With the rise in both interest and quantity of Christian fiction, it's important to know where your work in progress or novel fits into the larger genre before trying to market it. The querying process for both editors and agents is most efficient when you can speak with authority about your work, and nailing down a subgenre is the first step in the process.   You know your novel is Christian fiction, but how do you target it appropriately?

The unifying theme in all contemporary Christian fiction is that of the characters using their faith to cope with the ups and downs of daily life. The stories are often family-centric, but include the fellowship of believers rather than being limited to physical families. While the subject matter may be dark, the stories strive to emphasize a positive, uplifting message. The stories often have the same gritty themes as secular fiction - thrillers have serial killers, romances can get steamy - but in the end, the focus always returns to God and faith.

Due to an historic plethora of small vanity presses and self-published efforts, Christian fiction has earned a reputation for amateur writing and low production values. This couldn't be further from the truth. Contrary to lingering perceptions, contemporary Christian fiction is well-written and touches on themes that are relevant to modern readers. Christian publishers actively seek talented writers and pay attention to the craft of writing.

In 1999, the Christy Awards were created to celebrate and acknowledge the quality of writing in Christian fiction. Now in its 10th year, the Christys are awarded to "books written from a Christian worldview" and are nominated by their publishers. The awards have not only  recognized talent within the Christian community, but have helped to bring in readers who would not have previously considered reading Christian fiction. The award categories of the Christys reflect the most popular genres: Contemporary romance, contemporary series, sequels and novellas, contemporary standalone, first novel, historical, historical romance, suspense, visionary, and young adult.

One point that the Christys have helped to illustrate is that Christian fiction closely parallels secular fiction. The only major difference, other than the absence of graphic violence, sex, or swearing, is the focus on spirituality. Christian genres that are most similar to secular fiction are: Suspense, thriller, mystery, and mainstream fiction.

More unique to Christian fiction are westerns and science fiction and fantasy (most commonly apocalyptic tales). Westerns are almost always set in the American frontier and show the characters dealing with the trials of frontier life through faith and hard work. While many secular westerns are peppered with sex or violence, the Christian westerns downplay these aspects. Fantasy is more common than science fiction in Christian fiction, but both are present. Angels and demons feature prominently, and the characters are frequently swept into epic battles between the forces of good and evil, or find themselves at the end times of the rapture. Famous examples of this subgenre are Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness, and Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins’ Left Behind series, a bestseller in both Christian and secular markets.

By far, the most popular genre in Christian fiction is romance, and much like its secular counterpart, there are several subgenre variants. While secular romance focuses on subgenres like erotica and regency historicals, Christian romances have some unique subgenres. The most popular now are Amish and historical romances. The historicals typically follow multiple generations of a family or families. What makes them Christian is that the characters' journeys of faith are as important to the story as the romantic relationships. Love of God comes before all else. The Amish romances, the bestselling of all Christian romance subgenres, can be contemporary or historical, but use the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle to bring faith to the forefront. Romantic suspense is also very popular and caters to readers who prefer the tension of a thriller with their romance.

Finally, there is one category that is uniquely Christian fiction - Classic inspirational fiction. This genre represents the early days of the genre and is marked by books with older, dated themes, such as strictly biblical gender roles, and blind, unquestioning faith. Classic inspirational fiction features chaste romances, and has a strong emphasis on the role of faith in the characters' lives. These books can be a good starting point for familiarizing oneself with the broader themes of Christian fiction, but do not have a strong following with modern readers.

A Brief Guide To Christian Fiction

Christian fiction is experiencing a boom in popularity and there are hundreds of titles available at any given moment. How does a curious reader choose what to read next? There are many lists and guides available on the internet. Here are a few to get you started.

Christianbook.com has a fiction section easily searchable by sub-genre. They feature works from multiple publishers, and covering every major subject area.

Overbooked: A Resource For Readers has a recently updated list of the major publishers, booksellers, and authors in Christian genres.

Faithfulreader.com keeps a running list of both fiction and nonfiction inspirational books and is easily searchable by genre.

Finally, the winners and finalists for all ten years of the Christy Awards are listed on their official site.