Christian Marketplace Bestsellers for March 2009

Here are the bestsellers in the Christian Marketplace according to Publishers Weekly.

Hardcover

1. Love and Respect.
Emerson Eggerichs. Thomas Nelson.

2. Uncommon.
Tony Dungy. Tyndale House.

3. What in the World Is Going On?
David Jeremiah. Thomas Nelson.

4. Have a New Kid by Friday.
Kevin Leman. Revell/Baker.

5. Total Money Makeover.
Dave Ramsey. Thomas Nelson.

6. Same Kind of Different as Me.
Ron Hall & Denver Moore. Thomas Nelson.

7. Kiss.
Ted Dekker & Erin Healy. Thomas Nelson.

8. 50 Days of Heaven.
Randy C. Alcorn. Tyndale House.

9. Jesus Calling.
Sarah Young. Thomas Nelson.

10. Cracking the Communication Code.
Emerson Eggerichs. Thomas Nelson.

Paperback

1. The Love Dare.
Stephen & Alex Kendrick. B&H.

2. The Shack.
William P. Young. Windblown.

3. The Five Love Languages.
Gary Chapman. Moody.

4. Fireproof Your Marriage—Participant’s Guide.
Jennifer Dion. Outreach.

5. Fireproof.
Eric Wilson. Thomas Nelson.

6. This Side of Heaven.
Karen Kingsbury. Center Street.

7. Crazy Love.
Francis Chan. David C. Cook.

8. My Utmost for His Highest.
Oswald Chambers & James Reimann. Barbour.

9. 90 Minutes in Heaven.
Don Piper. Baker.

10. Quiet Strength.
Tony Dungy. Tyndale House.

Tags: Authors, Bestsellers, books, christian bestsellers, Christian books, Thomas Nelson

Esther vs. Esther: When a Big Name Author Writes a Book on the Same Topic

Jennifer Spivey

I’m excited to share a guest post with you from Ambassador author Jennifer Spivey. On March 14, 2008 Jennifer’s book Esther: Reflections from an Unexpected Life was released. Just a few months later, promotion began on Beth Moore’s new book, Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman. Jennifer shares with us what it’s like to be a first-time author releasing a book on the same topic and in the same year as one of the best-known Christian writers. We wanted to know, does it help you? Or hurt you? Here’s Jennifer:

Esther by Jennifer Spivey

Taken from the angle that I am “promoting” Jesus and His great love makes promoting the book infinitely easier.  From emails to letters to signings to speaking engagements, I have learned that none of this is about selling a book; it is all about spreading the love of God.  Asking for the Lord’s blessing on the book makes it His project, not mine, and suddenly the pressure is taken off – all I am responsible to do is take the next step, and the next, and the next, as my steps are ordered by Him.

A few months ago, Beth Moore’s study of Esther was released.  Funny – when the pre-release “buzz” on her book began, there were many questions to field about my Esther versus Beth Moore’s Esther.  (Esther was

never mine or even Beth’s in the first place!) Truly, there was no competition – it was great occasion for joy at the prospect of more people being reached with Esther’s powerful story!  As we are all serve Christ, we can all take pleasure in the success of others: that’s the joy of working together in unity!  For me, Beth Moore’s book has brought a new attention to Esther, and my little offering of a book has shared a corner of that spotlight.  Chains that had not yet ordered my book to carry in stores ordered it at the same time they ordered Beth Moore’s Esther.  My Esther sits on the bookshelf next to Beth Moore’s

Esther by Beth Moore

Esther, and they are very happy neighbors! I have heard from Bible study groups and churches across the nation – this one read my book first, and are now enjoying Beth Moore’s Esther with a different understanding and foreknowledge of this story.  Others read Beth Moore’s first, and went looking for other material on Esther – then my book found its way into their hands!  Friends are taking my Esther to their Beth Moore study groups and offering other insights here and there… and the blessing goes on, and the knowledge increases, and the Word of God changes lives… where’s the competition in that?  There is none!

Tags: author, Beth Moore, Christian book, Esther, Jennifer Spivey, promotion

Bethany House: Surveying Readers About Book Cover Options

We all know there’s a lot of competition out there, but how much does the cover of a book impact a readers’ decision to purchase? According to the United Nations Educations Scientific and Cultural organization, the number of new books published in the US has more than doubled since 1996, with 172,000 new titles published in 2005. That means the cover plays even more importance in getting your book to stand out from the crowded shelves of competition. It’s fairly obvious that yes, people do judge a book by the cover. In fact Christian publisher Bethany House is asking you to judge a cover for a new book.

In an e-mail newsletter recently sent out by Bethany House, Internet Marketing Manager Jim Hart writes,

We at Bethany House Publishers appreciate our readers’ opinions about the books we publish. Occasionally, we seek your input about upcoming products. Currently, we are conducting a survey about possible covers for an upcoming book.

Readers are asked to choose between two possible covers of “Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together.”

Closer Cover Option 1

Closer Cover Option 2

The survey simply asks two questions about each title:

1. Does this look like a book you would be willing to give as a gift?
2. How likely would you be to pick this book up at a bookstore (shopping for yourself)?

Polling readers on possible book cover options seems like a great idea to involve them in the publishing process and give them an advanced look at an upcoming release.

