Is a Traditionally Published Picture Book Possible for a White, Conservative Christian Author?

While growing both my audience, and my pile of completed manuscripts, I'm trying to think ahead to my options for publishing. Realizing the obstacles I face in the trad pub world due to my demographics and worldview, I had been gearing myself to self-publish. However, I recently did some research and was disappointed to discover that the POD with Amazon ads strategy is far less feasible with the high cost of premium color printing for picture books, so I've been reconsidering trad pub.

Today I eagerly checked the latest edition of the Christian Writer's Market Guide for any new Christian agents who represent picture books. Well, there was a grand total of two, and they're Asian and Black. 90% of the authors they represent are Asian and Black, respectively, with titles mostly about immigration and identity. This is great for the communities they serve, but they're clearly not looking for stories by conservative white Christians about values like hard work or personal growth. Any agents who don't clearly define such ideologically- driven criteria demand an indefinable, though enormous number of followers. So while I don't mean for this to become a rant, it's a bit depressing, and I'm not sure where to go from here. I'd be thrilled to hear from any picture book authors in my shoes who are navigating the path ahead of where I'm at.

  1. If you've self- published a picture book, did you go offset or POD?

  2. Do you find advertising to be profitable? If so, do you have a particular platform that's most effective?

  3. How many email subscribers did you have before you launched?

  4. If you've been trad published, did you manage to find an agent, or go with a small publisher? Or did you meet an editor at a conference? Would you mind sharing the name of the agency or publisher you've signed with?

  5. Is there anyone at conferences looking for conservative picture books? I don't want to waste thousands of dollars traveling, only to confirm my suspicions that agents are only looking for “affirming” books by BIPOC authors.

Also, I realize that Anabaptist publishers exist, and while I'm open to those, they're not open to anything speculative or including talking animals, which most of my stories include so far. Thank you to anyone who can shine a light on a potential path forward for me!