Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Let's Talk #ownvoices

#ownvoices

What is it? 
Why does it exist? And what does it mean? What does it mean to authors of color? All authors? Is it good? Important? Is it fair?

#ownvoices came about as a Twitter hashtag to draw attention to the lack of authors of color in traditional publishing.

It exists because publishers may hesitate about producing books with what they fear is a narrower focus. Will white people buy books with black characters? 


Will authors of color find an audience that crosses all types of people? And is it wrong for white authors to write black characters?

Of course not. That’s silly. Just as silly as me saying black authors can’t write white characters because people are people. God made us all and just changed the wrapping from time to time. But what’s been lacking is opportunity, and that’s clutch. So talking about #ownvoices helps open those doors of opportunity and for the next two days we’re conversing with four great gals, Belle Calhoune, Stacy Hawkins Adams, Toni Shiloh and Patricia Woodside… And anyone else who stops by! This is Ruthy talking. You hear from me all the time… for the next two days, it’s their turn.

Welcome, ladies.

Belle Calhoune is a Publisher’s Weekly best-selling author of inspirational and heartwarming romance. Raised in a small town in Massachusetts, Belle had the pleasure of growing up right across the street from a public library. Married to her college sweetheart, Belle has two lovely daughters and two very spoiled dogs. She is a member of the RWA Honor Roll and a recipient of the Angeline Bishop award for multicultural series. She’s published 40 novels with four additional books being released in 2020 and 2021 from Harlequin Love Inspired.



For me, own voices means I can write characters who reflect my own diversity as well as being able to present a snapshot of the world I inhabit. It’s an opportunity as an author to represent people of color in my romance novels. It’s important that readers see and understand that diverse people love just as hard as the rest of the population.

I’ve been fortunate in that Harlequin Love Inspired has allowed me the freedom to write diverse stories. In my current series, three of the four books have diverse main characters. With my Indie books I’m able to write diverse characters to my heart’s content. Thankfully, things are changing in the publishing industry and more doors are opening for diverse projects. I am personally experiencing this (as well as a host of my diverse author friends) and I’m really excited about this trend in publishing. I’m seeing lots of new contracts and wonderful opportunities emerging for diverse authors.


Ruthy note: One of Belle's opportunities included THIS! Seeing one of her books be made into a movie! Love, Alaska premiers later this month, one of the first Harlequin movies from Brain Power studios!!



  And from Toni Shiloh:


Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian contemporary romance author. Once she understood the powerful saving grace, thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness.


The first time I saw #ownvoices a feeling of excitement flew through me. And yeah I may have did a fist pump. I'm all about the writing community coming together to show the diversity of the world. I love seeing that unity, but there's something special about #ownvoices. Of seeing covers with ethnic people written by an ethnic author. It's not something that's prevalent in the world which is disheartening in of itself. So when I see #ownvoices, when I see authors of color writing characters of color, I know we're one step closer to closing the gap between how the world is presented to us to how it truly is. Diverse.
From Award-winning author Stacy Hawkins Adams:


Two people can be sitting side by side in a classroom, work setting, social space or airplane seeing and hearing the same message, yet experiencing it in different ways, based on their life experiences, their socioeconomic status and yes, often their race. Because in our nation, race does play a factor in how life is experienced.

All that said, those same two people can be reading a great book, caring about the main character’s arc of growth and how she (or he) pushes forward or prays her way out of a challenging situation and feel the exact same way about that character when they reach The End – feeling satisfied with her growth and or her happy ending. Suppose this book featured a character whose hair color and skin hue wasn’t immediately defined? Suppose the two people reading it didn’t even care by the time they read far enough into the novel to realize that while they were Caucasian, they were reading about an African American protagonist, or vice versa?

This supposition isn’t far-fetched. During the season in which I penned seven novels and one nonfiction book – 2004-2016 – I often heard from women readers about how connected they felt to the characters I created and how surprised they were to learn that the lead character was of an ethnicity different from their own. The richness of the plot and transparency of the character’s journey had pulled them in, and by the time they realized the difference, it didn’t really matter.  A few also candidly shared with me that the covers of my first six novels, which featured African American men women or men, had caused them to hesitate before borrowing from a library or buying the books; but the plots had intrigued them enough to try.

I share this not to cast judgment or cause consternation, but to point out the fact that when given a chance to focus on one’s humanity and on issues that are common to all, readers can and will find a common reason to keep reading and cheering on (or lecturing) characters, until journey’s end. Because of this, I’m an advocate for ensuring that diverse stories and characters are published widely and widely read. For, the more we’re able to show how much we have in common through the power of storytelling, the more we can build bridges and connect more fully with each other in reality. That’s a worthy goal for those of us committed to writing about faith.

My publisher and I wound up listening to readers’ feedback, and my seventh through ninth novels featured covers that reflected the themes of the book without showing faces – allowing readers to “see” themselves in each story in some way. The characters were indeed African American (mostly), with other ethnicities featured as warranted; yet as with my previous books, the character-driven plots carried the story, and readers were willing to go along for the ride.

Therefore, my #ownvoices desire is that even as we acknowledge the publishing industry being a business, where bottom-line sales figures matter and drive the charge, we consider ways to elevate stories and publish writers who reflect humanity, in all of its shades, hues and cultures. Given that we each have distinct experiences with individuals within and outside of our race or culture, we writers have unique opportunities to dissect those experiences  in our own unique ways and stories – ways that I’m confident will help readers learn, grow and consider their own journeys of intersectionality – faith-wise and beyond.




And from editor/author Patricia Woodside:


As an author, Patricia Woodside has been published in several
anthologies, including How I Met My Sweetheart, The Motherhood Diaries 2 and All I Want for Christmas.  A longtime book reviewer and blogger, her reviews for Fresh Fiction, SORMAG and her former blog, Readin N Writin with Patricia, continue to be quoted. She is a freelance editor and owner of Story Dazzle Editing and Publishing Services, using her talents to help new and published authors of fiction and non-fiction polish their work to a dazzling shine.  In her spare time, Patricia is an avid reader and the administrator of the Facebook writer accountability group, Writers Writing Forward.

What #ownvoices means to me is telling and receiving the stories of those who have been marginalized as told by them in their own words presented through their own lens.  It means not having to jump extra hurdles to be seen and heard.  Having doors open wide for us to enter and present our authentic selves.  Not tailoring our message or presentation to meet anyone else’s expectations of who we should be, what we should say, and how we should feel, but saying what we need to say the way we need to say it. There has always been literature by and about people of color. #Ownvoices allows us to pursue mainstream opportunities while also creating our own arenas, not because we have to but because we choose to.  To my mind, #ownvoices doesn’t mean others can’t imagine, envision and create characters unlike themselves, but it does mean the creators do their homework—researching, observing, questioning, exploring and collaborating in support of the development of genuine, realistic art.

