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Servant Books is an imprint of Franciscan Media

Should Servant Books Publish Your Book?

Our Mission

Servant Books is dedicated to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, helping Catholics live in accordance with that gospel, and promoting renewal in the Church.

Our Books

We publish books on Christian living, the sacraments, Scripture, prayer, spirituality, popular apologetics, Church teaching, Mary, the saints, charismatic renewal, marriage and family life, and popular psychology. Our goal is to help people “Live in Love. Grow in Faith” by offering content that is personally relevant and inspirational.

We do not accept proposals for: books of fiction; children's books; poetry; collections of homilies, essays, or columns; academic studies; art books; or encyclopedias.

We encourage our authors to write in a current, conversational style, using anecdotes and examples that offer practical advice and wisdom for today's Catholic. Our readers are interested in deepening their spiritual life, growing in their knowledge of the faith, sharing that faith with others, and serving the mission of the Church.

We publish a total of 15-20 titles per year in the following categories:

►Church Teaching: Information about and explanations of Catholic teaching, including doctrine and practice, morality, ethics, and dogma.

EXAMPLES: The Essential Catholic Catechism, Alan Schreck; Understanding the Mass, Mike Aquilina; and Living the Sacraments, Bert Ghezzi.

►Prayer and Growing Closer to God: Prayer books, explanations of various types of prayer and how to enter more deeply into prayer; aids to prayer, such as saints; Catholic customs and prayers, like the rosary.

EXAMPLES: Jesus, Present Before Me: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration, Father Peter John Cameron; Prayers for Catholic Men, Mike Pacer; and Hungry for God: Practical Help in Personal Prayer, Ralph Martin.

►Scripture and Its Application in Daily Life: Resources to help Catholics grow in a love for and understanding of Scripture.

EXAMPLES: 150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know, Patrick Madrid; Jesus of Israel, Father Richard Veras; A Father Who Keeps His Promises, Scott Hahn; and Beatitudes: Eight Steps to Happiness, Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. CAP.

►Family Life: Books to help married couples grow in mutual love, resources for parents raising children, family faith formation and Catholic identity.

EXAMPLES: Beloved and Blessed: Biblical Wisdom for Family Life, Kimberly Hahn; Men and Women Are from Eden, Dr. Mary Healy; Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime, Dr. Ray Guarendi; Homegrown Faith, Heidi Bratton; The Domestic Church, Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle.

►General Spirituality: Resources to help readers grow in faith and strengthen their relationship with God; find comfort or support in times of need; apply a Catholic perspective to life; understand the elements of the Catholic faith.

EXAMPLES: The Authentic Catholic Woman, Genevieve Kineke; Burst, Kevin Wells; and Making Sense out of Suffering, Peter Kreeft.

►Saints and Modern Heroes: Books about great figures in Catholic history, past and present.

EXAMPLES: 39 New Saints You Should Know, Brian O'Neel; The Four Teresas, Gina Loehr; Padre Pio's Spiritual Direction for Every Day, Gianluigi Pasquale.

►Charismatic renewal and spirituality: Books that focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church as manifest in the charismatic renewal movement.

EXAMPLES: Sober Intoxication of the Spirit: Filled With the Fullness of God, Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. CAP; When the Spirit Speaks, Peter and Debbie Herbeck.

►Self-help and personal growth: Resources for living a Catholic Christian life in contemporary culture.

EXAMPLES: Weightless: Making Peace with Your Body, Kate Wicker; Becoming, Tammy Evevard.

►Spirituality: resources for finding—and keeping—God in one's life and for integrating Catholic Christian teaching into daily life.

EXAMPLES: Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth, Dion DiMucci with Mike Aquilina; Spirituality You Can Live With, Chris Padgett; Happy Catholic, Julie Davis; Sinner, Lino Rulli.

Our Market: Who Buys Our Books

The people who buy our books are adult Catholics—laypeople, priests, and members of religious orders—who value the breadth and intellectually stimulating message rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church's teachings. They are parents, married couples, single adults, directors of religious education, catechists, teachers, people actively involved in parish life and ministry, small-group leaders, people who search for inspiration for their spiritual life or help with special issues or situations.

For the institutional market, we look for books that will sell in bulk quantities to parishes, teachers, pastoral ministers, etc., as well as to individuals. About 80% of our books are sold in bookstores. We expect to sell at least 5,000 copies of a book in its first year.

How to Submit Your Book Proposal

When you are ready to submit a book proposal, you can submit it in one of three formats:

►E-mail to servanteditor@franciscanmedia.org

►Online form (click here)

►Hard copy to:

Claudia Volkman
Director of Product Development, Servant Books
Franciscan Media
28 W. Liberty St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Please note: e-mail submissions allow us to respond in a more timely manner.

