When it comes to disability rep Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows is the only character that comes to mind. I love Bardugo and the way she wrote him just put a smile on my face. I've been dealing with chronic pain for years and now for almost a year now a disease completely ruined my knee so I finally picked up Six of Crows to help me cope and man Kaz is the character I needed to feel less miserable about my situation. Representation matters and the pie chart didn’t make me very pleased so to speak.
I was talking with some TradPub authors last year and they kinda scared me. We were discussing these trends and the ways companies slowly shift to appeal to their readers (such as waves of genres, vampires, dystopia, zombie, parody, etc) and how submitting at the wrong time can set you back several years. One of the "waves" was to increase the "unheard voices" (not instead of other groups, just willing to take more risks) which is a good thing. But since some scandals, you basically have to prove you belong (and this will sound bad) to that "group." I don't want to be marketed as "a disabled writer" just to get my stories out. Especially when one of the authors told me I should be ready to give them proof when they ask. Like, I'm sorry, the stork did not come back when I was 30 and gave me a card saying I am "official" now. Looks like it will be self-publish for me only. I don't like being labeled, in any form, and considering it seems the author does most of the work anyway, I feel it will be the best long-term if I can do it.
The stork card bit made me LOL love it! And understandable! There is a lot of doomsday talk circulating about that. There has been a ton of push back however on proving identities and how harmful that can be, and legally I'm pretty sure publishers actually can't ask??? I can't imagine a legitimate publishing house putting themselves in a potential legal situations over diversity-something they care very little about, you know? lol
god i hope YA apocalypse books are on the rise because that's what i'm drafting right now and i've been kind of resigned to the fact that its unpublishable lol at least one got sold !!
When I was in my second semester at uni I started writing a story about generational queerness with a uni student protagonist (originally literary, now YA) - and I was asked what the point of was of having my mc have a carer, as I had at the time, and I tried to explain that I was just writing about my real life. I don’t think I even noticed that I took it out. I know that everyone’s autistic situations are different, but it would be nice to destigmitize these aspects of disability. I’m currently hoping to apply to a masters in writing for young people at the same university next winter, hopefully to polish the same story I started writing in 2020.
Good luck on your journey! Just so you know you're not the only one: even before I knew I was on the spectrum, I had comments on my MS about my autistic (unintentionally) character being mean and manipulative. The reason for it was that not knowing this was unusual, I wrote my character like me: quite often intelectually deciding what her facial expression would be or scripting a conversation. I had tonnes of comments of "it's so manipulative" or "noone thinks like that, change it". I cannot tell you how invalidating that was. We will never have diversity in books if we insist that characters written by diverse authors still look and feel the same as characters we see in literature now. I'm sure similar things happen with quirks or race or sexuality, but for obvious reasons I only have neurodiverent experiences.
yeah!! I also have a lot of anxiety over how basically all of my characters have huge amounts of anxiety, because i don't really know how people experience life without it, but I have made it a concious part of one of my novels, and another aspect of his story is people he loves and trusts saying that he might be autistic. And as a bonus point, I have read two (popular) books that heavily coded autistic characters that are either catagorised by how unpleasant they are to speak to, or are revealed to be in cahoots with a murderer. I do think things are changing, but evidently not enough. @@mirandaosmelak480
As always, one of videos that I look forward to and appreciate the most! Can't believe we're already in March - it really hit me when you said you covered December and the first two months of this year, like, whaaaaat?
This is really interesting! I like to compare all these numbers to the Norwegian publishing industry - there are a lot of similarities, even though we are a much smaller industry of course! The big difference is that here, the money is in middle grade; Norwegian YA is smaller, and it's harder to get sold. Mainly because Norwegian YA readers also read English YA books, of course, so we have to compete with the international marked, as opposed to middle grade readers who are not fluent in English. But still, a lot of the trends are the same, so these videos are super helpful even across the pond^^
First video about trends in publishing that i’ve ever watched and daaang was this interesting 🤩 i would never write thinking about them but it’s still such a fascinating topic 😊 thanks for breaking it down 💛👏
13:40 ish, about disabled characters, I rarely find good representation. The best ones I find seem to be in the cyberpunk genre, and not just because of the replacement parts but the discussions of muscle wear, tiredness, phantom limb syndrome, and mental drain. But for every "good" one I find there are 7 or 8 more stories in which the character is reduced to a stereotype or the teenager is magically cured and fighting/slinging magic in a chapter after being chair-bound. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble, sore spot I guess. But, if anyone has any suggestions I am interested. And I recommend the SINless series by Alexander. Gritty action cyberpunk but is a great MC that deals with the above issues.
I love this series! I feel like I learn a lot too because I get the deals to my email but the stats help a lot. Like the disability rep stat is so abysmal on a continuing basis. But the trends are so funny to me because publishing will really say "no more of X" and then a few years later decide that exact same thing is hot again lol.
Late to the party, but as a person navigating their first (still-secret) deal, this makes me feel MUCH better that it's not as flashy as the ones that go overnight in a 27-way auction for fifty bajillion dollars.
