Page 40 - November-December Together

TOGETHER NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021

OPINION Christian Publishing in the USA

Jeff Crosby, president and CEO of ECPA, assesses Christian
publishing in the USA, its challenges and opportunities.

decreased margins is perhaps our most
‘We choose to go to the moon in this decade and significant challenge. In response, we have

do the other things, not because they are easy, but the opportunity to re-envision workflows, re-
distribute staff in support of the production
because they are hard, because that goal will serve and product procurement functions, enlist
more executive-level involvement and
to organise and measure the best of our energies and understanding and engage outside logistics
skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing specialists who can help us meet supply
chain challenges. We can also re-evaluate
to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one how we think about our pricing structures.

which we intend to win.’ 2. The upheaval caused by the global
pandemic that upended conferences and
U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in an address at Rice events at which authors speak in person
as part of book launches has continued,
University, September 12, 1962. though we are beginning to see a tentative
return in some quarters, especially smaller
Like many other American children growing their address to nearly sixty C-level executives gatherings. In response, publishers have
up in the 1960s in the aftermath of President in Arizona, I came away with a renewed creatively and successfully used alternative
John F. Kennedy’s so-called ‘moon shot,’ I appreciation for the challenges we face as an launch promotion means, including
was captivated by the National Aeronautics industry and the opportunities before us. monetised webinars featuring authors and
and Space Administration (NASA) program. I Five Challenges and Opportunities their content, an expansion of the use of
collected paper lunar modules given out with I share the following short list with you in the video as part of their marketing mix, and
each of my parents’ fill-ups at petrol stations, hope that something may connect to your more aggressive direct-to-consumer work
read biographies of astronauts and followed context as you seek to strengthen your own even as they attempt to simultaneously
lunar launches and landings as if I had a strengthen the viability of the remaining
personal investment in NASA’s success. Apollo-like missions in Christian publishing bookshops we have. The disruption to many
and retailing. of the traditional book launch activities
The sense of wonder I had about the challenges
and opportunities connected to space 1. Like our counterparts in the United has given our industry the opportunity to
undertake what some have called the ‘clean
exploration remains with me decades later, as Kingdom and throughout much of the
do the famous Neil Armstrong words in July of world, the supply chain disruptions have sheet’ exercise. That is, if we were starting
our companies from scratch, what would
1969 about a small step for a man, and a giant had a massive impact on our businesses.
leap for humankind. The global pandemic has made visible the we keep? What would we let go of? What
issues that were under the surface prior to would we change? What would we invest
Thus, when I recently read a book written by March 2020. Managing print runs, dealing in more (or less)? This type of analysis
two NASA scientists, Nicholas Skytland and with shipping delays and determining could be one of the gifts arising out of the
Alicia Llewellyn, What Comes Next? Shaping how to respond to increased costs and disruption triggered by the pandemic.
the Future in an Ever-Changing World – a Guide
for Christian Leaders (Moody Publishers, 2021),
I readily soaked up their insights on curiosity,
paper rockets, infinite possibilities and calls
‘into the unknown.’ Like the engineers and
scientists who made Kennedy’s moon shot a
reality, Skytland and Llewellyn have a clear-eyed
perspective about the barriers, challenges and
opportunities leaders of organisations like yours
and mine - whether booksellers, wholesalers,
publishers, or trade associations - face with
our own planning and our smaller-scale ‘moon
shots.’ But they also have a huge dose of hope.
So do I.
I recently heard Skytland and Llewellyn at
ECPA’s first in-person event in two years, a
C-Suite Symposium built around the question,
What comes next for Christian publishing? We choose to go to the moon
As I learned things, both from their book and

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