From waterproof to teen zine, Bibles keep selling
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - “Of making many books,” says Ecclesiastes, “there is no end.”
Of no book may that be truer than the one that contains those words, the Bible.
With an estimated 25 million copies of the Bible sold annually, the book is not only the best-selling title in America, it also is available in an increasing array of forms, from detailed study Bibles to waterproof versions and “Biblezines,” glossy tomes that look like fashion magazines.
One of the leaders in the move away from the simple black, leather-bound Bible of the past is Nashville’s Thomas Nelson Inc., the largest Christian publishing house and second-largest seller of Bibles, with an estimated 36 percent share of the business.
“People still have tremendous interest in this book, and they want to make it their own,” said Wayne Hastings, who runs Nelson’s Bible group.
That fact was underscored by a Gallup Poll last week in which more than 75 percent of Americans said they believe the Bible is either the word of God or inspired by the word of God. Only 19 percent regard it as a collection of myths and moral precepts.
Nelson’s success has come not only as a Bible publisher but in the broader field of religious publishing. Nelson’s series of devotional books by Texas minister Max Lucado has sold nearly 50 million copies, and several books on leadership by another clergyman, John Maxwell, have sold about 13 million copies.
“Historically, some of the strongest books, some of the most significant titles carry a Nelson brand on the spine,” said Bill Anderson, president of the Christian Booksellers Association, a trade group representing 2,000 Christian retail stores. “Nelson has done a great job of having a very broad spectrum of topics and addressing different areas of life.”
The company, founded in Scotland in 1798, has been canny in developing its authors and studying its market, but it also is riding a rising tide that is lifting the fortunes of all religious publishers.
In 2006, religious books accounted for 6.4 percent of all book sales, according to the Book Industry Study Group Inc., a publishing trade association. Its annual report on the industry, released Friday as part of the BookExpo America publishing convention in New York, found that Americans spent $2.4 billion on Bibles and other religious books last year.
That sales figure was up 5.6 percent over 2005, the biggest percentage increase of any book category. Sales have been strong since 1999, according to Albert Greco, a Fordham University marketing professor and one of the authors of the annual report.
Greco and his fellow researchers attribute the strong sales of religious books in part to an increase in the number of Americans who report that they belong to a religious denomination, especially evangelical Christian congregations. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the Iraq war have added momentum to sales as Americans seek solace in troubled times.
“There is a fundamental felt need by many people for something spiritual in their life,” said Tod Shuttleworth, a senior Nelson executive.
Even so, the fact that Americans keep buying millions of Bibles yearly is remarkable. Most households of even occasional churchgoing Christians already own one. In fact, Nelson’s Hastings says the company’s core customer typically owns three to 10 Bibles already.
Part of the demand for multiple copies can be explained by the wealth of translations that are available, enabling readers to find a version that fits their preferences.
Ecclesiastes’ observation about the making of books comes from the King James Version. But The Living Bible modernizes that passage to read, “There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed.” The New Century Version Youth Bible gets right to the point: “People are always writing books.”
Nelson and other Bible publishers also have developed dozens of highly specialized Bibles, in which photographs, articles or other reference material around a particular theme accompany Scripture. There are Bibles for archaeology buffs, for young couples and for golfers.
Zondervan, the biggest Bible publisher, with an estimated 50 percent of the market, recently published “Aspire: The New Women of Color Study Bible,” a $37 hardcover with notes that discuss African influences on the Bible and inspirational quotes from famous black women.
One of the most striking developments in Bible publishing is the “Biblezine,” developed by Nelson to appeal to teenage girls. Resembling such magazines as Seventeen or InStyle, an issue of a Biblezine called “Revolve” features such catchy cover lines as “Top 10 ways to make an impact on your world,” “Beauty secrets from the inside out” and “Guys speak out on faith, love and much more.”
MAINSTREAM APPEAL
Seeking to capitalize on the popularity of Bibles and other religion books, mainstream publishers have stepped up efforts to expand their religious offerings.
Harper San Francisco, a division of HarperCollins, started an imprint this year to publish religious fiction, a fastgrowing field.
Last year, Simon & Schuster Inc. signed a deal with TV evangelist Joel Osteen that could pay him more than $10 million for his next book — more than former President Bill Clinton received for his memoirs.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
