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Romance is one of EXTREMELY few genres where marginalised authors can build careers without the support of a publisher/agent (and it's damn hard work). Everyone else is at the mercy of white-cishet-dominated publishers, and we can see how that's working out. https://twitter.com/redbreastedbird/status/1326878367749185536
*take on marginalised author for a 2 book deal with great fanfare
*do a bit of marketing for #1
*do nothing for 2
*quietly drop the marginalised author because sales, and jizz £200K on a debut from a pretty Oxbridge graduate
*do a bit of marketing for #1
*do nothing for 2
*quietly drop the marginalised author because sales, and jizz £200K on a debut from a pretty Oxbridge graduate
Meanwhile you get publishers like @_KnightsOf who actually have diversity baked into their structure rather than talking earnestly about it, and look at the storming list they've built from nowhere.
I keep seeing people going "but what's so great about diversity, I just want good books!!1!" Well, leaving aside things like representation, simple justice, and not being a racist...how about the fact that diversity *produces* better books.
I consciously set out to diversify my reading a couple of years ago. I regularly count up the last 20 books on my GR list to see how I'm doing for LGBT+, authors of colour, non-US/UK, women, trans people. It's transformed my reading life absolutely *joyously*.
I've read things I would never have picked up before because I set out to follow recs and also boughts that weren't just the marketed ones, and what do you know, I have a pile of new favourite authors and a ton of amazing books under my belt. The world is full of fabulous books!
I really hate it when people talk about reading diversely like it's something you have to do. Add a tablespoon of flaxseed to your oats, eat whole grain, reduce caffeine, read diversely. Bollocks. What it means is, EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS, ENHANCE YOUR LIFE.
And publishing's inability to become inclusive actually means that they're *depriving us of good books* in favour of jizzing money on white Oxbridge debut novels and books about middle-aged professors having affairs. Bastards.
Going to add to this: it can feel tokenistic to count up 'how many authors of colour have I read in the last 20' or seek out books by author ID. I get that. But doing this consciously is how you start to dismantle your white default.
Seek out recs, buy more of what you like, buy the also boughts, follow the authors and see who they're reccing. It doesn't take long to train the algorithms and remodel your reading world.
But white is very much the default in UK/US publishing, and you do have to work consciously to keep rebalancing that because you're pushing against a massive weight of cultural prejudice.
Luckily, you'll have a good book to relax with afterwards.
Luckily, you'll have a good book to relax with afterwards.
