Nathan Bransford, one of TVWriter™’s favorite writers and writing consultants is here with some thoughts about how those of us who write for print media – especially books – can make a difference in these chaotic times.
by Nathan Bransford
This week! Books! Also justice!
We’ve had an incredibly distressing week in America, and I know a lot of people are wondering how to get involved and support this movement to end systemic injustice and brutality.
There are tons of exhaustive resources out there, from bail funds to proposals for reform to call scripts for contacting local representatives.
I’m going to focus on the book world. This is by no means an exhaustive list and please feel free to add your own suggestions. But here are some things you can do.
You can buy from this list of Black-owned independent bookstores.
You can donate to We Need Diverse Books, an organization dedicated to ensuring all kids can see themselves in print.
You can give these appalling statistics a long, hard look and do whatever you can to pressure book publishers to stop paying lip service to diversity:
You can read this essay and reflect on how Black authors have continuously been forced to engage with white expectations for how Blackness is portrayed and contend with the immense pressure of the white gaze.
You can read about how Celeste Ng and Shea and Larami Serrano and others are taking diversity in publishing into their own hands and think about how you can do something similar.
And you can SUPPORT BLACK AUTHORS….
Read it all at nathanbransford.com
Need help with your book? Nathan is available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!
For my best advice, check out Nathan’s guide to writing a novel (now available in audio) and his guide to publishing a book.
And if you like this post: subscribe to Nathan’s newsletter!