I have been squawking, screaming and squealing for months about Seg-Book-Gation and the importance of diversity in reading, and in doing so I have hit some walls, but I have also made some breakthroughs.
The most recent "wall" (walls and obstacles are only stair steps to triumph!) is the Book Club wall.
Recently, my publisher contacted me to advise that he had received a "small" offer from Black Expressions Book Club. This offer was to acquire the Book Club Rights for my novel GLORIOUS.
Yes, the offer was small compared to the money I've received for my previous books...but this post is not about money...this post is about PRINCIPAL...and *yawn* yes, about Seg-Book-Gation in publishing.
Once upon a time, way back when there was only one commercial Book Club (Doubleday) where many books were profiled (no matter the color of the authors skin) the works of African-American authors were offered to the mainstream reading public. Ten years ago, Black Expression Book Club was created and MOST authors of color were relegated to that club, hence the beginning (or the middle) of Seg-Book-Gation.
But here is where it gets interesting...
When my publisher told me that Black Expressions was interested in acquiring the book club rights to GLORIOUS, I was like...cool...but can GLORIOUS also be featured in the mainstream (cross over) Doubleday book club? And the response he received from the powers that be at Black Expressions was this:
"... Black Expressions is going to reach out to several of the other book clubs, but ... warns me that ---has had very little success with crossing over to other clubs recently."
*Clearing throat*
But here is the thing...the national bestselling novel: The Help written by WHITE AUTHOR Kathryn Stockett is available at Black Expressions...
I'm done.
Talk amongst yourselves...but please leave your comments here.........
8 comments:
Damn straight, Bernice.
Enough to make you holler. Zetta Elliot turned down an interview with Library Journal on principle, too. They wanted her book under urban lit. Fine if her book was urban lit but it's not.
So tire of black writers being pigeon-holed, ignored, dissed.
I've been battling with white folks who don't see race all day so I'm in a real funk.
Sorry to go off on tangent. Thank you for standing firm.
That is a very interesting post and somewhat disheartening. I'm new to the novel game having released my first on February 2nd of this year. I'm self publishing and finding many walls as well. Can you offer any advice that might help me turn some of these walls into stepping stones?
Good post Bernice and I happy to see that Carol is willing to have a convo with you about it.
Margaret Johnson-Hodge
On the count of three...
Boooo!!!!
Why don't they just be adventurous and try it. That is the part that is so frustrating, the refusal to try something different.
I'm gonna just co-sign on the other comments especially susan and gerbera daisy mom. Black Expressions just has some messy thinking and BOOOO! How is a company that's supposed to be supportive and representative of Black authors gonna help keep them pigeonholed? FAIL.
@JB - I think the most important thing all of us writers need to do is create OUR OWN AUDIENCE - this way we take the power away from the publisher - thus breaking out of the box/hole the industry has forced us into...
IMO, in many ways, Black Expressions is in the position of the independent black bookstore. They carry all the books by AA authors. The only books the big clubs want are the "big" books, whatever "big" means to them.
Well, if the "big" books go to other clubs, what's Black Expressions going to do? I've noticed the book prices in BE are, on average, higher than those in the other clubs. So choosing between BE and the other clubs when buying a book becomes a dollars and cents decisions.
In some ways, I think Black Expression is suffering from "seg-BOOK-gation" right along with the authors. JMO. Who knows if I'm on the right track.
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