Thank you so much for the video, really informative - and thank you SO MUCH for including M.E. author representations, it's infuriating how many workplaces/industries/census data etc still just count as whhhite....to be helpful though, most people prefer the abbreviation SWANA (SW Asia N Africa) as the term "Middle East" is colonialist in origin. :) Can't wait to watch more!
LOVE getting to hear about the most recent pub. trends from a professional like you, Lindsay 😀I'm definitely loving the rise in Latinx author deals happening, as well as the MG GN deals!!! Also, I might be exposing myself as well, but...Toddlers and Tiaras...yeah, let's just say I had an unhealthy obsession with it at one point in time 😂
LOOOL Toddlers and Tiaras is like a train wreck you can't look away from. A very sparkly one XD And thanks so much! I think of you every time I see that GN bar go up!
Great video as always! Just wanted to pop into the comments to say Twilight was pitched as a horror/romance. Are we seeing a return to the mid 2000s in publishing trends? 🤔
Yay! Love these videos. If possible, could you separate PI from East Asian in future videos? It helps us Pacific Islanders see how we’re faring in these breakdowns.
i genuinely don't understand the people I hear saying "representation doesn't matter" and call any type of diversity "woke" Like...what? Anyway, I've noticed that it's usually people who are always represented in media that say that.
What’s hot in publishing is YOUR HAIR 😍😍😍
OMG LOL DAY MADE!!!!
Came here to say the same! 😍
When it comes to disability rep Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows is the only character that comes to mind.
I love Bardugo and the way she wrote him just put a smile on my face.
I've been dealing with chronic pain for years and now for almost a year now a disease completely ruined my knee so I finally picked up Six of Crows to help me cope and man Kaz is the character I needed to feel less miserable about my situation.
Representation matters and the pie chart didn’t make me very pleased so to speak.
yes Kaz!!!!
I was talking with some TradPub authors last year and they kinda scared me. We were discussing these trends and the ways companies slowly shift to appeal to their readers (such as waves of genres, vampires, dystopia, zombie, parody, etc) and how submitting at the wrong time can set you back several years. One of the "waves" was to increase the "unheard voices" (not instead of other groups, just willing to take more risks) which is a good thing. But since some scandals, you basically have to prove you belong (and this will sound bad) to that "group."
I don't want to be marketed as "a disabled writer" just to get my stories out. Especially when one of the authors told me I should be ready to give them proof when they ask. Like, I'm sorry, the stork did not come back when I was 30 and gave me a card saying I am "official" now.
Looks like it will be self-publish for me only. I don't like being labeled, in any form, and considering it seems the author does most of the work anyway, I feel it will be the best long-term if I can do it.
The stork card bit made me LOL love it!
And understandable! There is a lot of doomsday talk circulating about that. There has been a ton of push back however on proving identities and how harmful that can be, and legally I'm pretty sure publishers actually can't ask??? I can't imagine a legitimate publishing house putting themselves in a potential legal situations over diversity-something they care very little about, you know? lol
god i hope YA apocalypse books are on the rise because that's what i'm drafting right now and i've been kind of resigned to the fact that its unpublishable lol at least one got sold !!
They might still! Just saw a translated Korean (?) YA dystopian SNOW GLOBE hit the NYT list!
You want to flog end of the world stories to kids? Are you in the WTO? Or NWO?
i am SAT for my favorite type of video. commenting before i even watch to encourage you to keep making these vids forever haha
Wahoo! Thank you so much!
When I was in my second semester at uni I started writing a story about generational queerness with a uni student protagonist (originally literary, now YA) - and I was asked what the point of was of having my mc have a carer, as I had at the time, and I tried to explain that I was just writing about my real life. I don’t think I even noticed that I took it out. I know that everyone’s autistic situations are different, but it would be nice to destigmitize these aspects of disability. I’m currently hoping to apply to a masters in writing for young people at the same university next winter, hopefully to polish the same story I started writing in 2020.
Good luck on your journey! Just so you know you're not the only one: even before I knew I was on the spectrum, I had comments on my MS about my autistic (unintentionally) character being mean and manipulative. The reason for it was that not knowing this was unusual, I wrote my character like me: quite often intelectually deciding what her facial expression would be or scripting a conversation. I had tonnes of comments of "it's so manipulative" or "noone thinks like that, change it". I cannot tell you how invalidating that was. We will never have diversity in books if we insist that characters written by diverse authors still look and feel the same as characters we see in literature now. I'm sure similar things happen with quirks or race or sexuality, but for obvious reasons I only have neurodiverent experiences.
yeah!! I also have a lot of anxiety over how basically all of my characters have huge amounts of anxiety, because i don't really know how people experience life without it, but I have made it a concious part of one of my novels, and another aspect of his story is people he loves and trusts saying that he might be autistic. And as a bonus point, I have read two (popular) books that heavily coded autistic characters that are either catagorised by how unpleasant they are to speak to, or are revealed to be in cahoots with a murderer. I do think things are changing, but evidently not enough. @@mirandaosmelak480
yes! Best of luck with your writing journey! It sounds amazing
Cheers for your work Lindsay! I suck at trying to gather statistics myself, so this video is so useful.
