Inspirational Novels
- By: Jessica Faust | Date: Aug 07 2006
One of our readers posted the folllowing comment/question last month:
. . . erotica is big right now, but on the other end of the spectrum is Inspirational. I’ve recently crossed over to Inspirational romance, specifically Inspirational Chic Lit (I’d love to one day be compared to Kristin Billerbeck) and I’m still learning about the genre and who’s looking. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this genre, where it seems to be going, and which are the best houses to target for Inspi Chic Lit. (And shamelessly I’ll ask if anyone at your agency is interested in acquiring from this genre? lol)
Unfortunately, since no one at BookEnds is currently seeking Inspirational Chick Lit, or inspirational romances, I don’t have a lot of knowledge on this genre. But there are a lot of houses—Christian and otherwise—seeking this type of work. I do believe, however, that it depends on whether you’re writing inspirational or Christian, and there is a difference (much like there’s a difference between erotica and erotic romance). I would suspect that inspirational might have a wider appeal. Almost every major publisher now has an imprint devoted to religious, spiritual, and inspirational writing—Penguin Praise, FaithWords (formerly Warner Faith), Warner’s Center Street, and Steeple Hill are just a few.
—Jessica
I like how you made a point to ‘point out’ that there is a difference between titles of genres. Like erotic and erotic romance. As someone still learning a lot about this business little tidbits like that are so very helpful! Thanks!
Cole
I have a friend writing non-traditional inspy. I see the market opening wide, but not soon. There’s sex and violence and swearing and way too much action, so maybe it’ll end up at Tor, but it’s based on faith and you can tell it’s an inspy. Inspirational paranormals are the next hottest thing. Next. Not yet.
I also have friends who are christian who wish they could have something a little less tame. As one of them pointed out, just because she’s a Christian doesn’t mean she wants to read Janet Oke.
But I see the new line of Love inspired romantic suspense by Harlequin as a good sign the market is starting to get bigger. I’ve also seen a good chunk of trade-sized rs, and a lot of “women’s fiction” style novella collections.
Inpsy is a growth market.
darn it, forgot to say…this is one kind of book you have to be drawn to write. You can’t fake it in any way shape or form. People who read inspy are like civil war buffs. If you get any aspect of your bible studies wrong, they’re going to call you on it.