The Schuller Pitch Is Best Seller at the Bookstores as Well

By MARK I. PINSKY and LESLIE BERKMAN

July 18, 1987 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writers

For someone who began writing books as a way to earn enough extra money to help with his children’s college education, the Rev. Robert Harold Schuller has come a long way.

In the past quarter-century, the Garden Grove televangelist and founder of “possibility thinking” has written more than 30 books; 25 titles are in print. More than 11 million copies of his books have been printed in English. Hundreds of thousands more have been printed in foreign-language editions, and many are now available on audio and videocassette.

Schuller has declined to reveal how much he has earned in royalties, and the ministry has insisted that his net earnings have not exceeded $1.9 million. However, publishing industry experts, relying on sales figures provided by Schuller ministries, have estimated that Schuller and other family members--whose books have also sold more than a million copies--have earned up to $5 million in gross royalties on book sales in all languages, as well as audio and videotapes.

Income Estimates

Schuller’s gross annual income from royalties in 1985 and 1986 was estimated at more than $400,000, according to industry experts. During this period, a parade of his titles--”Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do,” “Tough Minded Faith for Tender Hearted People” and “The Be (Happy) Attitudes”--marched on and off the New York Times best-seller list.

His output as an author has varied over the years. In the 1960s he wrote a new book every two or three years. In 1978, however, five books were published. Sales figures provided by the ministry and Schuller’s publishers show popularity as an author growing steadily until the early 1980s, when readership seemed to take off.

This fall, Bantam has scheduled release of two Schuller paperbacks from the 1960s--”God’s Way to the Good Life” and “Let’s Feel Good About Ourselves”--along with a mass-market paperback edition of “The Be (Happy) Attitudes.”

Most, though not all, of Schuller’s books focus on “possibility thinking,” emphasizing self-improvement and reflecting the influence of Schuller’s spiritual mentor, the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale. Many of the same anecdotes and much ministry and family history are repeated in different versions. The books are studded with catchy slogans such as, “Inch by inch, it’s a cinch,” “Turn your scars into stars,” “Plunge before you are positive” and “Gamble God’s way.”

Schuller’s message, which appeals primarily to a secular reading audience, is controversial within the Christian community, especially among fundamentalists. An attack on Schuller’s writings in “The Seduction of Christianity,” by Dave Hunt and T. A. McMahon, especially rankles Schuller, who called the book “evil” in a recent interview.

Publishing industry observers noted that Schuller’s sales tend to be uneven when he departs from this familiar theme. “The Power of Being Debt Free,” for example, which dealt with how to solve the national debt problem, sold considerably less than recent titles and had to be heavily discounted in bookstores.

His books have unquestionably made Schuller a wealthy man and have enriched his ministry even more. According to ministry figures, more than 1.5 million of Schuller’s books were sold by the commercial publishers to the ministry at a deep discount, often at $1 to $2 per hard-bound copy. They were then resold through the ministry, many covered with leather and gilt and sold well above list price, earning gross revenues for the ministry of more than $25 million. The ministry said it has earned an additional $4 million the same way from books written by other Schuller family members.

Schuller and other family members take no royalties for books published originally by the ministry or those published commercially and sold through the weekly “Hour of Power” TV program.

The Schuller family does receive royalties from books sold through the bookstore at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, which is open seven days a week. In 1986, the book center recorded gross sales--including gifts, tapes and books by non-Schuller family members--of $1.2 million.

Schuller as an author clearly benefits from his role as a leading TV evangelist, often promoting or discussing his books on the Hour of Power. For example, Nancy Guthrie, public relations manager at Word Inc., publisher of “The Be (Happy) Attitudes,” said Schuller devoted a series of Hour of Power shows to the book.

“We didn’t mind” providing books at deep discount for distribution by the Hour of Power, she said, “because it (discussion of the contents) does drive people into the bookstores.”

And on a recent broadcast, Schuller plugged a new book he was working on, “Self Respect: Your Power and Your Glory.”

Schuller has mentioned on the air that his books can be bought in bookstores at half the price for which they are sold on the show. He said he was forced to do so after he received irate letters from viewers who found that out and demanded refunds of their donations.

Impact of TV Sales

He added, however, that some publishers are not pleased by TV sales of his books, contending that they cut too deeply into the potential retail market.

In 1982, a grant from Chicago industrialist W. Clement Stone enabled the ministry to buy 255,202 copies of Schuller’s book “Self Esteem: The New Reformation,” from Word Inc. for $8.95 each. The books were then distributed free to ministers across the country, and Schuller’s royalties, 15% of the retail price, or $342,608, were assigned by Schuller to Robert Schuller Ministries.

Schuller writes most, though not all, of his books alone. Recently, he has been helped by his daughters, Sheila Coleman and Jeanne Dunn, who are paid for their work. Also, two books, “The Power of Being Debt Free” and “Possibility Thinkers Bible,” were co-authored with Jeanne’s husband, Paul Dunn.

On her own, Sheila has written one book about her father and one book about her mother, Arvella, who in turn has written a book, “The Positive Family.”

Schuller has written one book about another daughter, Carol, who nearly lost her life and had her left leg amputated as a result of a motorcycle accident, and Carol has written her own book about the experience.

Schuller’s son, Robert A. Schuller, has edited two of his father’s books and written three of his own, including one about his father.

While filling in for his father at the Crystal Cathedral on a recent summer Sunday, Robert A. preached the message from his new book, “The Power to Grow Beyond Yourself,” frequently holding up a copy of the book for the TV audience.

Michael Nason, a longtime family friend and public relations consultant to the ministry, has co-authored a biography of the televangelist.

SALES FIGURES FOR SOME OF SCHULLER’S BOOKS The Be (Happy) Attitudes (1985)

Hardback:600,000 sales at $12.95

Paperback:850,000 at 3.95 (Bantam)

Paperback:25,000; at $3.50 (Word Inc.)

Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do (1983)

Hardback:475,000 at $12.95

Paperback:1,067,000 at $5.95 (Nelson)

Paperback:1,143,000 at $3.95 (Bantam)

Tough Minded Faith for Tender Hearted People (1984)

Hardback:350,000 at $14.95

Paperback:473,000 at 3.95 (Bantam)