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It's *so* hard to feel positive about publishing right now.
The industry feels like a comfortable space for a small number of cis-white people & anyone else can go fuck themselves.
And in this context, this report published yesterday is STINGING. https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/rethinking-diversity/
The industry feels like a comfortable space for a small number of cis-white people & anyone else can go fuck themselves.
And in this context, this report published yesterday is STINGING. https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/rethinking-diversity/
What I took out of this report was a mixture of existential guilt and utter complacency.
Publishing *knows* it has a diversity problem, but won't invest the time and resources that are needed to solve it.
Beginning with who it's selling to.
Publishing *knows* it has a diversity problem, but won't invest the time and resources that are needed to solve it.
Beginning with who it's selling to.
Way back in 2017 I did a market sizing exercise for "readers of diverse books" and identifed that there are roughly 11.8 million readers in the UK who fall into this category.
These people aren't difficult to see. But you have to go look for them. https://twitter.com/cmccrudden/status/834765823176798208?s=20
These people aren't difficult to see. But you have to go look for them. https://twitter.com/cmccrudden/status/834765823176798208?s=20
My background is comms & marketing, & what shines out of this report is the extent to which publishing *does not* do marketing.
Marketing is the art of identifying and targeting an audience across multiple channels.
The marketing described in this report is just publicity.
Marketing is the art of identifying and targeting an audience across multiple channels.
The marketing described in this report is just publicity.
Publishing's failure to market books by BIPOC authors effectively stems from a failure of the imagination.
There is a collective disbelief that people who are not 'Suzie' do not read. And instead of being interrogated (as assumptions should) it ends there.
There is a collective disbelief that people who are not 'Suzie' do not read. And instead of being interrogated (as assumptions should) it ends there.
But it doesn't HAVE to end there.
The industry could market more diverse books by more diverse authors to a wider audience.
But it needs to do the work of understanding those audiences & their behaviour
It needs to invest in marketing that isn't a press release
The industry could market more diverse books by more diverse authors to a wider audience.
But it needs to do the work of understanding those audiences & their behaviourIt needs to invest in marketing that isn't a press release
We also need to talk about: -
How welcoming publishing is to diverse voices, and 
whether they feel safe and valued in the industry
because the views expressed in these comments is much more widespread than we'd like to think.
How welcoming publishing is to diverse voices, and whether they feel safe and valued in the industrybecause the views expressed in these comments is much more widespread than we'd like to think.
Let's think about what's happening just this week in publishing:-
A member of The Booker's board has publicly espoused homophobic views
A trans and NB author were publicly criticised in the press by their former agent for breaking ties with them over transphobia
A member of The Booker's board has publicly espoused homophobic viewsA trans and NB author were publicly criticised in the press by their former agent for breaking ties with them over transphobia
We need to ask some really HARD questions about this, because if you're going to invite diverse voices into publishing...
Then throw them under the bus for insulting your imaginary Suzies up and down the country...
Then why the hell should they engage with the industry.
Then throw them under the bus for insulting your imaginary Suzies up and down the country...
Then why the hell should they engage with the industry.
I love books, but I don't think enough people working in publishing understand how its lack of diversity is an existential threat
The danger isn't that books won't reflect the world. The danger is the world won't care about them, because they're marketed to an imaginary audience
The danger isn't that books won't reflect the world. The danger is the world won't care about them, because they're marketed to an imaginary audience