What are the advantages of going with an LDS publisher vs. a national publisher?
First, if your book has LDS references in it, an LDS publisher is going to be more open to that than your average national publisher, so your chance of getting it accepted increases.
If your book is specifically targeted to an LDS audience, an LDS publisher is going to hit that target market on the head. They advertise straight to that market so every dollar spent is hitting your intended reader. A good portion of a national publisher’s marketing dollar (assuming they pick up your manuscript in the first place) would be “wasted” on uninterested readers.
There’s the reader trust factor. Readers who specifically want books with LDS content are going to look first for books published by an LDS publisher. They trust those publishers to provide content they are comfortable with, whereas a national publisher might slip in language or scenes that make them uncomfortable.
A sense of LDS community and loyalty is also a big deal. Some LDS readers will read/purchase books by LDS authors/publishers simply because they want to encourage LDS authors. I have to admit that I read Shannon Hale for the first time solely based on the fact that someone told me she was LDS.
Actually, I’m hoping people will buy my book because of its content and the fact that I’m an LDS writer and I include LDS content in my writing, kind of like Orson Scott Card does — though I have to take issue with some of his writing.
I second the reader trust factor. If I read a great book I will look for other things written by the same author. Once I deplete those, I’ll search the library database for others by the same publisher in hopes that the quality of writing and values will be similar in other books they publish.
I’ve become a bit wary about national market books by LDS writers. I have been surprised by the amount of books submitted on the LDS Fiction blog that do not hold to LDS standards (intimate scenes, fair amount of swearing, etc) – and I’m sure it’s only a sampling of other national market books by LDS writers.
I really prefer books published by LDS publishers because I know the content won’t be offensive.