How to Publish a Christian Book: Self-Publish or Pitch

A Christian book goes through the same steps as any other book, plus three of its own: choosing between a Christian publisher and self-publishing, getting Bible permissions right, and reaching readers through churches and Christian stores. This guide covers all three, with platform rules and permission limits checked in October 2026.

If your book quotes Scripture, start with the checker below. It tells you whether your quotes fit inside a translation’s free-use limit and gives you the exact credit line to print.

What kind of Christian book are you publishing?

The type of book decides the best route, so settle it first. Devotionals, Bible studies and church books usually sell best self-published, through churches and groups. Christian living books and novels from authors with a following are the ones Christian publishers sign most often.

Three ways to publish a Christian book

You can pitch a Christian publisher, self-publish, or pay a company to publish for you. The first two cost you nothing to publish; the third always costs money, so read the contract before you pay.

A hybrid publisher is a paid route that should still behave like a publisher. The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) sets out 11 criteria, revised in 2022, including vetting submissions, publishing to industry standards and paying authors a higher-than-standard royalty. Hold any offer up to them, and see how hybrid publishing compares with self-publishing.

Many paid services advertise to Christian authors. Some are fair, and some are vanity presses that profit from the author, not from readers. Before you sign, run the 10-question vanity press check, and ask four things in writing: who owns the ISBN, what share of royalties you keep, how you leave the contract, and what costs extra.

How hard is it to get a Christian book published?

It’s hard at the largest Christian houses and much easier at smaller ones. Tyndale House, B&H Publishing and Bethany House take new books mainly through literary agents, and Moody Publishers isn’t accepting unsolicited manuscripts (each publisher’s own site, October 2026). Zondervan reads unagented proposals only for some non-fiction lines, and not for fiction, poetry or devotionals.

Of the 46 Christian publishers in our Christian publishers directory, 25 read submissions sent by authors without an agent (checked October 2026). Denominational publishers are often the most open, but most expect your book to agree with their church’s teaching.

For non-fiction, publishers also weigh your platform: a ministry, a church you lead, a speaking schedule or a newsletter. For a first-time novelist, the manuscript has to be finished and polished. The general picture is the same as for any book, which our guide on how hard it is to get a book published walks through.

How to pitch a Christian publisher

Pick publishers whose books and beliefs match yours, then send exactly what each one asks for. A short version of the process:

1. Match the list and the theology. Read three or four of each publisher’s recent books. Some Christian publishers turn down anything that doesn’t fit their statement of faith, and denominational houses check doctrine: every Concordia Publishing House title goes through the doctrinal review of the Lutheran church it serves.
2. Prepare the right package. For non-fiction, publishers usually want a proposal and sample chapters. For fiction, they usually want the finished manuscript. Our guide to the parts of a book proposal shows what goes in one.
3. Meet editors and agents in person. Christian writers conferences put you in the same room as editors and agents. Moody gives priority to authors it meets through a personal contact at a conference, and Baker Publishing Group says its staff meet authors there too.
4. Use a current market guide. The Christian Writers Market Guide comes out every year (the 2026 edition is edited by Steve Laube) and lists Christian publishers, agents and conferences.
5. Never pay to be published. A traditional publisher pays you. If a “publisher” asks for money, it’s a paid service, and the checks in the previous section apply.

Quoting the Bible: how many verses you can use

Most modern Bible translations are under copyright. Their publishers let you quote a set number of verses without asking, as long as you stay inside their limits and print their credit line. The limits below come from each rights holder’s own permissions page.

The limits apply together. Stay under the verse count, keep Scripture below the stated share of your whole book, and don’t quote a whole book of the Bible (for the NIV, ESV and NKJV, no more than half of one). The free limits for the NIV, ESV, NKJV and NET also don’t cover a commentary or Bible reference work. The NLT and The Message free limits cover print and ebooks only; audio, video and online use have their own rules.

Where the credit line goes

Put the credit line on your copyright page; our copyright page template shows where it sits. If you quote one translation, copy the rights holder’s wording exactly. If you quote several, rights holders give two forms: “Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from” for your main translation, and “Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are from” for each of the others, with the abbreviation after each of those quotes.