I'm so glad you found it helpful!
As always, one of videos that I look forward to and appreciate the most! Can't believe we're already in March - it really hit me when you said you covered December and the first two months of this year, like, whaaaaat?
i know wild, right? Glad you enjoyed!
This is really interesting! I like to compare all these numbers to the Norwegian publishing industry - there are a lot of similarities, even though we are a much smaller industry of course! The big difference is that here, the money is in middle grade; Norwegian YA is smaller, and it's harder to get sold. Mainly because Norwegian YA readers also read English YA books, of course, so we have to compete with the international marked, as opposed to middle grade readers who are not fluent in English. But still, a lot of the trends are the same, so these videos are super helpful even across the pond^^
so interesting!
First video about trends in publishing that i’ve ever watched and daaang was this interesting 🤩 i would never write thinking about them but it’s still such a fascinating topic 😊 thanks for breaking it down 💛👏
Yay! Thank you!
13:40 ish, about disabled characters, I rarely find good representation. The best ones I find seem to be in the cyberpunk genre, and not just because of the replacement parts but the discussions of muscle wear, tiredness, phantom limb syndrome, and mental drain. But for every "good" one I find there are 7 or 8 more stories in which the character is reduced to a stereotype or the teenager is magically cured and fighting/slinging magic in a chapter after being chair-bound.
Sorry, didn't mean to ramble, sore spot I guess. But, if anyone has any suggestions I am interested. And I recommend the SINless series by Alexander. Gritty action cyberpunk but is a great MC that deals with the above issues.
thanks for the rec! Amazing! I've read some really great rep in MG, but we still need more in other age categories
I love this series! I feel like I learn a lot too because I get the deals to my email but the stats help a lot. Like the disability rep stat is so abysmal on a continuing basis. But the trends are so funny to me because publishing will really say "no more of X" and then a few years later decide that exact same thing is hot again lol.
haha YUP!!
Thank you so much for this it’s really eye-opening as I’m looking at entering the traditional publishing space soon with queries
glad you enjoyed!
What a great study on publishing. I always wonder if my fantasy could be YA.
thank you!
I'm glad that you talked about Bindery. I was very confused on how it worked and why people were joining.
honestly I'm still very confused about it lol
Omg I love these!!!! They are so amazing and I love to hear your take on everything
thank you trisha!
What a helpful series, Lindsay!
glad you are enjoying it!
Loving the look. You should take a pic for future author photo. Thanks for doing the data collection!
thank you so much!
Late to the party, but as a person navigating their first (still-secret) deal, this makes me feel MUCH better that it's not as flashy as the ones that go overnight in a 27-way auction for fifty bajillion dollars.
for sure, yeah! And omg congratulations on your secret!!!! ;)
Love love getting to see the stats and breakdowns. Would love to see more disabled rep tho!
me too!
Thank you so much for the video, really informative - and thank you SO MUCH for including M.E. author representations, it's infuriating how many workplaces/industries/census data etc still just count as whhhite....to be helpful though, most people prefer the abbreviation SWANA (SW Asia N Africa) as the term "Middle East" is colonialist in origin. :) Can't wait to watch more!
oh wow, thank you so much for letting me know! I can make that change for the next video
The disabled rep stat in YA had me GASP
right?! Jesus.
Your hair + the accessories are giving me gypsy vibes! I love it!
omg! Thank you so much
❤❤❤
LOVE getting to hear about the most recent pub. trends from a professional like you, Lindsay 😀I'm definitely loving the rise in Latinx author deals happening, as well as the MG GN deals!!! Also, I might be exposing myself as well, but...Toddlers and Tiaras...yeah, let's just say I had an unhealthy obsession with it at one point in time 😂
LOOOL Toddlers and Tiaras is like a train wreck you can't look away from. A very sparkly one XD
And thanks so much! I think of you every time I see that GN bar go up!
Great video as always! Just wanted to pop into the comments to say Twilight was pitched as a horror/romance. Are we seeing a return to the mid 2000s in publishing trends? 🤔
wouldn't surprise me!
Yay! Love these videos. If possible, could you separate PI from East Asian in future videos? It helps us Pacific Islanders see how we’re faring in these breakdowns.
sure thing! Thanks for the suggestion! :)
Thank you!! @@LindsayPuckett
11:44 Oh boy, not sure it's a good idea to compare your book to For The Wolf. That book was terrible lol
I haven't read that one!
i genuinely don't understand the people I hear saying "representation doesn't matter" and call any type of diversity "woke" Like...what? Anyway, I've noticed that it's usually people who are always represented in media that say that.
YUP
The Reedsy's writing class is too expensive for what you actually get...also the constant ads you get after checking it out is insane...
it's definitely a collegiate-level course so the price is higher but I'm finding it very worth it personally!
Children write for children write what they know…
yes!
America’s schizophrenic obsession with race is something to behold. Be lovely if people were treated as individuals.