While there have always been gatekeepers in the publishing industry, we are hearing from a number of newbie authors who feel that they will never get published via the traditional route because of “wrong think”.
Thank you for this. I have a similar experience. While I am content to accept that agents and publishers rejected or ignored my offering because they believed my book to be unmarketable for other reasons, I do have the slightest suspicion that it did not meet the LGBTQ+ demands. The novel is written in first person by a white, heterosexual 15 year old Scottish boy, navigating his difficulties with dysfunctional parents and struggling to get a girlfriend. His best friend is gay, not because I needed a token gay, but just because that’s what he told me himself when he leapt out of the pages.
Reader have expressed amazement that I, an elderly woman, could write so compellingly in the voice of a teen boy, but most of my working life has been with teen lads - I know their landscape.
Teens who have read my book said they enjoyed how real it was to their experiences and said they strongly identified with the characters. But very few teens will read it cos it’s self published, and doesn’t have a ‘minority’ voice.
I read around 20 YA novels, including prize winning ones, in preparation for writing this one. Almost none of them addressed the pressure everyday adolescents experience.
Anyway, my very best wishes with your novel. Mine can be found at most online outlets, but probably not in a bookshop!
As a fellow writer I have the same concerns - though given that rejection is a staple of the process, in practice it's virtually impossible to prove it's ideological . . .. but a reputable older agent has warned me informally that mainstream publishing is basically staffed and gate-kept by exactly the kind of posh young arts-grad females who are all-in for this kind of Social Justice, LGBTQIA+ activism.
I can't believe it's not having a massive impact on the quality of published output; anyone who thinks they need a Sensitivity Reader in my view for example is simply admitting they haven't done sufficient research. But authors may not have a choice.
I’m just embarking on an MLitt in Creative Writing. One of our first classes is about publishing. Too much to say here (or I’ll never complete the assignment!) but I like this quote from Michael Bhaskar ‘…publishing is active; it is not a passive matrix through which content passes, but a force partially shaping and inflecting content’.
Good post! I've watched the ideological capture of Young Adult literature for around twenty years. I first witnessed it on LiveJournal among writers and bloggers there. The situation only seems to have worsened. I'm a freelance editor and I see the same problem in the editing field. My advice to anyone pursuing a self-publishing career is to check out the website and social media profiles of any editor you're thinking of working with. There are often red flags in the bios or on their sites.
Yeah... See my post on 'Should Indie Authors Pay for Editing?' Gatekeeping is rife in this industry, even on the peripheries. I'm sorry this has happened to you.
Just ordered. Will leave lying around the house for my ghost-obsessed teenager to find and actually read something modern that isn’t reinforcing the trans cult. Thanks!
Had a similar experience with my previous publisher turning down my book about women's leadership archetypes because it "might be offensive" (tr: "is about historical/literary stuff and looks insufficiently intersectional, so we're scared"). You can read about the incident on the @diagdemocrats Substack ("I was cancelled by The Guardian," July 2024). Solidarity!
Thank you for this. I have a similar experience. While I am content to accept that agents and publishers rejected or ignored my offering because they believed my book to be unmarketable for other reasons, I do have the slightest suspicion that it did not meet the LGBTQ+ demands. The novel is written in first person by a white, heterosexual 15 year old Scottish boy, navigating his difficulties with dysfunctional parents and struggling to get a girlfriend. His best friend is gay, not because I needed a token gay, but just because that’s what he told me himself when he leapt out of the pages.
Reader have expressed amazement that I, an elderly woman, could write so compellingly in the voice of a teen boy, but most of my working life has been with teen lads - I know their landscape.
Teens who have read my book said they enjoyed how real it was to their experiences and said they strongly identified with the characters. But very few teens will read it cos it’s self published, and doesn’t have a ‘minority’ voice.
I read around 20 YA novels, including prize winning ones, in preparation for writing this one. Almost none of them addressed the pressure everyday adolescents experience.
Anyway, my very best wishes with your novel. Mine can be found at most online outlets, but probably not in a bookshop!
‘ Adults and How to Survive Them’ Jeannie Mackenzie May 2024 https://www.waterstones.com/book/adults-and-how-to-survive-them/jeannie-mackenzie/9781738558902
As a fellow writer I have the same concerns - though given that rejection is a staple of the process, in practice it's virtually impossible to prove it's ideological . . .. but a reputable older agent has warned me informally that mainstream publishing is basically staffed and gate-kept by exactly the kind of posh young arts-grad females who are all-in for this kind of Social Justice, LGBTQIA+ activism.
I can't believe it's not having a massive impact on the quality of published output; anyone who thinks they need a Sensitivity Reader in my view for example is simply admitting they haven't done sufficient research. But authors may not have a choice.
I’m just embarking on an MLitt in Creative Writing. One of our first classes is about publishing. Too much to say here (or I’ll never complete the assignment!) but I like this quote from Michael Bhaskar ‘…publishing is active; it is not a passive matrix through which content passes, but a force partially shaping and inflecting content’.
Good post! I've watched the ideological capture of Young Adult literature for around twenty years. I first witnessed it on LiveJournal among writers and bloggers there. The situation only seems to have worsened. I'm a freelance editor and I see the same problem in the editing field. My advice to anyone pursuing a self-publishing career is to check out the website and social media profiles of any editor you're thinking of working with. There are often red flags in the bios or on their sites.
Yeah... See my post on 'Should Indie Authors Pay for Editing?' Gatekeeping is rife in this industry, even on the peripheries. I'm sorry this has happened to you.
Isn’t it ironic that “inclusivity” is more exclusive than ever?
Just ordered. Will leave lying around the house for my ghost-obsessed teenager to find and actually read something modern that isn’t reinforcing the trans cult. Thanks!
Had a similar experience with my previous publisher turning down my book about women's leadership archetypes because it "might be offensive" (tr: "is about historical/literary stuff and looks insufficiently intersectional, so we're scared"). You can read about the incident on the @diagdemocrats Substack ("I was cancelled by The Guardian," July 2024). Solidarity!