Thursday, March 08, 2007
Wizards vs. Marketeers
White, male science-fiction writers are like monster giraffes with fangs for eyes that chew verbs when they blink. I like giraffes. But, what I'm talking about is diversity in SF & Fantasy. I can count the successful black SF writers on one foot. Keep the other hand, I just need one to count the Asian, Latino and Native-American writers who use genre for their art. Why is that?
Is the answer shaped by family, class upbringing--how SF is comfortably augmented by middle class tropes? I hope not. Perhaps is wimpy publishers who don't take risks with other writers or maybe there are no other writers. Ghosts have better chances getting published than a Mexican (gay/female/unicorn) science-fiction author. Moreover, how is it that Hollywood has cultivated millions in Tolkien, Philip K. Dick, etc. and they can't pay writers more than 3-5 thousand per book (from what I've researched--which, I hope I'm incorrect about.)
Thats why I support the e-book, Creative Commons download ethos--publishing is slow and poor. Maybe slanging your own fantasy novel about three-headed wizards named Zonk is a better business and artistic model than hoping Tor or Nightshade slang it for you.
I'm just saying.