Ruthy again: 

Let the conversation begin. The gals will stop by and answer questions and share more thoughts today and tomorrow... And we have two giveaways. Belle and Toni have both donated a book to give away. From Belle we have this:

And this beautiful just-released anthology from Toni Shiloh:

Coffee's on!

And the donuts/doughnuts are on the back table.

Let's chat.

143 comments:

  1. Ladies, good morning! I know it's early, even here on the East Coast, but I wanted to welcome you to Seekerville...

    AND I BROUGHT COFFEE.

    And donuts, but let's start with coffee.... and conversation.

    Thanks so much for being here and I hope lots of folks come and chat with you/us. Because it's always good to talk things out.

    Ruthy

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    1. Thanks for starting the conversation!

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    2. Good morning, Ruthy. Thanks for having us and for starting off the conversation. Any pumpkin donuts available? I'm a big fan of those.

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    3. Belle, I brought apple cider doughnuts. They're really good warm. I'm sure Ruthy's are good too, she is a great cook.
      I HAVE "Reunited at Christmas," nice job.
      You grew up in Massachusetts? I'm from New Hampshire and am still here. Where was your home town?
      I grew up in a SMALL town in NEW HAMPSHIRE in the 19-freaking-50s, so I'm often playing catch-up -- but happy to do it. Your voices need to be heard, your faces need to be seen. My town now celebrates a Multicultural Festival every September, I went this year and was amazed at how many cultures and races were represented, quite a change from when I grew up. I do occasionally use the "wrong" word for something or someone, but it's out of ignorance rather than malice. And I have two astute young adult daughters who immediately set me straight. Sometimes in public.
      Christian writers of color may help heal the racial divide in our country by showing that we're not different on the inside.
      Oh, I did have a break-through in that situation I was complaining about Monday, with the library talk and the heckler, but I'll give you an update when I'm on Friday. I don't want to take any of these ladies' thunder. There were years when I didn't HAVE thunder, so I'm sensitive to that.
      Put me in the drawing for Toni's book and I'll leave you alone.
      I'm behind on everything today, may be back later.
      Kaybee
      Sometimes struggling to be diverse but it's worth it in New Hampshire

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    4. Pumpkin donuts have arrived!!!!

      One of my favorite quotes, Belle, was in the musical 1776 when Stephen Hopkins statement about opening debate: "I ain't never seen, heard or smelled somethin' so dangerous it wasn't worth talkin' about. Hell, yes! Open debate!"

      I think it's always more destructive when we don't talk about things. Honest folks... honest conversations.

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    5. Hey Kaybee! I grew up in a small town of Milton, Massachusetts which is south of Boston.
      After I got married my husband and I moved to Billerica which is a half hour from the New Hampshire
      Border! My husband went to law school at Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire! I love New Hampshire!
      We used to shop there all the time for tax free stuff!

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    6. I am vaguely acquainted with Milton.'
      Tax-free stuff! I hope that never changes.
      I've spent a lot of time in Mass too and love Boston, lived there for a while as a young adult.

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  2. Coffee! I only recently started drinking the stuff, but I am hooked already!

    Back up... Good morning and happy Wednesday! I will be here for a little while, then off teaching math, but I'll pop in when I can and return as soon as the last bell rings. Happy to with you in Seekerville!

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    1. Good morning, Patricia. Same here, but I'll be off teaching ELA all day. I'll check in when I can, because I'm eager to participate in this discussion. Thank you for joining us.

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    2. Cate, look forward to chatting and your insights as an ELA specialist. Learning about new ways to evaluate communication competency myself and communicate one's perspective is at the heart of #ownvoices.

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  3. Good morning, Belle, Patricia, Toni, and Stacy. Thank you so much for joining us today and tomorrow for this important conversation. I am particularly interested in hearing your opinions on whether white writers should be writing diverse fiction. I don't really mean including diverse characters, because if we're being realistic we should have a diverse cast of characters in our books. I'm specifically referring to what Ruthy referred to above. Yes, we're all human and share the human experience, but I've read and heard a lot of discussion from both sides of this. For example, can a white writer write with authenticity without the experience to do so? My opinion on this is still very much in development so I am interested in your thoughts.

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    1. It's my opinion that they can. For instance my friend Mikal Dawn wrote two Asian characters in her novella Claim My Heart (the one in my book giveaway). She did her research, had an Asian author review her work for authenticity. And the great thing is now we have diverse characters getting center stage. I believe if we all work for change, it'll come that more quickly.

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    2. Mary Cate, I'm glad you asked this, as I've wondered about it myself. And Toni, thanks for sharing your opinion. I, too, hope that change will come quickly.

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  4. "Can a white writer write with authenticity..."? As you said, Cate, we shiuld all write a wide range of characters as the human experience is diverse. I may be in a different place on this than many in the #ownvoices conversation, but I don't have a problem w white writers writing diverse stories, as long as they are clear about the lens thru which they view the action and those stories are not the only stories. When we are not given the opportunity to share own stories from our perspective, humanity is cheated, robbed of viewpoints, thoughts and feelings not given voice. Stories are prisms with many sides. Give us a chance to enrich the world when we share ours.

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    1. Those words... "Stories are prisms with many sides..."

      Beautiful, Patricia. Absolutely perfect. And we all know that prisms break light into so many colors.

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    2. Patricia, thanks for your words on this!

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  5. I think as long as a white writer writes without stereotypes they can write diversely. What I don't think is helpful is when writers do it as if they are checking something off a list. If you're interested in writing diversely I don't think it would be just one character in a large span of books. Incorporate characters that reflect the world we inhabit. Great characters are great characters. And remember to be sensitive to issues and situations which could potentially offend diverse readers.

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    1. Agree. Kind of like television used to be, and still is in some outlets, where there was the requisite single black character. I'm glad television is more diverse than it ever has been, in part due to efforts like #ownvoices, and authors have the opportunity to do the same with their books. This is not to say every book must be diverse, because that's a different kind of "check the box." I grew up in a predominantly black town, like 99% black and 1% other. Today, it's more like 55% Hispanic and 45% black. If I set a story in that town and all of a sudden there is a great diversity of characters including a bunch of white folks thrown in, I would be disingenuous and not true to the reality of that locale. Still, there are so many stories that can and should do a better job to reflect the diversity that is the reality of today in many places.

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    2. I agree, Belle. When diverse characters are written, it shouldn't be to "check the box" but instead to create greater understanding or, as I suggested in introductory words, to show how much we generally have in common rather than highlighting differences. If a writer is comfortable taking the steps to look beyond the surface and write the characters with depth - not all good nor all bad - that goes a long way in building trust with readers.

