Christian Fiction Blog Tours

Now onto Christian Fiction Blog Tours. What are they, where did they come from and why are they here? Blog tours in general are simply a group of bloggers joining together to post their reviews, interviews, comments etc. about a particular book. There is no real way to put a date on when this activity started but the earliest blog tour date found was 2000 at a blog called Buzz, Balls & Hype, and since then this online promotional tool has really gained momentum and has done authors, especially new authors, a lot of exposure. Book blog tours promote all sorts of books from children's and business to coaching Little League to ethnic knitting.

Some brave souls in the Christian fiction industry have organized virtual book tours on their own. Karina Fabian of the Lost Genre Guild has a primer on her site that explains the ins and outs of VBTs, as well, I found another excellent blog article that gives good information. Then, the publicity agencies have entered the mix. Glass Roads Public Relations will set up a blog tour for $1750.

Several organizations have sprung up to tour exclusively Christian fiction. The most recent edition of CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) Retailers-Resources contains the article "With so many books on the CBA market how can front-liners keep up?" This article discusses the qualities of Christian fiction blog tours and their usefulness for promoting novels. This information is especially interesting to their audience, Christian book stores, as it works as a marketing tool for the stores: online readers read a review, like what they see and may well look for the book at their local Christian bookstore.

A blog posted on a particular CBA/ ECPA published author's site suggests that the article may not adequately cover the truth about "Christian" blog tours. Of course, that remains to be seen and hopefully they'll get it right because there is so little to get wrong. It's almost embarrassing to wonder how someone could since "Christian" blog tours haven't really been around all that long.

In a Google search, three book blog tours take over the initial few pages: CSFF, CFRB, and CFBA/ CFBT. The three tours are discussed below, but as we are sure there are other organized blog tours for Christian fiction out there, we welcome anyone who can make us aware of these. The more the merrier!

1. WHO: CSFF - Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour. This nifty little tour was founded by Rebecca Miller, loosely formed to "bring attention" to a genre that seemed not to be getting attention in the Christian market. It tours books purportedly by ALL Christian authors but specializes in books written for the Science Fiction/Fantasy market and has over ninety members on its blogroll, some more active than others.

WHEN: The first tour by the CSFF occurred May 2006 when they featured the Christian Fiction Review website.

WHY: With its tagline of Shining the light on Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy, on the site, the raison d'être is explained:

The Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy (CSFF) Blog Tour came into being because a group of writers saw a need to raise reader awareness about the books in the genre. After reports in April 2006 that editors were not seeking to expand SF and fantasy due to a small market, these writers set out to generate internet buzz thatcould alter this perception. Inspired by another successful blog tour, they launched a blog tour in May to boost the profile of CSFF.

Equally important goals for the CSFF Blog Tour are to promote the featured web site or author as well as to draw new readers to each participant's blog.

WHAT: the CSFF tours sci-fi and fantasy novels, Christian web site dealing with the field of Christian science fiction and/or fantasy, Christian fantasy magazine or e-zine, Christian sci-fi magazine or e-zine. It would appear that the CSFF tours only ECPA-published books (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association), except that during the July 2007 Fantasy Four tour, Christopher Hopper (Rise of The Dibor) was featured. Christopher is published by Tsaba House, an independent publisher.

2. WHO: CFBA (Christian Fiction Blog Alliance: formerly Christian Fiction Syndicate, CFBlogTour) started by ECPA-published author T. L. Hines. Tony is responsible for forming the first organized blog tour (i.e./ the tour had a name, multiple members and a following of sorts). With his advertising background and expertise, it is probable that he saw it as a way to bring attention to his debut novel Waking Lazarus. Bonnie Calhoun, who later took over the tour said: Tony is the Founder and CEO of the CFB Alliance....three cheers to him for creating a great organization! The CFBA currently has 175 members on its list with a range of blogs active on each tour.

WHEN: It seems that the CFBT debuted July 2005 with Chris Well's Forgiving Solomon Long and its name changed to CFBA sometime in 2006.

WHY: T.L. Hines discusses the reasons for forming the tour:

If you're reading this, you've somehow heard about something I'm calling the Christian Fiction Syndicate. Instead, it's an alliance of blogs working in concert to generate buzz, build links, increase search engine rankings, and-ultimately-sell more books. With just a bit of coordination and dedication on the part of syndicate members, we could help sell more of the kinds of books we all like to read (and write). June 14, 2005 Christian Fiction Blog Tour

WHAT: Currently, it seems that the CFBA tours only ECPA-published books-but because the terminology used on the website, it is a bit confusing.

"We only tour CBA (Christian Book Association books). We do not tour self-published, independently published, POD, e-books, or any other type that is not mainstream publishing house Christian fiction."

Note, the writer refers to CBA as ChristianBook Association, as if it were a group of publishers, however the CBA is a booksellers group and these folks actually sell more than ECPA-published books in their stores. Probably the writer intends Evangelical Christian Publisher Association (ECPA) books, but it is unclear from this statement.

This blog tour alliance did not always consider touring only ECPA books and in fact has, toured books from publishers outside the ECPA. T.L. Hines, in a FAQ (June 15, 2005) answered a question about criteria for selecting books:

Q2. Would books chosen be CBA, ABA or both?

I'm really going to campaign for doing both. This is a crossover area we're exploring, and we need to do our best to highlight work in that crossover area. If you're a person who concentrates mostly on CBA, I'd like to suggest you try to support ABA authors who write from a Christian worldview. If you're a fan of ABA, I'd like to suggest you support CBA fiction that's stretching the boundaries.

Can't we all just get along?

The CFBA website notice that states the book tour is now CBA/ECPA exclusive was posted visibly only recently. Sadly, it prevents many qualified Christian authors from participating in a tour designed for all Christian authors. The notice states, among other things, that there were just too many books coming in. Interesting way to deal with this dilemma!

3. WHO: CFRB - Christian Fiction Review Blog. Yes, originality is tough when there are already two big tour organizations that sometimes overlap. But, here the CFRB shines-no doubt about it. Started by David Brollier and Jackie Moore this tour does just what Tony intended for CFBA to do. This relatively new tour group has about 40 members, again, some more active than others.

WHEN: The official start of the CFRB was in January 2007 when the group toured Tricia Goyer's Arms of Deliverance.

WHY: The mission statement from the CFRB site:

"This blog is set up to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ by showcasing reviews of Christian fiction. While there are numerous review blogs of Christian fiction there is none, to our knowledge, that would endeavor to work with all fiction genres and be open to both Christian and secular publishers. That is why we're here. To bridge that gap. CFRB: Many denominations, one mission under Christ."

And from its Shoutlife profile: No Author Left Behind

WHAT: The CFRB tours ALL Christian authors and ALL genres. Romance, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, cyber-punk, western, adventure, historical fiction . . . you name it. If it's written from a Christian world view and it is quality fiction, they will endeavor to tour it. Also, the CFRB does not have a policy of exclusivity-they tour fiction from any publishing venue, as long as the novel meets the two criteria above: written from a Christian world view and it is quality fiction.

Finally, somebody got it right!

The Christian publishing industry, although growing each year, is still very small. Stretching bloggers across more than one tour stands to dilute the effectiveness of promotion and can confuse (if not tire) those readers who don't understand: why did another tour start when the first one was supposed to handle all authors? It gives the impression that the first tour was shunning a particular genre or group of authors.

The sad truth is this impression was not an impression at all. It's the truth. With CFBA setting themselves up as CBA/ ECPA exclusive, some very good novels are never given the opportunity for the excellent promotion the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance offers and Tony Hines' vision slides further off course: why indeed can't we all just get along!