sholio | (no subject)

Flist browsing brought me this link today: author

rachelmanija talks about an agent asking her and her co-author to change a character's sexuality as a condition of representing their book. (Alternate link on Genreville - in the comments, authors also discuss their experiences in this area, positive and negative.)

I keep trying to write a longer post about it, and running into a brick wall of not really being able to get my jumbled thoughts in order. Upon reflection, I guess the sticking point is that most of what I want to talk about is me (because this is something I've already been thinking about in terms of getting published, since most of my original projects have characters who are fairly diverse in terms of sexuality, race, etc), but it really isn't about me, considering that the very worst possible thing I have to worry about is having a little more trouble selling a book, which is really petty in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, presented mostly without comment.

ETA: Follow-up post.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I remember hearing about the Jessica Verday story. That this is still going on is unbelievable to me. I just don't understand how it is an issue; there seems to be an article every six weeks or so about how YA fiction is too dark, too gory, too adult, and so on, because the authors are daring to tackle themes like abuse and self harm. If the publishers are willing to let young adults read about these themes, difficult as they are, why not sexuality in all forms?
[I also could barely believe it when the article highlighted the inconsistency that consensual polyamory is not okay but lying and cheating is. Nice morals, publishers.]
Not saying 'gay' doesn't make it go away. It just erases the experience of a significant number of people, and underscores that they are The Other and different, and therefore okay to bully.

Yeah, I'm glad some authors are talking about it, because there's no telling how much of this goes on quietly, behind-the-scenes -- good, publication-worthy books (that might make someone's life better, too) being rejected or bowdlerized for nothing worse than having LGBTQ characters and/or healthy, non-dysfunctional LGBTQ relationships. Hopefully dragging this out into the open will make it less likely to occur, or at least, will make other authors more willing to speak up, draw attention to it, and point out that there is a readership and a market for books like this.