Donald Miller. I think Rob Bell speaks from the heart and Brian McLaren has a few good points I don't want to pitch with the rest of the bath water.

Congrats to Patti on the birthday and kudos to a wife who will encourage a husband to be who God has called him to be.

[Lucille Zimmerman]

Your honesty is so refreshing! Thank you.

[Randy]

Happy Birthday Patti! Awesome. Blessings to you both on the next 27.

[Robbie Iobst]

So Chip, what do you REALLY think? :0)

[Ashley]

Thanks for speaking your mind and being honest. And for not caring what people think of you. Or is this just your way of trying to be cool? :)

Happy Birthday to Patti.... and congrats to 27 years of marriage!!! Thats more years than the amount of years I've been alive. :)

I hope you enjoyed the pickles I sent you. They were intended to help your foot.

All sorts of blessings,
The Ash Meister

[Cindy Thomson]

My husband had the same reaction when I first told him about Lifeway sticker-labeling books. (Read about it on your blog) If it's a matter of conscience, why be willing to make money from those books? Geesh! And I totally agree with you. I don't want Lifeway deciding how I should form my theology. I'll just shop somewhere else. And I do anyway. A new Lifeway just opened down the street from my local family-owned bookstore. I'm praying they don't run them out of business. At the independent store you can buy some spiritual books that could not be called Christian, but no stickers!!

About CBE: I keep thinking about the ACFW booksigning last Sept. at the Mall of America. It was a great way to reach readers. The bookseller told me personally that that day saved their whole summer. I heard about people traveling long distances because they heard so many of their favorite authors would be in one place at the same time. No admission, of course. It was open to everyone. Go to where the readers are. Makes sense to me!

[E. J. Tonks]

Let's just hope that attendance was low for economic reasons, and not because of an overall decline in readers' values!

[karen spears zacharias]

Great comments about the stickers, Chip. Perhaps on the other books, those that don't require discernment or critical thinking skills, we ought to slap on stickers declaring "Mindless Reading."

[kyle watson]

Chip. Whether I agree or not. I really like the boldness in your blogs. Too many Christians today are afraid to speak or write what they really think. I get tired of the sensitive police.

As a long time Church member in the Southern Baptist denomination. I've heard great teaching and preaching. The problem is that Baptist have become so fearful of where our society is heading they start to fall in the legalism trap. We have become a subculture in society. We have to learn how to reach hearts and then laws can change.

Happy Birthday to your wife. Way to go for 27.

[Yvette Cathers]

I have to say I side with LifeWay. They have the right to select inventory that adheres to their tenets. I am not Southern Baptist and haven't attended a church in about 20 years, but they have the right to choose their own inventory. I think it's good they decided to carry these books anyway, though they find some content questionable or objectionable.

I think this issue is a great big stink over a great big nothing. They're not banning books. They're not burning books. They're stickering books. Stickering books is not akin to book-banning or book-burning. It is akin to rating movies for content, and marking video games, CDs, and DVDs for the same reasons--content.

As to the inspirational magazine that was placed behind the counter because there was a picture of five female clerics on the cover, I won't state my view on the issue. My personal view is inconsequential. The issue is whether or not this organization has a right to hold their own views on female clerics, and again, they still made the magazine available.

As a woman and a free citizen, I then have the right to become a Southern Baptist if I share their views or to choose another denomination/religion that doesn't offend my personal views.

What I have a problem with (and I'm not raging here--just stating an opinion and an observation) is the use of what I call 'tactical wording.' When I first read of this issue, the phrases 'book-burning' and 'book-banning' were dropped. Then nearly all comments to follow were arguing against book-burning and book-banning.

LifeWay isn't burning or banning books. There's no burning or banning going on. But now we're making a flawed comparison. That's usually the purpose of tactical wording. It casts something in a dark light, and then people begin raging against the wrong thing. Who's not against book-banning and -burning?

