From time to time I check in on my books on Amazon to see how they’re doing sales-wise and see if there’s been any new reviews posted. This always leads me to browsing other authors’ book pages as well and checking in on their reviews.
I’ve noticed something disturbing and upsetting, though I should be neither disturbed nor upset because it should come as no surprise to me: 1- and 2-star reviews based solely on the fact that the book is a Christian book.
The comments usually go something like this . . .
“I didn’t know this was a CHRISTIAN book!” 1 star!
“I was looking for a thriller and wound up with a CHRISTIAN thriller!” 1 star!
“This would have been a great story if not for all the CHRISTIAN propoganda.” 1 star!
Are you serious? In this glorious world of tolerance and acceptance someone would dare give a book a lowly 1-star rating only because it’s a Christian book. And we Christians are lit up for being the “intolerant” ones? Folks, I have to honest here, every time I read a poor review because someone was caught off guard and didn’t know he or she purchased a CHRISTIAN book (in these negative reviews, Christian is often in all caps as if to serve as a flashing warning sign) I have to loosen my proverbial collar.
Look, I’ve started plenty of books (well-written books, mind you) and never finished them because of excessive language or violence or sex. But I don’t go right to Amazon, blast away, and leave a 1-star rating. I wouldn’t do that.
Note to Amazon buyers: Do a little more research on a book before you buy it. If a book is really full of CHRISTIAN propoganda it’s not going to be hard to find that out before you lay down good money for it. And if, by chance, you do purchase a book and unexpectedly find yourself reading a bunch of CHRISTIAN propoganda, how about reviewing it based on the quality of the story and writing.
Now, all that being said, this leads to some interesting insight into how we market Christian books, who our target audience is, and how we reach them without catching them off guard or leading them to feel like they’ve been duped. I understand no one likes to feel duped or back-doored. I don’t either. So how do we get our books with Christian messages into the hands of non-believers without them feeling like they’ve been carpet-bombed with CHRISTIAN propoganda?
On a side note, and totally unrelated. I recently did an interview with Jeff Gerke and WhereTheMapEnds.com. You can read the interview and get a sneak peek at the prologue for Darlington Woods here.
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