Going digital to boost sales

Specialty Bibles are sold for golfers, bikers, Marines and just about anyone else.
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
Michael Marsee was running a Christian camp when he dropped his Bible into the swimming pool.
That accidental baptism did not bring new life to its pages. But from it was born The Outdoor Bible ( 34.95 and up), a waterproof New Testament whose books fold like maps for easy packing. The Gospel of Luke can be used as a rain shelter.
It's a popular gift for troops overseas, said Bobby Bardin, a partner at tiny publisher Bardin & amp; Marsee, which is up against Bible giants Zondervan and Thomas Nelson. Nelson responded with Immerse ( 19.95), a water-resistant Bible.
The Bible is the best-selling book each year. Most publishers don't market translations but package them. They have fashion covers and notes for groups from cowboys to Catholic couples. Digital Bibles run on PDAs and iPods. But you can still buy it in black leather -- including a black leather edition for bikers.
"Specialty Bibles are born out of the intention of publishers to meet people where they are," said Tim Jordan, marketing manager for B & amp;H Publishing Group.
B & amp;H has a Bible for each branch of the military. The Marine's Bible ( 19.99) has pages for service records and reflections on the relationship of Marine ideals to biblical themes. B & amp;H's Golfer's Bible ( 24.99) features photos of golf courses, and meditations by golf tour chaplains: "Brian Mogg, former PGA tour player . . . refers to Hebrews 12:2 to compare alignment in golf to alignment with Christ."
Estimating figures
Publishers Weekly estimates annual Bible sales total between 425 million and 609 million. The giants are Zondervan, of Grand Rapids, Mich., with half the market, and Thomas Nelson of Nashville, Tenn., with more than 36 percent. Those publishers primarily target the evangelical market. HarperSanFrancisco saw that as an opening and is producing Bibles for more liberal and liturgical readers.
"We knew evangelicals aren't the only Christians out there," said Mickey Maudlin, vice president and editorial director at HarperSanFrancisco.
One of its first offerings was the Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible ( 39.95- 44.95). Its editor is Richard Foster, whose writings on prayer, fasting and other spiritual disciplines appeal to liberals and conservatives alike. But its newly revised HarperCollins Study Bible ( 32.95- 44.95) draws on skeptical scholarship that other Bible publishers would reject for theological reasons.
Harper has a long way to go to catch Zondervan, whose NIV Study Bible ( 24.99- 89.99) has been the top-selling study Bible since 1985. But last year it lost its best-seller status to a new Zondervan creation, the Archaeological Study Bible ( 44.99- 99.99), with articles linking Bible passages to research on the ancient world.
"A person who is going to have a fighting chance to really understand the message of the Bible needs to understand that it was an ancient book, written to an ancient people in ancient times. Some basic understanding of what those times were like is a tremendous help in navigating the Bible," said Paul Caminiti, vice president and publisher for Bibles at Zondervan.
Blockbuster
But Zondervan released an even bigger blockbuster last year -- The Bible Experience ( 49.99), an audio Bible with theatrical effects and Hollywood talent. Blair Underwood is Jesus while Samuel L. Jackson is the voice of God. After selling its first run of 250,000 New Testaments in four months, Caminiti thinks it now ranks as "the fastest-selling Bible ever in the history of Bibles."
The cast is all black, but Zondervan has not marketed it as a Bible for blacks -- figuring, instead, that people of all colors will want to hear Denzel Washington and his wife, Pauletta, for example, read the erotic Song of Songs when the Old Testament is released this fall.
This fall Thomas Nelson will have Jim Caviezel of "The Passion" reprising his role as Jesus on another all-star audio Bible, The Word of Promise.
WatchWORD Productions created The WatchWORD Bible for video, DVD and download. A narrator reads the words as meditative music plays and the text is slowly superimposed over photos of nature or biblical scenes.
WatchWORD's New Testament is available at www.watchyourbible.com for a one-year subscription of 49.95. The DVD version is 129 and, if a pending deal with Wal-Mart goes through, will drop to 49.95.
"I like to say that we've taken the Bible from Gutenberg to Google Video," said Fitzgerald, trustee and CEO of WatchWORD Productions. "We are still a little ahead of the curve."
Working the curve
Olive Tree Software of Spokane, Wash. is working that curve. It offers Bibles for Pocket PCs, BlackBerries, smartphones and other handheld devices. Most customers are men, 25-45.
"Some are pastors, but most are just Bible study leaders," said Drew Haninger, president and CEO.
It bundles Bibles and study aids that would overrun a large bookshelf. Olive Tree's iLumina ( 49- 59) has devotional notes, a Bible encyclopedia and video tours of the Holy Land. For high-end users, The Scholars Collection ( 429) offers 20 Bible translations, the Hebrew and Greek texts, five daily devotionals, 10 commentaries, 12 dictionaries, and three concordances.
Chris White, who trains college students to be Bible study leaders for the Coalition for Christian Outreach, has used such tools on his PDA. "I've taken Greek and Hebrew, and if someone asked me a question about the original text, I had it right there," he said.