[ SECRET POST #6113 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6113 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 34 secrets from Secret Submission Post #874.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

06. https://i.imgur.com/7LK23LG.png

[(Anonymous)]

i started doing this a few years ago too, because i was sick of mostly white men getting all the attention in publishing. riley sager is kind of blacklisted for me, because it bothered me that he used a gender neutral pen name to get women to read his books.

i agree that it took me a while to find strong books written by poc, but now i think they're becoming more of the "norm" and there are some absolute gems out there. it's also so easy to read books that are just..not by white men

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't know Riley Sager was a man OR that he had done that. TBH, it doesn't even make sense to me because women tend to read books by men, no prob. It's MEN who historically have a problem reading books written by women, just like they have a problem reading books that feature a female protagonist.

[feotakahari]

That time I read a book about a black literature professor who cheats on his wife, and it felt basically the same as the books about white literature professors who cheat on their wives.

Then again, I once read a book about a talking chimp, and it had basically the same vibe and worldview as the English professor books.

[(Anonymous)]

I suspect getting more of a change in literature (besides author demographics) needs more time to really work. That said, I feel like graphic novels may be able to make faster progress, especially if you're willing to try out works directed more towards teens and young adults. I know I've been enjoying Huda F Are You? lately, as it takes a lighter approach to both being a minority and trying to suss out the narrator's identity while grappling with puberty.

[(Anonymous)]

People are still people regardless of their demographic differences.

[(Anonymous)]

Yep. I consume some media in other languages (not just the stuff that gets officially translated) and trust me, you see the same exact themes there too.

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, sure, it might be the publishers' fault. OR, shocking thought here, your sex/gender/skin colour doesn't magically make you a better or worse author.

[(Anonymous)]

Nope, the big publishers really would only publish certain narratives. It’s gotten better but you’re still going to see straight white middle class America represented more than any other demographic from the big houses. Not even ten years ago Random House had a strict policy to automatically reject all works with gay characters, even minor characters. LGBTQ+ and POC were all relegated to niche publishers.

[(Anonymous)]

Sure but a) nobody says you can only buy novels by big publishers and b) the non-white non-male authors who do get published still aren't any better or worse than the others thatbget published.

[(Anonymous)]

Yep.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't tend to pay attention to the gender/racial background of the authors I read, I just read whatever sounds interesting to me. I was curious so I looked up my Goodreads for the past several years and it seems that I read an average of 30% white men/70% women/non-binary/non-white men. Not sure if that's bad or not.

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, same. I'm just looking for a book that isn't complete shite, I don't care who wrote it. Is it a good story, a great rollicking adventure with some quality character development? Great! That's all I want!

The only concern I have is if a very under-explored or marginalized culture is mined for mythology and set dressing - I'd rather someone who has direct experience with it write it versus some white guy who googled a wiki on "x-country mythology." But even that isn't a guarantee and as others have pointed out, all someone has to do is use a pen name that sounds "right" and everyone gets fooled.