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    3. Thank you all for this discussion. I love the idea to focus on what we have in common, and to look beyond the surface.

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    4. Me too, Missy. So much division when we truly have so much in common.

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  6. Thank you ladies for your voices, your stories, and this whole conversation. One of the reasons I read is to live lives that are different from my own. The world is somehow becoming more separated along all kinds of lines, race being a big one. As Christians we should be even more willing than the rest of the world to embrace what it means to be created beautifully diverse. Thanks for being here, ladies, and I'll be interested to see how the conversation plays out!

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    1. Glynis, me too! One of my favorite aspects of reading is the travel I get to do in my mind. A favorite book growing up was The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, and I devoured James Michener books. Even now, I often select books that will take me somewhere and introduce me to people that I may not meet in real life.

      It's interesting that you speak of Christiandom because some of the least diverse writing that I've read over the years as been Christian fiction. Don't mean to step on any toes, but that's my truth. It's always been disheartening to me. Of course, there are exceptions, but too often the books that have been published and marketed to the Christian reader have lack diversity.

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    2. You're so right, Glynis. People are so divided in so many ways. I do believe that things are changing in publishing. I think Christian publishing isn't as progressive as other genres which is unfortunate. That being said, I'm really thankful my publisher Harlequin Love Inspired is very open and transparent about diverse books and characters. It's just never been an issue.

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    3. I agree with so many points here... and the irony is that in the two independent bookstores remaining in Rochester, NY.... when I've done book signings and met folks... at least 50% of the customers are black. And that's Saturday business, their busiest day of the week... so that made me wonder why are there so few fiction books reflective of this black readership. These folks were buying Bibles and devotionals, music, and self-help books... but the fiction sections were pretty much snow white.

      And that was a discomfiting moment because if the publishers saw what I saw, would their eyes be opened?

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  7. Good morning, ladies! I have been looking forward to this conversation ever since Ruthy told us y'all were coming. You've already answered some of my questions, but I'm looking forward to reading more over these few days. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us. I think this is going to be a very enlightening conversation.

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  8. Oh, my friend Sharon Simms may be stopping by later. Mindy, you remember Sharon, you took that picture of us together, me with the Howard Dean scream.
    KB

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    1. LOL! I remember, Kathy. And of course I remember Sharon. She is so fun!

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  9. Good morning ladies. Thank you for sharing your insight and talent with us readers. Blessings

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  10. Welcome to Seekerville, ladies. Toni, I think we met at CFRR in Washington DC. Thanks for stopping in to share your voices and experience.

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    1. CFRR was great, wasn't it??? Toni, Glenn and the boys were all there... beautiful family.

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  11. Stacy is being thwarted in her postings.... Oh, Blogger!!!!

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  12. I'd not heard of #ownvoices. Interesting topic.

    Are there certain genres that seem to accept more diversity than others in mainstream? The most diversity I've read is in Middle Grade, but that's an audience I read a lot of, so not sure on the comparative ratio.

    In writing I shy away from including characters of different races when they play more than a bit part. Even with characters who are overall strong, I'd feel less free to play with their flaws, if that makes sense. Oftentimes my hurt characters act downright ugly.

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    1. Samantha, isn't it funny how we're tempted to restrain ourselves so that we don't look divisive or insensitive or that we're stereotyping?

      TV is way ahead of print in this realm, in my opinion. Especially in suspense or drama... not so much comedy. And I don't watch a lot of TV, I'd rather write books, but you'll see black gang members, black cops and black doctors all in one show...

      And yet we worry about being zinged if we have a black shooter or a Hispanic gang even though those things are hugely true... but we feel less guilty about the bad character if we write them as white.

      And it shouldn't be that way. We should stay true-to-character regardless of color. That should be dismissed except to set the character's speech patterns and description.

      And, of course, their history.

      So much to talk about...

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    2. Hi Samantha! I understand your reluctance, but if your first instinct was to have a major non-white character play a role in your story, perhaps you should follow that instinct. Do you have fellow writers, readers or even friends/family/co-workers who can help you to keep the character from being stereotypical while still flawed? I think your story might be enriched by such inclusion.

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    3. I completely agree with Patricia. Don't fight that instinct if you're writing is going in that direction.

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    4. Toni, I'm reading one of your books now, A Sidelined Christmas. I love that you write a wide berth of characters.

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    5. Exactly, Ms. Ruth! I wonder if it's easier in the TV realm because they have actors playing the role. Where with a book, a reader will only see the author having created the story. At any rate, I need to shake off timidity.

      Thank you so much, ladies, for the input. You've made me more open to future possibilities. :0)

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    6. Thank you so much, Patricia! That was a fun story.

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  13. Woot! I'm excited to talk about diversity in books! I'm a white Irish Canadian but I yearn to read stories about diverse characters that reflect the world I actually live in.

    Like Cate, I have wondered about white authors writing diversity with authenticity so I was interested in the responses to her query. While I agree that white authors writing diverse characters can be part of the change I am discouraged that writers of colour aren't being given the same opportunities to be part of that change. This is particularly true in the Christian Fiction market (which makes up about 95% of my reading.) It seems like publishers are only willing to risk diverse characters if the author is established and white and already has a fan base. I agree, that's a start towards change but it's not enough.

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    1. Kay, you hit on a very important point. It's one thing to say we want publishing to be more diverse and for white authors to therefore include or be encouraged to include diverse characters. It's a whole other thing to open the door to diverse authors to share their stories. This is what we need to see more of from traditional publishing.

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    2. I think that's one reason Indie publishing has risen. It allows more #ownvoices in the Christian fiction market, as well as general market. I have noticed more diverse characters in traditional market but you can't always tell because not all the covers showcase the diverse characters.

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    3. Hi Kavs! Great to see you here! You made a lot of great points.
      I think a lot of the upset with diverse authors is that doors were so firmly closed
      To diverse authors for so long and that when they finally pried the door open it was still
      denied to many POC authors in favor of white ones. That is an issue that I definitely have heard
      being expressed.

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    4. Toni, cover diversity, in terms of images, is a whole other frontier. Even if the story includes diverse characters, you're right, they generally are not portrayed on the cover. Is the visual that off-putting? (A bit of a rhetorical question.)

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    5. Great question, Patricia. I made a decision about my covers a long time ago, so I try and use the characters themselves.

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    6. Kav, I think that's changing in the CBA finally. I certainly hope so. I like to make fun of all kinds of authors. :) I'm an equal opportunity pest and I play no favorites!

