Christian Faith Publishing review: what it costs, what the contract says, what authors report

Christian Faith Publishing's packages page names three packages, Purely Publishing, Launch and Launch+, with no prices (checked 19 October 2026). The only Christian Faith Publishing prices online are in its publishing agreement template (checked 18 October 2026; archived copy). The template's two plans carry different names, so ask whether its prices are current.

The totals come from the template's own price script. Before an option is ticked, the template's text shows $595 down for the second plan as well. A TV book-club interview is an optional add-on; the script raises the first plan to $6,040 with it. Extra copies cost 40% off the retail price, plus shipping.

Each renewal after the first two years carries "the minimal administrative renewal fee in place at that time (currently $48/year)": $96 per two-year term (derived).

The first plan matches, figure for figure, the entry package of Page Publishing: $595 down and ten payments of $349. Covenant Books publishes a template with the same prices and wording. All three list addresses on Park Avenue in Meadville; Christian Faith Publishing's is 832 Park Avenue. None of the three sites states a relationship between them.

You keep the copyright, and Christian Faith Publishing holds exclusive print and ebook rights while the agreement runs. The template, checked 18 October 2026, says:

• Rights: your work and "all materials prepared by Publisher" are your property and "shall be transferred free of charge to Author" on request.
• License: during the term, the company has "the exclusive worldwide right to publish and offer for sale the Author's Work in print and eBook format."
• Term: two years, renewing "for additional two-year terms" unless either side gives written notice 60 days before the term ends. On expiry it "immediately relinquishes any and all rights to publish the Work".
• ISBN: the ISBNs list you as author and owner "and Publisher as the authorized Publisher."
• Canceling: you have "three (3) calendar days from execution of this Agreement to cancel for any reason".
• Disputes: "mandatory and binding arbitration" in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and "not as a class member".

The company pays you "all funds Publisher receives from the respective vendors" for print and ebook sales, "less a 50 cent commission/administrative fee per copy sold." It takes no fee until your sales revenue equals the amount you paid. Quarterly payments under $100 roll over to the next quarter. No royalty is paid on copies you buy yourself. The royalty FAQ gives no rate per format and says rates "can vary depending on the format". Payments arrive by check within 90 days of each quarter's end.

The template says card payments "may appear on your statement as Publishing Services Consortium"; Covenant Books' template says the same.

You get a copyedited, designed book in print and ebook. Christian Faith Publishing books are listed through Ingram and Spring Arbor, the two distributors its about page names. It says this makes titles "available for sale in Christian-based and mainline retail outlets". Its print and ebook page says many books appear "in as little as eight months", and it aims "for 10-14 months".

No plan lists a developmental edit, the edit that works on structure and argument. That costs $3,200–4,000 for an 80,000-word non-fiction book at the EFA's 2026 median rates. The Masterpiece marketing items start only after publication: "all marketing services will occur after publication of all editions of the book".

The do-it-yourself route costs less. Amazon KDP charges nothing to publish. A copyedit of 80,000 words costs $2,400–3,200 at EFA rates, BookBaby sells covers from $399, and a Bowker ISBN costs $125. That totals $2,924–3,724 (derived), against $4,085 for the cheaper plan. A 300-page paperback at $14.99 then earns $4.39 a copy on KDP (derived). What it costs to publish a book compares each route, and Christian publishers lists faith-based presses, including ones that pay the author.

Christian Faith Publishing's BBB profile shows an A+ rating and accreditation since February 2016, as of 18 October 2026. It lists 45 complaints in three years, 12 of them in the last 12 months. Reviewers on the BBB give it 4.72 out of 5 across 335 reviews. BBB says "Customer reviews are not used in the letter-grade calculation." A BBB reviewer, October 2026: "They were completely professional and held Christian principles and standards."

On Trustpilot, it scores 2.2 from 12 reviews, none with four or five stars. The profile is unclaimed, and one of the 12 reviews concerns a different company, Christian Life Publishing. A one-star Trustpilot reviewer, January 2026: "They promised that it would be done in 6 to 8 months and it took them 15 months to release my book."

ALLi's Watchdog Desk rates Christian Faith Publishing "Watchdog Advisory" on its service ratings. It lists concerns about quality, value, transparency, marketing, contract and practices. Writer Beware covered it in "Alert: Blue Deco Publishing, Christian Faith Publishing" (8 December 2017).

On Reddit, a relative of an author asked about it in "Christian Faith Publishing" (r/publishing, 32 comments, May 2020). Later comments, through 2026, report slow production and editing the commenters found thin; one author reports the book on sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The same question in r/selfpublish (15 comments, May 2020) drew similar replies.

CourtListener lists three federal cases naming the company, and no Christian Faith Publishing lawsuit among them is a class action:

• O'Brien v. Christian Faith Publishing, No. 3:18-cv-00024 (M.D. Tenn.), filed 2018 under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The court granted a motion for default judgment on 13 September 2018, and the case closed in December 2020.
• Freyling v. Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-00096 (W.D. Pa.), filed 2019, a copyright case. It was referred to mediation in June 2019 and closed on 20 November 2019.
• Walden v. Christian Faith Publishing Company Inc., No. 2:25-cv-02415 (E.D. Pa.), filed May 2025. The docket shows orders on motions to dismiss and a notice of appeal, with no closing date.

We found no news coverage in the past three years beyond press releases for its authors' books, and no attorney-general or FTC action.

1. Ask for the current agreement and the prices of Purely Publishing, Launch and Launch+. The online template uses other names.
2. Ask what a $14.99 paperback earns you per copy, in dollars, on Amazon and through Ingram. The FAQ gives no rate.
3. Put the renewal date in your diary. Notice must arrive 60 days before each two-year term ends, or the exclusive license renews.
4. Read the arbitration clause before signing. Disputes go to individual arbitration in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and you have three days to cancel.
5. Ask whether a developmental edit is available, and its price. Both plans list a copyedit only.

• WestBow Press: calls itself "a division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan"; four packages from $2,699 to $8,299, with its full agreement online.
• Xulon Press: a Christian self-publishing company that quotes prices on request and pays "100% of the net profit" after its costs.
• KDP plus a freelance copyeditor: $2,400–3,200 for an 80,000-word book at EFA rates, and the ISBN can be yours.

The best self-publishing companies, compared covers more.