I am currently reading a book for my summer Writing 301 - Editing and Publishing class, an incredible book through which I've discovered something rather inspiring, amazing, and now I want to share it here:
Only a few pages into the reading I feel I should share that it is my personal belief that if you are a [white] writer it is your responsibility to read
LITERARY PUBLISHING IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY by Daniel Jose Older, Edited by Travis Kurowski, Wayne Miller & Kevin Prufer MILKWEED EDITIONS. And if you are a writer of color who feels as if they are getting rejected based off their books this is also for you.
The first chapter is "DIVERSITY IS NOT ENOUGH: RACE, POWER, PUBLISHING" featuring quotes such as the one I posted as this month's Quote of the Month from page 155. It also says "Of 3,200 children's books published in 2013, just 93 were about black people," according to a study by the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin" (157). And "This is the language of privilege the audacity of standing at the top of a mountain you made on the backs of others and then yelling at people for being at the bottom" (158). Older also quotes a fellow writer of color, Anika Noni Rose, who said in
Vanity Fair: "There are so many writers of color out there, and often what they get when they bring their books to their editors. they say, 'We don't relate to the character.' Well it's not for you to relate to! And why can't you expand yourself so you can relate to the humanity of a character as opposed to the color of what they are" (159).
This book might state facts that are (or at least
should be) rather obvious and yet they are maddeningly eye-opening. It has made me want to take action, preach action, and help other writers no matter what race open their eyes in hopes they too will take this issue seriously, and also learn how to navigate the radically white [Publishing] Market.
You can find this book in PDF format online. And obviously it wouldn't be hard to find a printed version in a library.