      In The First Gift Beth and I used a picture of a beautiful little African American girl. I love that cover. And in A Cowboy in Shepherd's Crossing, my black hero was on the cover.... was it off-putting for readers?

      I don't know.

      But I loved it.

      With over 50 books out, I've found that once people find you and love you, the cover isn't the huge thing we think it would be... because then it becomes the author... not the cover that's tempting them in. Although I do love a great cover!!!

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  14. I’m glad there’s more diversity of characters in books. I’ve always looked for those and I love to be part of a story where the people have different cultures and the setting is unique to my experiences. Hooray! I didn’t know anything about that hashtag before but I’ll be on the hunt now.

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    1. Hi Dalyn! Glad you enjoy diverse stories. If you ever need any recommendations, I'm happy to offer some.

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    2. Hi, Dalyn! Your comment made me smile! 😀

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  15. First, welcome ladies and marvelous authors! I'm so excited that Seekerville opened the #ownvoices conversation today! (Say that one fast. Lol)

    I'm thrilled we're finally blazing, long-overdue trails, and that publishers are recognizing the need for great stories by beautiful, talented, authors from racially diverse and multicultural backgrounds. Writing wonderful stories about characters from all walks of life, ethnicities, etc. speaks to the heart of what our country is about: life, liberty, freedom, and justice for all.

    May we just chat for a moment? Those in this country who close a blind to POC and racism, here's what I'd like to say: May you live happily-ever-after in your glass houses where "real-life" cannot intersect with your perfectly-ordered world. You don't know the fabulous new friends and experiences you are missing.

    Sadly, until racism ever touches us personally, many are content within the walls of those glass houses.

    I'll tread lightly here, but I'll always remember our joy when two little girls entered our family. Two, brown-skinned beauties with almond-shaped eyes, thick, black hair and stunning smiles who spoke fluent Mandarin but little else at the time. We didn't see color or Asian ethnicity or anything else. There were precious little girls, our new nieces, and we loved them immediately.

    One niece (who is legally blind) has had seven (eight?) eye surgeries since being in the States. The other eventually had surgery to remove a hairy nevus and hemangioma above her eye.

    One day at a local theme park, I overheard a dear believer (I know this because of her Chrisitan-themed tee-shirt) say to her friend, "Look at that. Those Chinese kids in OUR country. Well, wonder if they know how lucky they are to be here." She followed that up with various comments about their "slanted eyes," skin tone, etc. The woman didn't think I heard. But I did. Our nieces did. They may not have spoken fluent English at the time, but they certainly understood intonation and mannerisms.

    Oh. My goodness. Here's where I must pause and slug back a stout sip of joe. Ahhh. This little Ozarkian gal (me) had to tactfully, truthfully, and lovingly educate the women.

    Since then, there have been other encounters. Sometimes, people have spoken from a misinformed place, or sadly, from maliciousness, but we pray our nieces' hearts and minds will continue to reflect who they are in Jesus, and that closed mindsets will be opened.

    Today, both girls are bright, talented, well-adjusted college students pursuing their education, and they enjoy reading stories about people who are just like them - interesting, colorful people, made in the image of our Creator.

    So. Yes. We need to have these conversations. Thanks, Seekerville, for breaking new ground here.

    Amen. Hallelujah. Write on! *clink*

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    1. Hi Cynthia! Amen indeed! I'm glad you are able to have tactful, truthful, loving, educational conversations about race and prejudice. It's not always easy to do so, but every single one of those conversations plants a seed in the hearts of those in the conversation.

      I love that you said, "They enjoy reading stories about people who are just like them..." Part of their ability to do that is predicated upon people who are just like them being able to write and publish their stories, their voices. That's the importance of #ownvoices. Beautiful brown-skinned Asians with "almond-shaped eyes, thick, black hair and stunning smiles" deserve the opportunity to tell their stories.

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    2. Hi Cynthia! Great to see you here. You make such a great point about how people rarely see racism thoroughly unless they are affected by it. Those comments regarding your nieces must have been so hurtful. People can be so cruel and blind. I firmly believe diversity makes us all better. I come from a multi racial family. There was interracial marrying on both of my mother and father's sides so I am a variety of things. I'm a proud POC (African tribes) but I'm also Irish, Scottish and French. I find my background intriguing and it shows that love is love is love. Your nieces sound lovely. It's sad that that's not the very first thing people see when they lay eyes upon them.

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    3. Yes! I think that's one thing about books that help bridge the gap. It helps the reader gain empathy so their view points can change instead of waiting until it actually affects them. I'm so glad y'all loved your nieces unconditionally.

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    4. Oh, Cynthia, good for you for "educating" those women. I tend to back off, and by the time I know what to say, the moment has passed. Here's to more courage for all of us.

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    5. An ironic side note... when I'm shopping with my black grandson, I get funny looks from African Americans sometimes... As if what's that gal doing with the boy who's calling her "Grammy"????

      But I learned a long time ago with a black brother-in-law and black nephews and nieces and cousins that family is family and I am blessed to be part of a melting pot.

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  16. I love all things pumpkin. Pass a donut, please!

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    1. I'm considering making pumpkin bread this morning. ;)

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  17. Hi Ruth and Authors:

    I don't like hiding character pictures, even author pictures, and tricking the reader for half the book. That shows a basic and intentional dishonesty to me. It says,"this book is not good enough to sell on its own."

    It's reported that white people buy 60% to 80% of rap music. They know the artists are black and they know the content is about the black experience. But the music is honest and many think it is very good. Music publishers of all colors love to make money.

    In the world of Indy publishing, all authors can write what they want about who they want.

    Write your diverse books proudly. Show your picture and your characters' pictures. Make it really good writing. Page-turning writing. It will sell. The more it sells the more the traditional publishers will want to get in on the action. Really good books sell the author's other books. Many non-minority authors have had to fight the same problem with settings. Try to publish a traditional romance that takes place in Peru.

    Show them who you are and make it good. That's how you sell product.

    I ask you, which are there more of: minority female writers or male writers? How many men are writing for LI? And how many of the few male writers didn't show their picture and used only initials for a first name?

    Where is the diversity when it comes to male romance writers?

    A key factor with the romance genre is the deep identification with the hero or heroine. I can identify with Jason Borne or Jack Reacher, but I never think that I am them. But when it comes to romance I do like to think I'm the hero and I'm happy when the hero's face is not shown on the cover. No face? It could be me when I was younger.

    I also like to think that the heroine is in love with me. It's good to feel vicariously that I am being loved, admired and looked on as a protector.

    Often these warm fuzzy vicarious feelings are the goal of reading a romance. After all, we are guaranteed a happy ending. This is not mainstream fiction which tries to reflect reality. (Except Ruth does it a lot of the time and can get away with it but not everyone is that good.)

