Qualified Independently Published Application

Thank you for your interest in ACFW and the resources it provides for authors. ACFW is The Voice of Christian Fiction, and our purpose is to educate, assist, and support writers in publishing Christian fiction by traditional means or independently.

If you are an ACFW Member and an independently published author or published by a company where the author paid any publishing costs, including, but not limited to, printing, artwork, distribution, or the requirement to buy books, please complete the QIP application and attach the requested information. Your answers will allow us to determine Qualified Independently Published status in order to enter the Carol Awards, apply for ACFW’s Book Club or for ACFW’s Featured Author Interview.

If you are entering the 2023 Carol Awards, applicant must apply by March 1, 2023 to allow time for processing.

Click here for the QIP Application
In order to be considered for ACFW’s Qualified Independently Published status, an author certifies that their books are written from a Christian worldview (specifically, the book should not contain profanity, graphic sex, gratuitous violence or other objectionable material, and must otherwise conform to traditional, scriptural worldview) in any Christian fiction genre.

With this completed application, please attach screen shots from online retailers (i.e. KDP Report) reflecting evidence of a combined total of at least $4000 in earnings for the author for a single novel during a 12-month period. Results for the paper and electronic versions of the book may be combined to reach this total.

Please note that any independently published authors, or authors published through a company where the author paid for services, are welcome to add their books to Fiction Finder at any time by choosing “Independent Author” from the drop-down menu of publishers. Or you may choose “Other” from the publisher drop-down list, then follow the instructions to write-in your publisher.

Decisions about Qualified Independently Published status are made after careful consideration of the material submitted. The Executive Board will be the final judge of Qualified Independently Published status.

Note: If you are a current member of ACFW and have previously been published by a traditional publisher, you do not need to apply for QIP status in order to submit an independently published book.

If you have any questions, please contact Robin Miller at director@acfw.com.

(Updated April 2023)