If you would like to take part in Bethany House Publishers’ book cover survey visit the website. It only takes a couple of minutes and who knows– maybe your choice will be the winner.

Tags: Bethany House, book cover, books, Christian books, Christian publisher, cover design, publisher

Who to Follow: Christian Publishing Contacts on Twitter

Make Connections on Twitter

We are developing a list of Christian publishing contacts that are on Twitter. We at Christian Publishing Tips love to connect with people on Twitter and we wanted to create a directory of those working in the Christian publishing industry including publishers, authors, literary agents, editors and bloggers. This is by no means a complete list! Please leave your information in a comment or contact us on Twitter (@ChristianPubTip) and let us know what category you would like to be listed under.

Christian Publishers

@AmbassadorIntl Tim Lowry, Ambassador International

@TakeRoot Noelle Mena

@MichaelHyatt Michael Hyatt, Thomas Nelson

@IsraelWayne Israel Wayne, Wisdom’s Gate

@GGoldSmith Gretchen Goldsmith, Rose Publishing

@StrangBookGroup

@millerisms56 Michael D. Miller, NavPress

@DiscoveryHouse Katy R. Pent, Discovery House Publishers

Authors

@alyssasaavant Alyssa Avant

@Brandilyn Brandilyn Collins

@ricky_spears Ricky Spears

@PaulWirth Paul Wirth

@TerryWhalin Terry Whalin

@DianeLHarris Diane L. Harris

@BobKellemen Bob Kellemen

@booksbyjanice Janice Thompson

@seedoflife Roney Smith

@Lucyannmoll Lucy Ann Moll

@orrin_woodward Orrin Woodward

@surrenderedscri Julie Arduini

@LawrenceWilson Lawrence Wilson

@KayArthur Kay Arthur

@sandycathcart Sandy Cathcart

@Darnyelle Darnyelle A. Jervey

@pfministries Paula Friedrichsen

@kathleenpopa Kathleen Popa

@latayne Latayne Scott

@BonnieGrove Bonnie Grove

@sharonksouza Sharon K. Souza

@pattihill Patti Hill

@Debbiethomas Debbie Fuller Thomas

@VeracityGroup group of authors of Inductive Student Bible Curriculum

@Lucajw Jeremy Lucarelli

@beckyluca Becky Lucarelli

@pamgillaspie Pam Gillaspie

@Audrakrell Audra Krell

@edcyzewski

@jr_briggs JR Briggs

@devotionaldiva Renee Johnson

@judygann Judy Gann

@colleencoble Colleen Coble

@kathleenfuller Kathleen Fuller

@karenshaydunn Karen Dunn

@peterlamb Peter Lamb

@DavidLArthur David L. Arthur

@lynnmosher Lynn Mosher

@dvineexpression Deborah D. Jenkins

@megandimaria Megan DiMaria

@JulieALink Julie Link

@gregdutcher Greg Dutcher

@tmichaelcart T. Michael Cart

@LakenLovely Laken Lovely

Bloggers/Book Reviewers

@deegospel Dee Stewart

@tbbycatt Marta Hoelscher

@karenshaydunn Karen Dunn

@Chad_Estes Chad Estes

@smball804 Sharon Ball

@vesselproject Gina Hendrix

@misseslavigne

@ChristFocus Debbie

@SandraHeskaKing Sandra King

@Lori520 Lori Kasbeer

Editors

@KevinMeath Kevin Meath

@a2editor Laura K. Cowan

@strong_tower T. Michael Cart

Literary Agents

@Tedsquires Ted Squires

@RachelleGardner Rachelle Gardner

@Chipmacgregor

@rebekahclark Rebekah Clark

Tags: Authors, Christian publishing, connections, follow, publishers, social media, Twitter

Help Christian Publishers in Developing Countries

Christian publishers in the US are likely feeling impacted by the recession, but think about what it would be like to be a Christian publisher in a country like China.  The Global Publishers Alliance (GPA), assists Christian publishers in developing countries to become self-sustaining so they can produce Christian books and resources in their own languages using cultural contexts. For the next two years, much of the funding from GPA will go towards training authors, publishers and distributors of Christian materials in China.

You can be a part of this amazing initiative by participating in the 17th Annual GPA Invitational Golf Tournament scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, 2009 in Dallas. The event is held in conjunction with the Christian Book Expo and costs $300. For more information on how you can get in the game, visit ECPA.org.

Tags: books, Christian Book Expo, Christian Publishers, GPA, publishing

And the Winners of Our First Christian Book Giveaway Are…

Congratulations to our first place winner Mel Menzies and our second place winner Karla Meachem! Mel and Karla both got three chances to win the Christian Book Giveaway because not only did they leave a comment, but the follow @ChristianPubTip on Twitter and they wrote posts about our book giveaway. So it looks like their strategy paid off. Mel will get to choose three titles from the following list of Ambassador International new releases and Karla will get to choose two!

Knowing God Through Prayer

Esther: Reflections of an Unexpected Life

Songs of the Vineyard

Time Out for Tired Moms

Three Men of Destiny

Congratulations ladies and thanks for taking part in Christian Publishing Tips’ first Christian Book Giveaway! We’ll be holding another book giveaway soon so stay tuned!

Tags: author, Christian book, Christian books, contest, giveaway, winner