    Reading a romance is an emotion experience you feel, savor, and enjoy. It's like a favorite flavor of ice cream. Before you read it you know what you are going to get. And you known you'll soon want more.

    When you eat a favorite flavor of ice cream, like Marriage of Convenience chocolate, you know how it is going to turn out. You're eating it for the on-going enjoyment. Not to find out when the bowl becomes empty. The next day you might be hungry for "Hidden Child Cherry vanilla". You want the same wonderful feelings in your romance you had the last time -- only different. That's why there are themes and flavors.


    We don't need to turn romance into mainstream reality just like we don't need to turn country music into rap or rock and roll.

    Write what you want, show who are, let the reader know what you are writing up front, and write great Indy books that sell their socks off! You can bet traditional publishers will come knock on your door.

    Vince

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    1. Vince, a lot to unpack there. I'll try to do it in chunks. First, the hiding of author and character pics. I believe few diverse authors desire to hide themselves from the reading public. If this happens, I'm going to blame it on the publisher. I could be wrong, but that's my sense. However, sales history shows that books with diverse characters and/or authors tend to be shelved differently in book stores (not libraries, where they are alphabetic by author and title), and quite frankly, most white readers do not go to the aisles where the "other" books are housed. For this reason, an author may strategically choose a cover that does not have an image on it that might dissuade some readers. I don't see this as "hiding" but rather as "strategic," no different than the marketing decision made for books by white authors that may or may not include characters. To me the only and real crime in not employing character images is the notion that if white readers saw images of diverse characters or authors, that they would be less inclined to buy and/or read the book or that their enjoyment of the story would be altered in some way.

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    2. Part 2 -- Vince, you imply that the reason diverse authors have not been picked up in the past is that their stories weren't good enough. You say "Make it really good writing. Page-turning writing. It will sell. The more it sells the more the traditional publishers will want to get in on the action. Really good books sell the author's other books." Yes and no.

      This is exactly the thinking that diverse authors have been up against. Maybe the books just aren't quite up to snuff when in fact, many of these authors do sell well independently yet still have difficulty acquiring traditional publishing contracts. The presumption that diverse authors need to simply write a better book, and that if they do, all will be well is a false narrative. It just doesn't work that way. Hence, the need for increased awareness and sensitivity to the issue. Writing a great book is not enough.

      Of course there are exceptions to the rule, and there are certainly diverse authors with publishing contracts. But the road to being picked up by a traditional publisher is a bumpy one for any author. It seems to be doubly hard and bumpy for diverse authors.

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    3. Part 3 -- Minority male writers? Lots of them out there. Minority male romance writers? Honestly, I had to do some research. I know of two personally--Wayne Jordan who used to write for Kimani and Maurice Gray Jr--but I tried to find others. From a recent FB post on this very topic, I found some others, but they come with a warning label: Generally the books are more mainstream fiction with romantic elements. They also tend toward more explicit in terms of language and sex that typically discussed here. Isaiah Paul Davis, Tony Lindsay, Roy Glenn, Keith Thomas Walker, Ran Walker, Marcus Major, Colin Channer, Curtis Bunn, Ben Burgess, Shakir Rashaan, and Andre Ray were the names I uncovered. I have not read any personally as yet, but I did look up each of their books on Amazon to verify that they were in or around the romance market.

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    4. Vince always packs a shelf full of information...

      And thank you for your kind comments about my books, sir! You know I appreciate your take.

      I love that indie books have thrown doors wide open for my work that doesn't sell in the open market of traditional publishing... and I'm absolutely capable of self-publishing and being my own small business...

      So that's a bonus for all of us as individuals. It was not a bonus for traditional publishers who now have an 800 lb. gorilla taking huge chunks of the daily pie and that's got to be unnerving. But life is full of change. For us and for publishing, for agents, for editors. And if indie authors are doing well, a lot of them aren't worried about publishers knocking on their door, although a six-figure advance might change that. :)


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    5. Hi PatriciaW:

      Thanks you for your well thought-out responses to my comments. I can tell from your view of my statement that 'minority writes need to write great books' and your view that 'often that a great book is not enough' requires me to qualify my statement.

      First: romances are not mainstream literature. Romances are much more like comfort food eaten for the good feelings they provide.

      When I read a romance I want a heroine who is my type, who I could fall in love with, and live a lifetime as happily ever after as possible.

      My type is Terry Garr, Renee Zellweger, and Gretchen Corbett--the lawyer girlfriend on the Rockford Files, (and my wife who looks like them). Many people have types they like best. I won't buy (and have never bought) a romance with the word "billionaire" in the title. If a billionaire can't get the girl, he's a joke. I almost never read a paranormal.

      I want a heroine who will make a good match as a wife. If you want me to read your book about a "Billionaire", it better be a lot better than great. It better be getting a lot of buzz in the media as a 'must' read. That's what I mean by 'great'. The book must be so good that people will read it when it is not their type of romance.

      Some fans do not want to read romances about cowboys and some won't read romances about cops. What's wrong with that? Are critics telling me that I have to eat some weird flavors of ice cream for diversity purposes?

      The real problem with diversity books is that in romance there may be only a small market. Romances are a fantasy. They are like a sweet bubble bath after a pressure-filled day. And yet there are those who say, "You can't have your fantasy or your ideal type. Read what we want you to. It's for social justice!"

      It's not going to happen. I want a heroine like Terry Garr. I want a heroine like the ones on "Small-Town Hearts", "The Lawman's Second Chance," and "The Unexpected Groom". I can see myself happily married to them.

      I can hear the complaints: "They are too much alike. You must diversify. It’s good PC it's even better for the gene pool."

      It's not going to happen. Here's an example: I read a great book by a minority author which had all minority characters. It was excellent. I gave it a top review and some women complained that the book was not that good! Here's what I liked: the book was set on St. John's island. One of the most beautiful places in the world. The story had great settings. I loved it. I had been to St. John's, I loved it, and I was reliving my stay by reading the book. Wonderful. Five star.

      That's what I mean by a great book, to the reader, a feature that sells the book over and above its being a romance. I think that is what it is going to take.

      Let's face it. Unless there is overt and effective discrimination, we are going to get the level of diversity as consumer dollars vote for.

      Consider Amish books: the Amish are a very small part of the population but Amish books sell well. Why? People want to read them.

      In short: write books people want to read. I'm sure Tony Hillerman sold a lot more books than there are Navajos.

      BTW: I wish all the diverse authors well in marketing their books. Can such authors come up with a diverse group that becomes as popular as the Amish? That would be great. Do it. Create a diverse sub-genre. Good luck.