Your book proposal should include:

a cover letter that tells us what you are proposing—the subject of the book, its approximate word length, the intended audience, what makes your idea unique or what sets it apart from similar books on the market, and a summary of competitive books.
a table of contents.
an outline or synopsis of the book, chapter by chapter.
a sample chapter and the introduction, if written. If not, please include a sample of your published writing.
a résumé, curriculum vitae, or brief biographical information that is pertinent. a description of your platform (speaking engagements, social media presence, blog and other writing outlets).
any endorsements for your book or proposal.
your ideas for promotion and marketing of the book.
a self-addressed envelope for return of the proposal if hard copy and if return of the material is desired.

Upon receipt of your proposal, our product development team will review your proposal and send you a response within two months (60 days). If we decide that your proposal has potential for publication with Servant Books, the product development team will present it to our market team and seek approval from the management team to publish. This process can take up to six months to complete.

We prefer proposals that have not been submitted to another publisher at the same time.

We do not accept responsibility for lost manuscripts or unsolicited material. Please keep a copy of anything you send to us and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like your manuscript returned; we do not otherwise return manuscripts.

Thank you for your interest in Servant Books.

rev. 12/11

Bernardine of Siena: Most of the saints suffer great personal opposition, even persecution. Bernardine, by contrast, seems more like a human dynamo who simply took on the needs of the world.
<p>He was the greatest preacher of his time, journeying across Italy, calming strife-torn cities, attacking the paganism he found rampant, attracting crowds of 30,000, following St. Francis of Assisi’s admonition to preach about “vice and virtue, punishment and glory.” </p><p>Compared with St. Paul by the pope, Bernardine had a keen intuition of the needs of the time, along with solid holiness and boundless energy and joy. He accomplished all this despite having a very weak and hoarse voice, miraculously improved later because of his devotion to Mary. </p><p>When he was 20, the plague was at its height in his hometown, Siena. Sometimes as many as 20 people died in one day at the hospital. Bernardine offered to run the hospital and, with the help of other young men, nursed patients there for four months. He escaped the plague but was so exhausted that a fever confined him for several months. He spent another year caring for a beloved aunt (her parents had died when he was a child) and at her death began to fast and pray to know God’s will for him. </p><p>At 22, he entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained two years later. For almost a dozen years he lived in solitude and prayer, but his gifts ultimately caused him to be sent to preach. He always traveled on foot, sometimes speaking for hours in one place, then doing the same in another town. </p><p>Especially known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine devised a symbol—IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek, in Gothic letters on a blazing sun. This was to displace the superstitious symbols of the day, as well as the insignia of factions (for example, Guelphs and Ghibellines). The devotion spread, and the symbol began to appear in churches, homes and public buildings. Opposition arose from those who thought it a dangerous innovation. Three attempts were made to have the pope take action against him, but Bernardine’s holiness, orthodoxy and intelligence were evidence of his faithfulness. </p><p>General of a branch of the Franciscan Order, the Friars of the Strict Observance, he strongly emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law. When he started there were 300 friars in the community; when he died there were 4,000. He returned to preaching the last two years of his life, dying while traveling.</p>

Unfaithfulness to God causes us to be vulnerable to the influence of the darkness. Only through the sacraments are we able to return to his heavenly light and goodness.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

	When the Spirit Comes in Power
	Catholic evangelist Peter Herbeck describes the work of the Holy Spirit in the personal lives of Christians.

	In the Footprints of Francis and the Sultan
	In 1219 during the Fifth Crusade, Francis took it upon himself to cross battle lines and reach out to Muslims.

	For Mothers (and Fathers!)
	Author Curtis shares personal stories and advice for helping your children find God's voice amid the messages that target them.

	New from Franciscan Media
	When the initial shock and pain of widowhood has passed, Life after Death can help you build a new life.

	The Month of Mary
	Learn what the Bible has to say about the Mother of God in Chris Padgett's engaging style.

CATHOLIC GREETINGS

	Happy Birthday
	Make the most of God’s graces and blessings throughout the coming year.

	Pentecost
	As Church we rely on the Holy Spirit to form us in the image of Christ.

	Pentecost
	As Church we rely on the Holy Spirit to form us in the image of Christ.

	Armed Forces Day (U.S.)
	Remember to honor those in the service of our nation with your prayers and support.

	Reception into Full Communion
	Participate in welcoming those completing their Christian initiation and recall your own commitment to the faith.

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