Over the limit, or not sure?

Ask the rights holder in writing before you go to print, and leave time. HarperCollins Christian Publishing, which handles the NIV and NKJV in the US and Canada, says requests take 6 to 8 weeks. Each rights holder’s permissions page has a request form. Some requests won’t be approved at all: Holman says it won’t approve quoting more than half of a work in the CSB, or a complete book of the Bible.

Public-domain translations

The King James Version is in the public domain in the US, so you can quote it freely there. In the UK, rights in the KJV belong to the Crown and are managed by Cambridge University Press, so a book sold in the UK should ask Cambridge first. The World English Bible (WEB) is public domain; only its name is protected, so use the name only for the unchanged text.

How to cite Bible verses in your book

Most US books follow The Chicago Manual of Style for Bible references (sections 10.50 to 10.54 and 14.139 to 14.140 in the 18th edition). The main rules:

• Separate chapter and verse with a colon: John 3:16.
• In running text, spell out the book: “In Romans 8, Paul writes”.
• In parentheses and notes, you can abbreviate the book: (Rom. 8:28) in the traditional style, or (Rom 8:28) in the shorter style without periods. Pick one style and keep it.
• Name the translation at least the first time you quote it, and after each quote whenever you switch: (Phil. 4:13 NLT).
• Chicago puts Bible references in the text or in notes, not in a bibliography.

A copy editor makes every reference follow the same style and records your choices, such as your abbreviations, on a style sheet. Our non-fiction editing includes the style sheet with every copy edit.

Hymns, worship songs and other quotes

Many classic hymns are free to quote. In the US, works published before 1931 are in the public domain in 2026. Newer arrangements, added verses or updated wording can still be under copyright, so check the exact version you’re quoting.

Modern worship songs are different. A church’s CCLI license covers copying songs for its own services; it doesn’t allow selling copies of songs or using them outside services. Printing lyrics in a book for sale needs permission from each song’s publisher.

Quotes from other Christian authors follow normal copyright rules, and no word count is automatically safe. See how to handle quotes and permissions in a non-fiction book. Titles aren’t protected by copyright in the US, so a verse can be your book’s title, though trademark law can still apply.

How to self-publish a Christian book, step by step

Self-publishing a Christian book takes the same steps as any book, with a few checks added for Scripture and for Christian readers.

1. Edit, then get a theological read. An editor makes the book clear and consistent. Then check every quoted verse against the translation you name, and ask a pastor or Bible teacher you trust to read it for theology.
2. Count your quotations. Run each translation you quote through the checker above, and note the credit lines you need.
3. Design a cover for the right shelf. Look at the top books in your Amazon category first. A devotional, a Bible study and a Christian novel each look different.
4. Format the interior. Set Scripture quotations in one consistent style, keep each reference with its quote, and put the credit lines on the copyright page.
5. Decide on ISBNs. KDP’s free ISBN works only on KDP. If you’ll also use IngramSpark to reach Christian stores, buy your own ISBN ($125 for one from Bowker in the US, as of October 2026) and turn off KDP’s Expanded Distribution for that edition. Our KDP vs IngramSpark guide shows how to use both.
6. Publish on Amazon KDP. Choose up to 3 categories and 7 keywords that match how readers search, such as “devotional for women” or “Bible study on Ephesians”. See how to choose KDP categories.
7. Add IngramSpark. It lists your book in the Ingram catalog that bookstores, libraries and many Christian stores order from. Pick BISAC subject codes that fit, such as REL012020 (RELIGION / Christian Living / Devotional) or FIC042000 (FICTION / Christian / General).
8. Order author copies for church sales. KDP sells author copies at print cost plus shipping and tax, up to 999 per order, and you may resell them.

How much does it cost to publish a Christian book?

Publishing itself can cost nothing: Amazon KDP and IngramSpark both let you upload for free (as of October 2026), and printing comes out of each sale. The real costs are editing, a cover and the interior layout, plus any ISBNs you buy.