      Vince

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    6. Hi Vince! I'm late to this discussion because I was having issues with my browser yesterday, but I'd love to chime in on your concerns. From my perspective, the decision to choose covers that don't feature faces of the characters has nothing to do with hiding. Even when I've used thematic covers for my books, my author photo has always been featured on the back cover, so readers clearly knew they were buying a book by a writer of color.

      I agree with all of Patricia's comments - in particular the desire for writers of color who write solid books to have their works purchased and read by readers from all walks of life. So in many senses, it is a business strategy to use covers that will appeal to a broader swath of readers.

      That said, I'd like to clarify that when my publisher and I made a decision to switch up my covers nearly a decade ago, it was warranted as a business strategy and in direct response to loyal readers who were offering advice that could help expand my base. In today's climate, I believe we would make a different decision,and maintain covers that reflect the hue and diversity within the characters of color featured in my books - to better celebrate the culture in a time when this is needed most.

      I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here, and this has nothing to do with authors or publishers wanting to hide who characters. Just as with many books penned by writers who are not considered writers of color have some covers featuring people and some featuring flowers or beach scenes, etc., I think it's fair that we get to choose what feels right and strategic for each of our books and our target audiences. Ultimately, the goal is to write the best books we can to reach readers of all kinds who care about characters of all kinds. The path to this result can be as multidimensional as our characters. :)

      Thank you again for sharing your thoughts!

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    7. Hi Stacy:

      Wow! This is one of the best comments I've received in over ten years on Seekerville. Thank you.

      I can support almost everything you wrote except you are making an almost always fatal error in marketing. A mistake that has been proved wrong over and over again by direct marketers for over 100 years. (Direct marketers test their ads. They learn what works and what doesn't work. For lots of good information on this read, "Tested Advertising Methods".)

      Here is the error: Running an ad that will appeal to the most people. Get them to read the ad.

      In a book store this would be: write headlines and run pictures that will appeal to the most readers to get them to pick the book up.

      This makes total common sense. Almost all non-specifically marketing trained people make this mistake all the time. This even includes advertising people who don't know squat about direct marketing.

      In the first place, success is not how many people notice your ad. That's mostly irrelevant. What you want is the most "prospects", readers who would buy the book if they only knew it existed, to notice the book.

      Success in direct marketing is about selecting the attention of the best prospects, not the largest audience.

      Consider this: Let's say you really want to read a minority romance. You're a new social worker working a very diverse clientele. You go to the book store and out of two hundred books there are only three books with minority characters on the cover. You say, "Great, this is just what I am looking for." You look the books over and make your purchase. You might buy them all.

      That's direct. Match up the prospect with the book. The amateur marketers would not like to do this. They say, "If you don't show those minorities, more people will pick up the book."

      That's correct. They will. But are they going to pick up all 300 books in order to discover the diverse story they are looking for? Very unlikely. Will your trickily marketing cover be one of the 300 books looked at? Also, many readers are going to be very upset that you tried to trick them. That's not good marketing. That's not good for sales.

      When I was a broker selling houses everyone said, "Classified ads don't work. They are expensive and we only run them to placate the seller."

      I told them, "The ads are no good. They all sound alike, 'Three bedroom, two bath, two car garage, nice neighborhood, reasonable priced.' "

      If there are 500 ads like that in the Sunday newspaper, which one is a reader going to call? What is each agent's odds of getting a call? Besides most of the few calls you do get are non-qualified. The buyer quickly hangs up, "That's out of my price range, not the part of town I want, not the school district I want, etc."

      I'd ask brokers why do you run ads that are worded with so little chance of producing calls.

      "Ads don't sell houses! Agents sell house. And truth be told, we can't be specific in order to attract the few best prospects because ads are so expense. We have to make all our sellers believe that the ads we are running are for their property. Even the biggest companies could not afford to run a specific ad on every listing."

      I loved classified ads because I would sell houses in one or two weeks. My ads were so specific that there may have only been a handful of prospects, out of thousands of buyers, for the property. However, if they saw the ad, they were soon on their way to see the property. It was just what they were looking for.

      RT did a survey many years ago. They asked readers what they wanted to see less of in romances. The top item was books with children.

      If your story has kids, you must put them on the cover! Drive away the readers who hate reading about kids and attract those who love kids in stories. (Like me.)

      I hope this helps.

      Vince

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    8. Vince, this is an interesting response with great talking points and you guys have had a wonderful discussion over here at the coffee bar.

      Thank you for loving my heroines! :) I love them, too. They're spunky enough to be strong and fragile enough to be lovable... And they'll make GREAT MOMS.

      That formula works for me. And they do tend to put kids on my covers because all of my publishers know I love blended family themes and that kids are a huge part of that.

      Dogs, too. And the occasional horse! :)

      We can't make everyone happy, so if we can make our readers SO HAPPY that they spread the word, then our mission is accomplished. And that's a huge part of my personal marketing.

      Write so many books that you can't avoid being noticed. It's a formula I'm good at and advice I give to other authors all the time.

      Keep writin' books. :)

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    9. Ruth:

      I really enjoy marketing talk. LI does a great job. I'm still surprised about your landscape cover with no people on the cover. I hope it did as well as your other LI books from the same time period.

      Keep writin'g 'em. I'll keep reading 'em. Only you seem to be a lot faster than me.

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  18. Such an important conversation! Thank you, ladies, for sharing your hearts with us!

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  19. Hi Everyone!
    I'm not sure my comments have been coming through, so I'm trying again, just in case.

    In regard to the question about white writers creating diverse characters, I believe it's okay for a white writer to create characters of color, as long as he/she makes an effort to "know" that culture beyond what he/she has read or heard. Another good balance check is to have a friend or acquaintance (or a few) of that ethnicity read what you've written and candidly share with you whether it reads as authentic or stereotypical. I've written white women characters and a white male character and have received helpful feedback from my beta readers with those backgrounds.

    Author Jodi Picoult does an excellent job of writing diverse lead characters, including an African American woman, in her book "Small Great Things." If you read her appendix, she lists the numerous African American women she interviewed and asked to vet the book for authenticity. I think taking that extra step is sometimes necessary to ensure accurate portrayals, and also to let readers know that you are approaching this subject matter and these characters perspectives with positive intentions.

    Thanks for being a part of this conversation!

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  20. Good afternoon ladies. This is a wonderful post. God has called us to look at the souls of others, thats it. Thank you for sharing this post today. Thank you ladies for writing what God leads you to write. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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    1. Hello there, Lori. It's my firm belief that making distinctions about race and color are much ado about nothing. We are all God's children and well written book is a well written book! Blessings!

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    2. Thank you, Lori. "Looking at the souls of others"...fantastic view!

