White Publishing Industry

Overview

While the publishing field is viewed as a liberal and inclusive industry, the continuing dominance of whites within this field has shattered such an idea, showing the realities within this industry. From employees to authors, all aspects of the publishing field are affected by this conflict, making the supposed inclusive publishing industry an exclusive one that is only for a select few.

Defintion

The white publishing industry can be defined as the dominance of whites within this industry, leading to limitations and mistreatment of others. The term white liberal racism also falls under this term. White liberal racism involves the "unconscious bias" in which there is a false sense of empathy that is presented to people of color within the publishing industry.

Marketing

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Impact

While the white publishing industry affects the publishing field as a whole, its impact can be divided into the categories of employees and authors. Analyzing both categories shows the extent with which this exclusive industry has reached.

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Employees

The category of employees within the white publishing industry refers to the clear lack of diversity within staff members resulting in white employees dominating the publishing field. As a result, diverse staff members may face lacks of promotions or opportunities, are valued less than other employees, or have their opinions completely disregarded.

Some employees may face even more discrimination and racism such as inappropriate or targeted jokes, the expectation of being "americanized" through things such as changing ones name in order to better blend with others and asking employees of color to authenticate a diverse piece of writing yet questioning their work. While these are only instances of racism in the publishing industry that has in fact been experienced, it is clear that there is a divide between white and diverse employees in both value, opportunities, and overall views.

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Authors

The category of authors refers to the overall dominance of white authors and the consistently negative views which diverse authors face. While this may include a variety of things, diverse authors typically face an overall lower change of being accepted, the view that their work is "too risky" and thus not profitable, and may have no one within a publishing house that is qualified enough to read their work.

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Solutions

Though the realities of the publishing industry leave the future of this field unknown and perhaps negative, there are a variety of solutions which can help to better improve this conflict. It is important to note, however, that these solutions though won't solve this problem, are the first few steps which a publishing house can do in order to initiate change for a better and brighter future.

Examining Biases

Here a publishing house must examine the very foundations or origins of bias within their workplace. For instance, how is a publishing house defining a "good book?" If it is too limited in narrow then that can lead to less diversity, therefore showing a need for change.

Building Partnerships

Partnering with other publishing houses whose mission statement or actions align with a both diversity and inclusivity can offer a variety of opportunities. Firstly, this can allow a publishing house to learn how to be much more inclusive. Secondly, this is a change for a publishing house to show their authors and employees that they are striving for diversity and improvement which can offer a wide range of advantages.

Improving Hiring Practices

Is there a diverse range of staff members within the publishing house? If not take not then perhaps there needs to be a change in the hiring process. Consider opportunities such as internships where a publishing house can hire a wide range of people.

Direct Call for Submissions

While this may not be the avenue for all publishing houses have direct calls for submissions is certainly one way to bring in more diverse authors. A publishing can send out calls for submissions stating "we are looking for such and such diverse authors" giving the opportunity for these writers to submit their works.

Reaching out

Reaching out to diverse authors is a direct and easy way to receive more diverse authors. This can be anything from speaking to authors you personally know, having employees do so, or even offering to read the manuscript of an authors who you personally like reading. While reaching out may not immediately result in authors agreeing to submit their work, this shows them that the publishing house is in fact welcoming and diverse. This can also help to better spread the word allowing authors who were not reached out to consider submitting their work with the publishing house.

Rewording Mission Statement

A publishing houses mission statement directly states what their goal and intensions are. This provides a clear image of what kind of publishing house it is and whether an author or employee wants to work with them. Therefore, it is crucial that a publishing house directly states their inclusivity and diversity or their goal to attain such a thing, in order to show both authors and readers their goals.

Promoting Diverse Authors

Though a publishing house may attain diverse authors, this process if far from over. Once a publishing house is officially working with a diverse author it is important to promote both the work itself and the author, in order to get others to not only read but recognize their work. This is important to note, because if a publishing house has diverse authors yet doesn't promote them as they do for white authors, then change will not happen.

Future of Publishing Industry

It is clear that the publishing industry, though is viewed as liberal, has become a limited and white favoring industry. This has lead to continuous racism, discrimination, and the overall limitations of diverse employees and authors. Despite this fact, there is still hope that the future of publishing is a brighter and inclusive one. While issues still remain within the publishing field, a diverse and inclusive publishing house is something that can be reached. For instance, there are a variety of small presses that are minority owned or accept minority writers, publishing their works that in other places may be seen as "too risky." This shows diversity can in fact be achieved within a publishing house and that the issue of the white publishing industry can be overcome.

So while there is still work to be done in order to improve the publishing industry as a whole, it is clear that this conflict can be overcome over time.