If you're active on Twitter like I am, you'll be familiar with the latest #OwnVoices drama in the publishing industry had to do with a particularly poor YA hula romance book deal. When I learned of it, I was offended and disgusted by the reality that the author's manuscript had made it that far with nary a red flag or at least some strong words of caution. On top of that, as an author from Hawaii, I know the hardship that local writers face when trying to get published traditionally.
By local, I'm actually not talking about myself. I'm talking about native Hawaiians and people in the Pasifika community whose land, language, and home were STOLEN from them by white colonizers. Even a white woman who once lived in Hawaii should know better than to appropriate a culture that is not her own in such a blatant and harmful way.
But it's not even worth my time to complain about that drama. The damage was done. I want to focus on what went wrong and what authors, agents, and editors can learn from that debacle.
AUTHORS: The journey starts with us. We hold the keys, the ammunition, the tools -- and we need to use them wisely. It may have been more acceptable fifty years ago for white men like Ernest Hemingway to write THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, but today, there's a Cuban fisherman somewhere who can tell that story. The #OwnVoices trend that started roughly five years ago signaled a shift in the writing landscape. Authors were urged "stay in your lane" and "write what you know," and while there will understandably be growing pains and stumbles along the way, we as authors should know better than to write stories that aren't ours to tell. And please lean on as many critique partners, alpha and beta readers, and most importantly targeted sensitivity readers BEFORE you start querying.
AGENTS: With the recent shift toward valuing diverse voices came similar calls from agents who claimed to be advocates of #OwnVoices stories. Yet the fact that this keeps happening (see AMERICAN DIRT) is proof that literary agents have yet to truly put their money where their mouth is. They are still lured by beautiful words that SEEM authentic. In some cases it is difficult for a queried agent to OUT an author, but in other cases, agents need to vet harder and be certain that the work they are representing is written by someone who represents the story s/he/they are telling. Agents need to do better.
EDITORS: If a project reaches Acquisitions with enthusiasm, even more discretion needs to be exercised. Editors need to do their research. They need to understand the story inside and out and match it with the author. They need to advocate for not just a fantastic manuscript but one that is written by someone who comes from that background. The acquisitions team (aka second readers) also needs to do the work to express hesitation, especially if the story is coming from a white, cis, able-bodied person. This is not reverse discrimination! It's the publisher doing its due diligence and ensuring that what it's investing in is the best representation of the story. Here is where diversity in the team is essential but unfortunately desperately lacking in the publishing industry. Something needs to be done about that.
A final thought about the YA hula romance drama. I think Hawaii needs to be represented accurately no matter what. Every place deserves to have the most authentic stories, but the Pasifika community has long been under-educated, which means that more of them lack the tools that will "cut it" in the traditional publishing world. That is NOT to say that there aren't a plethora of great writers from Hawaii out there. It just means that how the author uses his/her/their craft is not as accessible to agents/editors, who more often than not are white women.
The journey for BIPOC people in publishing in general is a difficult one, but I'm hopeful the industry will carve out a space for everyone who persists and believes in their work.
More soon, but until then, aloha!
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