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    3. Lori, sweet.... I agree. It's like my eggs. Green, blue, beige, brown, ivory and they're all eggs inside the shell.

      We humans can sure mess things up, can't we?

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  21. Welcome, Belle, Toni, Patricia and Stacy! I'm so glad to have y'all here today to share with us. This is such an important topic. I've been glad to see progress in #ownvoices. I was recently at the Love Inspired spotlight at the ACFW conference, and the editors specifically said they're looking for diverse authors and stories. I truly hope we keep moving in the right direction.

    By the way, I love all the covers that were shared today!

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    1. Hi Missy! I love covers too and I enjoy seeing all the beautiful colors reflected in diverse books!

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    2. Good to hear LI is looking for diverse authors and stories. I remember when I saw Felicia Mason's books in the early years. I was so excited! But they were followed by a dearth of similar books. One or two by Angela Benson. Some books with diverse characters by a handful of white authors. I always hoped LI would broaden its horizons.

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    3. Hi, Missy! I was excited to hear about LI as well. And looking at beautiful covers is my favorite past time!

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    4. LI is pretty good that way. I have "The Texan's Secret Daughter" by Jolene Navarro in my tote bag. Woman of color as heroine, no big deal.

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  22. I'm so thankful this post came along. Thank you all. Great insight that can't help but move things forward. I want to do this and do it right. At the heart of any character is the same deep things we all share. On the other hand, every one of us has looked out at the world from a different place and that can only be beneficial by sharing the view. Hooray for more diverse fiction. Finally!!

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    1. It’s really time for it, Debra! We need to reflect all colors and races in our books!

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    2. Totally agree with Belle. Some authors have done it. Marilynn Griffith comes to mind as does Kim Cash Tate. But I've rarely seen a white author truly embrace a diverse cast, and if they do, usually for one book, not a series. Another author who comes to mind is Cheryl Wyatt. I loved her parajumpers series in part due to the diversity of the cast.

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    3. I wrote a Seven Brides Seven Brothers Series with a very diverse cast. Those books did really well and raeaders loved all 7 brothers who had been adopted from the foster care system.

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    4. "every one of us has looked out at the world from a different place and that can only be beneficial by sharing the view" well said! I love it when I get to see a different view from mine. I've always learned and benefited it personally from that knew knowledge. And hopefully, grown.

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    5. Debra, yeah, we're all on this earth together and for a reason. And we all want the same things.

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  23. Welcome to Seekerville, ladies! It's wonderful to have you here and I love this topic. Diversity in stories should definitely be the norm. I enjoy reading intriguing stories, no matter the race of the characters.

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    1. Thanks so much, Beth. And you're so right! It should be the norm. Wouldn't it be amazing if this conversation we're having is obsolete in ten years? It would be something to rejoice over.

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  24. Welcome to Seekerville, ladies! I'm also very happy that Ruthy had the wonderful idea of inviting you here!

    I know it exists - I've witnessed it - but I don't understand the kind of racism you've described when it comes to Christian publishing. And it isn't your viewpoint that escapes me - it's the closed doors. *sigh* Why, when a book is written well with a great story and captivating characters, would a publisher turn their back on it?

    Keeping you all in my prayers. Great stories deserve time on the bookshelf!

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    1. Thanks, Jan for the hearty welcome. I think there are a lot of people who are the gatekeepers who feel as if it's risky to publish diverse authors. I personally have found the reading public wants diverse books and diverse characters. If you present it them and make it available, they'll read it. But if it's never offered you end up having a system where authors of color are marginilized. I strongly believe that is changing for the better.

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    2. Jan, black Christian authors (and perhaps other diverse authors as well) have long found it difficult to get published by Christian publishers. So many excuses are given, the kind that could be true--your story isn't quite right, writing not strong enough, no market for it, etc.--or maybe just excuses. Go to any Christian publisher and calculate the percentage of books written by diverse authors vs. white and the percentage featuring diverse characters vs. not. The numbers will be low. If you track back 5, 10 or 15 years, it's even worse. Christian publishing has been especially slow to embrace diverse authors. One here or there, but not en masse. After a while, they say, "well we aren't getting those submissions; we don't see those stories." But after years and years of getting turned down, after a while, it becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. Diverse authors stop submitting because they know the odds are against them. So the publishers say we'd love to see those stories but diverse authors will say, "we don't have a chance; why bother?" It's an ugly situation. It's real and I could rattle off a very long list of authors who are doing well as independently published authors who could not get past the Christian publishing gatekeepers.

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    3. That's a shame. Writing and being publishing is hard enough without adding more unnecessary roadblocks. I had no idea this was an issue. May God continue to bless and create paths for His writers to tell their stories--whatever the outside packaging may be.

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    4. Patricia stated it perfectly. It is an ugly situation and the whole "catch 22." It's hard to put yourself out there when experience has told you the door will close repeatedly in your face. I think it's why Indie publishing has been such a boom for authors of colors.

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    5. There is such a disconnect between publishers and what people want. Seriously. They need to take risks until it isn't a risk any more.

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    6. Kaybee, don't hate me, but that's not always true.... and I can look at the dollars and cents of risk-taking and know that it's easier said than done. I think we have to understand that the bottom line is a significant thing in publishing because of the structure. It's a big line of employees... and rent.

      But having said that, I firmly believe that there's room for all of us. When we formed the Seekers, there were 15 authors bumping shoulders, vying for the few open spots in CBA. We joined forces and prayed one another into publication and all 15 ended up published by royalty-paying publishers.

      I believe the same should happen here, that if we all work hard enough and long enough and pray for one another's success, doors open. It's an amazing thing.

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    7. Dollars and cents should play a role but it shouldn't be an excuse to shut people out of the publishing world. I hear that reasoning all the time but without giving people a chance, some publishers will never know.

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  25. Belle, Toni, Stacy, and Patricia, thank you so much for joining us in Seekerville for this conversation! As a reader, I love experiencing stories about folks who are not like me (whether it's a difference of background or temperament or culture or ethnicity) but above all, I want authenticity and that's the power of #ownvoices, no one can tell your stories like you can.

    So thank you for bringing diversity to this vanilla lady in her isolated rural farming community ijust about full to the brim of white folks, 97%! I've read that avid readers have higher levels of empathy and with the right literary diet, I believe that is quite likely!

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    1. Beth, that's so interesting about avid readers having a higher level of empathy! I love that.