If you hire help, here’s what it costs with us, by the kind of book you have:

A testimony uses memoir editing rates and a novel uses fiction rates, so check editing prices by genre. Every account is set up in your name.

Selling to Christian bookstores, churches and ministries

Christian stores can order your book if it’s in the Ingram catalog, but orderable isn’t the same as stocked. Ingram supplies Christian stores through its Christian retail program (once branded Spring Arbor), and IngramSpark’s distribution puts your book in that catalog. Whether a store shelves it depends on its buyer and on local demand.

The largest Christian chain is gone, too: Lifeway closed all 170 of its stores in 2019 and now sells online (Religion News Service, March 2019). For most self-published Christian authors, the best sales come from people who already know them:

• Your church and network. A launch after a service, a book table at events, and copies for the church library. Our book launch party ideas include church and community events.
• Small groups and classes. Offer group leaders a group price on author copies, and a leader’s guide.
• Speaking and conferences. Sell signed copies at the back of the room.
• Ministries and Christian schools. Bulk orders for retreats, classes and gifts.
• Online. Amazon and the ebook stores, with a page on your own website that links to them.

Awards are harder for self-published books. The ECPA Christian Book Award takes entries only from publishers that are ECPA members, so a self-published author can’t enter it directly. Look for awards that accept independent books, and check the entry fee first.

Mistakes that hold Christian books back

• Quoting more Scripture than the translation allows, or leaving off its credit line.
• Using an old credit line. The current ESV notice names the 2025 text edition, and a NASB 1995 credit line leaves out 2020.
• Mixing translations without marking which quote comes from which.
• Printing worship song lyrics because your church has a CCLI license.
• Paying for a publishing package before checking who owns the ISBN and how much of each sale you keep.
• A cover that signals the wrong kind of book, such as a novel look on a Bible study.
• Skipping the theological read, then finding a doctrinal slip after the books are printed.
• Expecting Christian stores to stock the book because it’s listed in the Ingram catalog.

When to get help

Get help when the book is written and you want it edited, designed and published without learning every platform. We edit Christian non-fiction, testimonies and novels at our genre rates, design covers that fit the Christian shelf, set Scripture and credit lines consistently in the layout, and publish with every account in your name. See the details of our Christian book publishing.

Questions about publishing a Christian book

Can I publish a Christian book for free?

Yes. Amazon KDP and IngramSpark both let you upload a book for free, and printing comes out of each sale. KDP also gives you a free ISBN for Amazon. You’ll still want to pay for editing and a cover unless you have those skills. If you quote a modern translation, staying inside its free-use limit keeps permissions free too.

Do I need permission to quote the Bible in my book?

Not usually, if you stay inside the translation’s free-use limit and print its credit line. Most translations allow 500 verses without asking, and the CSB and NASB allow 1,000, with limits on how much of your book is Scripture. Quote more and you need written permission from the rights holder. The King James Version is public domain in the US.

How much does it cost to publish a Christian book?

Uploading to KDP and IngramSpark is free. The costs are editing, a cover and layout. With us, an edited devotional or Bible study up to 20,000 words can be published from $537, and a 40,000-word Christian living book with line editing, copy editing, proofreading, a cover, formatting and publishing is $5,359. ISBNs and proofs are paid by you directly, with no markup.

Can I publish a Christian book on Amazon?

Yes. Amazon KDP accepts Christian books like any other, as an ebook, paperback or hardcover. You choose up to 3 categories and 7 keywords, so pick categories that match your book and the words readers search for. Add IngramSpark if you also want Christian bookstores and libraries to be able to order it.

Should I pay a Christian publishing company to publish my book?

Only after reading the contract. A traditional Christian publisher pays you, so any company that charges you is a paid service. Some are fair and some are vanity presses. Check who owns the ISBN, what share of each sale you keep, how you can leave, and what costs extra. A hybrid publisher should meet IBPA’s 11 criteria.

Related reading

• How to publish a book: the 7 steps and your 4 options
• Christian book publishers accepting submissions
• How to write a book proposal
• How to publish a poetry book
• What is a vanity press? Red flags before you sign