Writing Inspirational Romance

Publishing Houses That Consider Unagented Christian Fiction

Oct 17, 2009
Laura Briggs

Writing Christian Fiction - personal photo

Christian fiction is a booming market that many writers would like to break into. Fortunately, there are still some publishing houses that consider unagented fiction.

Over the last few years, inspirational romance and Christian fiction have experienced a surge in popularity. Many writers are interested in submitting manuscripts to these markets but find it difficult to do so without the help of an agent. Here are a few publishing houses that still consider unagented Christian fiction.

Steeple Hill Love Inspired

An imprint of Harlequin, The Love Inspired series publishes romance, suspense, and historical novels that feature Christian themes and characters. Romance books are 55,000 to 60,000 words in length and feature stories that emphasize the character’s faith journeys. Suspense books mix romance with an exciting or dangerous situation and are also 55, 000 to 60,000 words. Historical books are 70,000 to 75,000 words and cover many different time periods, including Tudor, post-Civil War, and Regency. Writers should carefully read the submission guidelines to understand what the company considers inappropriate.

Heartsong Presents/Barbour Publishing

Heartsong Presents is an imprint of Barbour Publishing that accepts inspirational romances between 45,000 and 50,000 words. The line features both historical and contemporary novels.

Barbour Fiction considers manuscripts between 80,000 and 100,000 words. Historical and contemporary manuscripts are welcome, though currently the company is not interested in books that take place between 1950 and the present day.

Heartsong and Barbour Fiction have very specific guidelines that the writer will need to check before deciding whether or not to submit their novel.

White Rose Publishing

This is an ePublisher that also makes some of its books available in print form. An offshoot of the Wild Rose Press, White Rose Publishing considers books of many different lengths. Its line of books known as the Rose are between 65,001 and 100,000 words and are usually available in print form on the website. The Rosebud is 40,001 to 65,000 words, the Rosette 7,500 to 20,000 words, and the Miniature Rose is 20,001 to 40,000 words. According to the submission guidelines on the White Rose Publishing website, the company is interested in romance, as well as romance sub-genres.

Other Resources For Christian Fiction WritersThe Christian publishing industry just keeps growing, and writers interested in submitting manuscripts will need to research the changes regularly. Some writers might wish to invest in an up-to-date version of the Christian Writers' Market Guide. There are also many great resources online, including writing organizations, such as the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers).