When her newest book, CHRIST THE LORD, was published, many in the industry wondered how it would fare because it was — at least on the surface — markedly different from all those vampire books of years past. But as Jeff Trachtenberg reports for the WSJ, challenges are coming from rather different corners:
For Knopf, the challenge has been complicated. Since “Christ the Lord” was published on Nov. 1, several religious retailers have refused to carry it. Some booksellers and media outlets have complained that the book isn’t based on the Scriptures. Others have raised concerns about Ms. Rice’s lack of theological credentials.
But the book is enjoying a good run on best-seller lists, and some of the credit goes to efforts by Knopf that date back almost a year. Knopf’s marketers not only had to prepare readers for Ms. Rice’s about-face, but they also had to wade into the complexities of publishing a book that imagines the early years of Christ’s life.
In addition, they had to find their way in religious publishing, which has its own infrastructure outside the secular book-retailing industry. “We started working on the book in January because the Christian media marketplace and the faith-based outlets were new to us,” says Paul Bogaards, a spokesman for Knopf. “It involved detective work on our part.”
It’s detective work that seems to have paid off, as CHRIST THE LORD enters a sixth printing. And for an author whose sales had flattened out, the differential marketing seems to have made a difference:
In contrast with her previous books, which saw sales spike right after publication, sales of “Christ the Lord” started modestly but have been steadily building. “Invariably, people who read it have wanted to discuss it,” says Bob Wietrak, chief merchant at Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation’s biggest book retailer, which has the book in its 824 stores. That, he says, suggests that the book has found an audience and its readership is expanding.
But for that to happen, more religious retailers are going to have to stock the book…