Stickering books is in NO way like burning or banning books. It is like marking merchandise to alert shoppers of content. Mind you, we already do this--on CDs, DVDs, and video games. As I recall, most people were all for that.

Let the shopper decide, and let parents control the content their children are exposed to, in this case--it would be content that may not agree with the tenets of the parents' chosen religion.

[Yvette Cathers]

I just want to ask one question: Are the people at LifeWay afraid of books and the ideas contained inside, or are we all afraid of people knowing more than perhaps we'd like them to know and then letting them make their own decisions?

I'm not upset, but really, it's just a sticker. People either put the book back down on the shelf or throw it in their cart. I wouldn't want to be the one to write a book that's more likely to sell if people know less about its content.

[Marla Taviano]

This post delighted me on all sorts of levels.

[Chip]

Um...I've done a search on the web, and can find ZERO references likening Lifeway's stickers to "book-burning." Nor have I seen much discussion of "book-banning." So, frankly, I doubt Yvette is telling the truth. And no, we don't "already do this." I know of no other store putting warning stickers on books. As for their right to choose inventory, you missed the point -- why include the books in inventory if they're going to warn people away from them?

[Sharon A Lavy]

I appreciate your post Chip. And I am enjoying the comments too.

[Rachel Hauck]

Great post friend Chip! Loved the tribute to your lovely, Patti.

Rachel ;)

[Ellen]

Uh, maybe Lifeway should sticker all those Bibles. Isn't it full of stories of incest, rape, murder, and adultery. Isn't there a story where two daughters entice their father into impregnating them? Should young children really be reading about a father who puts his young son on a slab of stone, then raises a knife to stab him? All because God told him to? The Bible should at least get a PG rating. Don't ya think?

[Judith]

Chip,

Thank you for your thoughtful, insightful writings. I think I finally get who you really are. Honest to a fault. Analytical. Incisive. Real.

Hug Patti. When you've been married as long as I (since Patti was six), you'll appreciate her even more. I think probably you're very evenly matched.

Grace and peace,

[claudia mair burney]

Great post, Chip. Happy Birthday, Patti! And thanks for the Christy nom. shout out. Love ya!

[Yvette Cathers]

"Um...I've done a search on the web, and can find ZERO references likening Lifeway's stickers to "book-burning." Nor have I seen much discussion of "book-banning." So, frankly, I doubt Yvette is telling the truth. And no, we don't "already do this." I know of no other store putting warning stickers on books. As for their right to choose inventory, you missed the point -- why include the books in inventory if they're going to warn people away from them?"

Um, the other place this non-issue has already been raised, and likened to book-burning and book-banning is on Rachelle Gardner's blog, which can be found at this link: http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/03/guest-blogger-marcus-brotherton.html

I can't understand the reason for the snarkiness, but perhaps it would have been more polite and definitely more professional to ask questions when you're unable to find something, rather than call one of your blog posters a liar.

And yes, we do already to this. I've already explained where and how. Placing warnings on products for content--whether by stickers or on the original packaging--is already being done. Every video game my son buys has warnings for parents regarding sexual and/or violent content.

[Elizabeth]

As usual, your posts inspire people to think...thanks for the great work you do, Chip.

And congratulations on 27 years!! Patti, a very happy birthday to you.

[chip]

Not trying to be snarky, Yvette. You wrote, "...nearly all comments to follow were arguing against book-burning and book-banning." I did a search on the Lifeway stickering stuff, and couldn't find any references to book-burning. Nor were you called "a liar." What I said was that I doubt you were telling the truth about finding a bunch of book-burning accusations. (Feel free to list the sites and addresses if they exist.)

My apologies for making you mad, but I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I simply doubt there has been a wave of book-burning accusations being made, since I can't find any. But thanks for the link to Marcus Brotherton on Rachelle Gardner's site.

[Wyatt Roberts]

"[U]nfanny rants from Al Franken?" Now, fanny rants...I can totally see Franken doing those :)

I understand why Mair and Will Samson picked you. Some day, I hope to send you something. Thank you for your blog.