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    2. Hi, Beth! You're so right. And what better way to gain understanding of another person not like yourself while escaping into a book! Win win for everyone. :)

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    3. Beth, this is what good fiction does, right? It brings us together. I'm rereading a novel by Minday Starns Clark about a young woman with a high-powered career on Wall Street and her world is totally foreign to me. But her emotions, her longing for love and belonging and redemption, are identifiable.
      Fiction brings us together.
      Kathy Bailey

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    4. Thanks for joining in on this conversation, Beth, and for being open to hearing our perspectives.

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  26. Thank you everyone for participating in this conversation with us. I tried to get to as many comments as I could and I'll probably check back once more, but it was fun and I always appreciate a good discourse on important topics like this one. Thank you to Ruthy and Seekerville for hosting this topic and inviting me to join in.

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    1. Patricia, thank you so much for the great conversation!

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  27. I'm kind of on the fence about writing diverse characters. I personally haven't written any extroverts as main characters, because I'm an introvert. I write from the first-person as an introvert, because that's pretty much what all my observations about extroverts have come from. So why would I try to write an African American or an Asian or a Latino or anything else if I haven't experienced their point of view? Maybe it's a confidence thing?

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    1. It may not be for everyone to write diverse characters. But as a reader and fellow author, you can certainly encourage others and champion diverse books (which I know you've done).

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    2. Lila, I agree with Toni, and something more. If GOD wants you to write from a diverse POV, you will know. If He doesn't, don't force it. I'm the whitest person in the world living in the whitest state in the Union. But when I got the idea for my current novella-in-progress, it was the concept of a young Native woman who undergoes trauma and is forced to heal in the home of a white man. She had to be Native, so I had to learn to write from her perspective. Or the plot was worthless. Same with the book I'm researching now, the male hero being Cheyenne is central to the plot. You will know when it's time. When you can't write your story any other way.
      KB

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    3. Oh, Lila, you've touched an interesting point. We tend to write what we know, what we empathize with, so the personality traits are understandable.

      But to me that's the internal of the person and can easily be used in any color range or ethnicity. But you'd have to feel comfortable doing that or it won't come off as authentic. And you always want to be authentic.

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    4. Lila, I agree with Toni and Kaybee. It's not for everyone and it shouldn't be forced. If you wanted to consider including diverse characters as minor characters in your books - as friends, aquaintances or co-workers of your main characters - that might be a way to start expanding your audience of characters in a way that feels more natural. I often tackle the issue of writing about characters who are very different from me personally by writing the full back story for each character I plan to explore in a novel, and by going on to conduct a Meyer's Briggs analysis on these characters. This is very helpful! It allows me then to frame each of the character's motives and actions from a framework (and plot) based on their personalities, as outlined by the Meyer's Briggs descriptors, and not how I would behave or respond.

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  28. Replies
    1. Thank you, Mary. Like Ruth said, it's an important conversation.

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  29. I agree with Mary P., this is fascinating. And I'm in. All in, I hope. This is a conversation we have to have, especially as Christian writers, because, as I have said Ad Nauseum, a rising tide lifts all Christian fiction boats.
    I've always had diverse secondary and minor characters, it's the world we live in, but I never tried to write from another race's POV until the first draft of "Settler's Hope," where I had a freed former slave trying to start a new life in the Oregon Country. Not only diversity, but diversity in another century. I don't know if I got it right because after "Westward Hope" was contracted and the editor asked me to cut all but two points of view, she fell victim to the cuts. I did save her chapters, I'm a magpie, and may do something with her story later.
    I'm experimenting with diverse POVs in two projects. One is a Christmas novella, I hope for Pelican's Christmas collection in 2020, in which the heroine is a young Native woman who's had her village burned to the ground and escaped with her young son. So I need to get not only a Cheyenne female perspective, but one from another century. Rots of ruck.
    The other one is huge. I'm researching the third book in "Western Dreams," and it's the story of Jenny and White Bear. So this time I have to put myself in a MALE CHEYENNE PERSPECTIVE in ANOTHER CENTURY. I'm going to have to have someone to vet me at some point. I have an acquaintance who's a Native American storyteller, and there's an Indian Museum about 40 miles away, maybe I can get someone from there to read and advise. It's worth doing right, right?
    This is a tricky time to live in and I often feel like I'm walking on eggs, but they're good eggs. All we can do is try, right?
    Your Kaybee
    Working it out in New Hampshire

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    1. I know April Gardner has written from Native perspectives. You might want to reach out to her for research help.

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    2. Kaybee, I admire your courage in stretching your reach as a writer. Google is always a good friend when starting to research, and I'm guessing it can help you find some Native American organizations or professors who would be willing to read your upcoming projects for voice, tone and cultural authenticity. They both sound like interesting projects - all the best with them.

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  30. Belle, are you still in Massachusetts? We could have lunch some time.

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    1. Aww, I live in Connecticut now but I do go to Massachusetts from time to time. Let's make it happen!

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  31. I have finally obtained Belle's Alaskan Grooms series and am about to start reading them!
    I wanted to get them all and read right through....lol

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    1. Awww, Jackie. That's wonderful to hear!! I loved writing them. I'm sticking around Alaska since my new series is in Owl Creek, Alaska.

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  32. Welcome, ladies. I enjoyed reading your posts. I'm late to the party as I'm finally getting to read this, but I think it is a great topic. I just enjoy reading good books, no matter the ethnicity of the characters. Please enter me in the drawing.

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    1. Sandy, that's why it's fun to have the two-day span.... not late, you're right on time!

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    2. Thanks, Sandy. It's great being able to talk openly about this issue.

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  33. Welcome, ladies, to Seekerville, and thank you for sharing on this topic. I'm sorry I'm late to the party. I was laid low by a migraine yesterday, and lifting my head from the pillow was too much!

    I appreciate both your honesty, and your willingness to be gentle in discussing a topic that some might find uncomfortable. Sometimes, in an effort to not give offense, people avoid the topic...thereby diminishing it and giving unintentional offense.

    This writing/publishing business is tricky, because it is a business, but it deals with real, raw emotions, experiences, and truth. There are two bottom lines in publishing: money/profit and truth-telling.

    It can be a difficult balancing act. I'm happy to see previously closed doors opening, both in the publishing world and in our hearts and minds.

    Long may those trends continue!

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    1. I echo all of this (except the migraine part - i didn't have one lol)

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    2. Very well said, Erica. I think honesty is always best. And the more people discuss it I think the less overwhelming it will be for everyone. And hurray for progress!!! It's a wonderful thing to see.

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  34. Great conversations!! I'm still catching up after being gone most of the day.

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    1. Thanks, Missy. Waving at you from Connecticut.

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  35. Ladies, thank you for being here. It was an honor to host you and I'd love to revisit what's going on with all of you next year... keeping the conversation going forward is a wonderful thing. Winners will be announced in tomorrow's Weekend Edition!

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