I haven't seen the movie, but I'm definitely planning to pick up your book! These are tough questions to wrestle with, and you're right that the discussion flourishes best with subtlety, nuance and openness, which are often depressingly hard to come by online.
The focus on representation for many years hindered parity, in my view, bc publishers responded by just publishing books with characters of color--books written by white people. Or in children's lit, they published more books about animals. Which to me highlights how much the industry has needed change from the inside out. And readers need to change too.
It's almost as if the books that are categorized with a racial adjective are written for white people. Because white people so enjoy reading about "different cultures". BUT Asian America, Black American, its American. Why do we need to preface American? It's a tricky subject because I do think there are a lot of writers who take pride in shedding light on the minority experience--but now it's commercialized. It's just one of those things I've always disliked about publishing as a whole. The way they take your book and slap a ___&____ title on it because that's what sells. Race sells. That is their job though. It's the reader's fault as well. The whole industry will need a major shift if this is to ever change.
There are books in circulation that do that! They are just hard to find- or just aren't plastered all over the place. I've found a lot of great books just by following some of these substack authors. :)
I haven't seen the movie, but I'm definitely planning to pick up your book! These are tough questions to wrestle with, and you're right that the discussion flourishes best with subtlety, nuance and openness, which are often depressingly hard to come by online.
The focus on representation for many years hindered parity, in my view, bc publishers responded by just publishing books with characters of color--books written by white people. Or in children's lit, they published more books about animals. Which to me highlights how much the industry has needed change from the inside out. And readers need to change too.
So illuminating, thank you so much ❤️. I’m in DC as well! (And btw loved how you nailed the diff neighborhoods in NSMC)
It's almost as if the books that are categorized with a racial adjective are written for white people. Because white people so enjoy reading about "different cultures". BUT Asian America, Black American, its American. Why do we need to preface American? It's a tricky subject because I do think there are a lot of writers who take pride in shedding light on the minority experience--but now it's commercialized. It's just one of those things I've always disliked about publishing as a whole. The way they take your book and slap a ___&____ title on it because that's what sells. Race sells. That is their job though. It's the reader's fault as well. The whole industry will need a major shift if this is to ever change.
i want more stuff that is hard to be categorized or to market. because if it's easy to do either.. haven't we seen it already..?
There are books in circulation that do that! They are just hard to find- or just aren't plastered all over the place. I've found a lot of great books just by following some of these substack authors. :)