The Christian Book Association and Christian Retail Association know their audience. Appealing to Christians across all denominations is not easy, but when it comes to fiction, they developed guidelines that ensure the books in their member bookstores will appeal to all Christian customers. If several customers complain about any book, that book will no longer be carried in any Christian retail outlet. Christian publishing companies can have all their books banned if one of their books is flagged. For this reason, independent authors who self-publish Christian books and those who plan to submit their fiction to Christian book agents for traditional publishing should be knowledgeable about and follow the guidelines. Following the guidelines will ensure your books appeal to the largest Christian audience.

First, if you advertise your book as a “Christian” book but it does not adhere to the Christian worldview—that God created the universe, He plays an active role in our lives, and the Bible is true—you risk getting bad reviews and poor sales. Not all Christians personally believe this, but they all understand it. The Christian worldview is accepted and expected in Christian fiction. Beyond the Christian worldview, Christian fiction of any genre must also be non-denominational. If the Baptist character in your book is trying to convert the Methodist character, you should probably consider writing a non-fiction about this topic instead.

There should not be any swearing or obscenities, including minor swear words. There are some words out there that one Christian might find offensive and another might not—make sure no one considers it a swear word before it goes in your manuscript. Google can help you with this. There cannot be any graphic violence. Mild violence is “John shot Mike.” Graphic violence gives details about blood splattering and organs showing. Certain acts, like heads getting ripped off would also be considered graphic even if you don’t go into details. You can punch somebody in the face, but you can’t drive their fist into their nose so hard you hear a crunch and… Hopefully, you get the picture. 

Christian characters should not drink, gamble, do drugs, or smoke. Yes, some Christians do these things, but they are not allowed to do them in Christian fiction. It is also best if your other characters refrain from these things. Another guideline is that characters should not stay the night together without a third person unless they are married--even if nothing happens. Not only is sex only between married couples (there is no premarital sex) but also it is never mentioned. The married couple walk into the bedroom and shut the door. The next morning, they both come out of the bedroom—usually fully dressed. Married couples are only male and female. If you want to add anything outside of these guidelines in your book, it is best to label it "Romance" and not "Inspirational" or "Christian Romance." 

Affection is an outward display of love—in other words, love creates affection and not the other way around. The worst example I can give is one book I read where the characters kissed and then they "knew" they were in love. This is affection supposedly creating love. Characters are in love not because of outward looks or physical contact but because they have things in common and want to work together to achieve common goals. This does not mean they are not physically attracted to each other--it simply means that cannot be the basis of their love.

Finally, Christian characters cannot lie without a really good reason (i.e. they are in the witness protection program). It does not matter whether you write Christian fiction, Christian science fiction, Christian fantasy, Christian romance, or any other Christian fiction genre. It is important that when you classify your book as "Christian" or "Inspirational" these guidelines are followed. Otherwise, you may see bad reviews because you stepped outside these unspoken rules and attempted to reach the wrong audience.