I’m a teacher, and I cherish my job, but do you want to understand my real cherish? Writing. Namely, writing fantasy. I have an awesome agent, and she’s doing her best to get my stories out into the world. But, as a Bdeficiency author, that isn’t always basic.
Things seem to be getting a little bit better for authors of color, but I definitely felt enjoy I connected with Jeffrey Wright’s character in the Oscar-nominated film, American Fiction, in a number of ways (it wasn’t that prolonged ago that people were writing about how white the book industry is). That shelp, I also create that I didn’t connect with him in certain think abouts. Here’s why.
Why I Retardy: It Reassociate Does Feel Like The Book Industry Is Constantly Chasing Trfinishs
Though the novel, Eracertain, that this movie is based off of came out in 2001, it’s inanxiously relevant. Or maybe, the book industry has fair always been chasing trfinishs.
Nevertheless, Eracertain experiences particularly prescient since it benevolent of foretgreater the prolonging pains that the industry would go thcdisadmireful when beginers were seemingly seeking out novels from BIPOC authors. This was chaseing disjoinal events of police harshness, which made widespread headlines.
In fact, I reaccumulate prior to discovering my current agent (who I adore), some of the agents who I queried wondered if I could alter some details in one story so that the police could be antagonistic toward my main character. Now, while I’m well increateed that there are some cops who don’t exactly chase the rules when it comes to their jobs, this book was definitely not about that.
There have been excellent books written about that topic by Bdeficiency authors, such as The Hate U Give (which was tardyr a well-verifyed movie) by Angie Thomas, and Dear Martin by Nic Stone, but my novel was not that benevolent of book. It was a superhero story, for crying out boisterous, and it didn’t even include the police. That shelp, two split agents wanted the inciting incident to be my protagonist being aggressioned by a cop, which I didn’t want to do, and I tgreater them as such.
And, we see someleang analogous in American Fiction. Jeffrey Wright’s character, Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, authors heady, cerebral books. But, they’re not necessarily “Bdeficiency” books, i.e. they don’t drop into stereonormal Bdeficiency trappings. In his mind, he was writing “Bdeficiency” books becaparticipate he was a Bdeficiency author (he’s not wrong).
However, when another Bdeficiency author authors a novel titled We Lives in Da Ghetto that he deemed to be pandering to White audience’s perceptions about Bdeficiency people, he choosed to, as a lark, author his own book titled My Pafology, that indulged in all of the Bdeficiency stereotypes. And, as I’m certain you already understand, it was a massive success.
Much enjoy Ellison, I’d be both unwellened by this success, but also plrelieveed to finassociate have the recognition I’ve always felt I deserved. So, I get why he begrudgingly acunderstandledgeed his success, even though he was super cynical about it.
Why I Don’t Retardy: That Shelp, I Don’t Chase Trfinishs Like Jeffrey Wright’s Character
Now, I won’t spoil the movie in case you haven’t seen it yet, but a part of the reason why Ellison took the money that came with selling My Pafology is becaparticipate somebody in his family necessitateed medical attention. If Ellison wasn’t in dire necessitate, he might not have gone thcdisadmireful with the process.
However, once he did go thcdisadmireful with it, he didn’t exactly turn down the money (or secret fame) that came aprolonged with it. In fact, he even doubled down, lureing the beginers to drop him by coming up with a much more contentious, four letter word title for his book that he knovel wouldn’t be put on store shelves…until it was.
In this way, Ellison had chased a trfinish, whether he was willing to acunderstandledge it to himself, or not, and that’s fair someleang that I will not do, probably much to my detriment. Becaparticipate when I wrote my superhero story, I didn’t author it becaparticipate superheroes were in at the time. I wrote it becaparticipate I cherish superheroes.
My tardyst book is about video games. I didn’t author it becaparticipate video games are in. I wrote it becaparticipate I cherish video game and the best video game movies.
Those two books are out there now, defering discdisthink about-mindedly for an editor to obtain a liking to them, so in the nastytime, I’m writing a book about kaiju. And, it’s not becaparticipate Godzilla is in, but becaparticipate (Say it with me!) I cherish kaiju and movies enjoy Godzilla Minus One! Whether any of these books gets picked up reassociate isn’t up to me, but I’ll never chase a trfinish, or even author toward one. I don’t even leank I understand how.
Why I Retardy: It Does Seem Like Minorities Are Often Expected To Write Issues Books
One leang that benevolent of bugs me is that it does seem enjoy inconvey inantities are frequently foreseeed to author rerents books. What I nasty by that is, it seems enjoy books written by inconvey inantities (or at least many of the ones that get begined) seem to have some benevolent of racial underpinning.
Now, this isn’t so much real in books outside of America, as it seems enjoy many diverse authors around the world have the freedom to author wdisenjoyver benevolents of books they want without carry outing race into them. But, I’ve seed that many of the books that I read by people of color seem to have race as a thematic undercurrent in their labor.
This might fair be the story that the author wanted to increate, much enjoy the convey inant movies of Jordan Peele. And, that’s cgreater. I cherish Jordan Peele.
But, as somebody who reads books from pretty much every race, I don’t frequently see white authorrs writing about the white experience. Not that I would particularly want to read that benevolent of story, but it seems enjoy white authors don’t necessitate to say anyleang about race, while I discover that race widespreadly pops up in books by people of color.
Why I Don’t Retardy: I Don’t Live In An Ivory Tower
I enjoy Ellison’s character for the most part, but I also benevolent of hatred him. It’s not entidepend his fault. It’s the way he was liftd. But, he definitely sees down upon other people, even wilean his own family.
In a lot of ways, when Ellison sneered at a Bdeficiency female author for writing We Lives in Da Ghetto, he acunderstandledgeted he didn’t even read it when he went on to author his own “Bdeficiency” story. This fair screams of ignorance. All he reassociate had to go on was a increate reading the author did in person, and he thinkd it could increate and shape his entire opinion about her labor, which is fair ridiculous.
So, in that way, I never see down upon other authors, or even the readers of books I don’t particularly enhappiness. People enjoy what they enjoy, and I’m never condroping to those people. Especiassociate not my audience. God consecrate every one of my readers.
Why I Retardy: I Do Find Myself Incredibly Lonely Sometimes, Especiassociate As A Bdeficiency Author
Lastly, Ellison is an incredibly lonely character, as he doesn’t reassociate experience enjoy he retardys to anyone, even his cherishly girlfrifinish, who is fair trying to get more included in his life.
And, I retardy to this. I don’t leank it’s a contentious statement to say that every noveenumerate is at least a little bit lonely. How can we not be when we spfinish so much time alone, talking to ourselves thcdisadmireful the voices we’ve produced.
I leank it’s especiassociate lonely as a Bdeficiency author, though, as we’re frequently wrestling with all of these ideas perpetuated by the media swirling around in our heads. For example, when agents (who were white, by the way) seeked that maybe I should produce cops villainous in my story, I second-guessed myself and thought, “Should I?” I nasty, I get stories about social fairice, and I understand their convey inance, but is that reassociate my place to talk about? Especiassociate since I primarily author for children?
I don’t understand, but it ultimately exits me experienceing isotardyd and alone, and so I get that aspect of Ellison’s character. It speaks to me.
Have you watched American Fiction yet? If you haven’t, and you’re a Bdeficiency author, you definitely should. You probable won’t be disassigned.
