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Published on 11/26/08
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The most frustrating thing about race and book publishing, I learned from researching this article, is that hardly anyone in the higher echelons of the business is all that enthusiastic about discussing the relationship between the two, and even fewer will do so on the record. Most white people I approached about the subject seemed astounded that someone might ask them to have an opinion about race in the first place. And I’m talking about writers and editors with major publishers like Random House, Norton and HarperCollins—all of them liberals upon whom nothing should be lost.
Some people surmised that no one was getting back to me because there’s little to say about a business that—at least in terms of editorial, publicity and marketing departments—is mostly white. But to me this just sounded like whiteness doing what it does best—hiding in plain sight, while remaining the most salient quality of the industry’s workforce. An informal head count of a major publishing house conducted by one big-house editor, whom we’ll call “Craig,” estimated that out of approximately 70 staffers, the company employed six people of color. Let me clarify: This isn’t simply about America’s beloved Negro problem. We’re talking four blacks in editorial, two Asian women in the art department and no Latinos anywhere during the day. “It’s pretty darn white,” Craig says.
The $64,000 question is, of course, Why? Is there a gentleman’s agreement to keep people of color out, or are other forces at work? A different white man who is an editor at a different publishing company and also didn’t wish to be identified suggested that the salaries in publishing (far lower than the aforementioned question) make the field less attractive to striving people of color than banking, law or medicine, and that the high level of competition for jobs weeds out all but the overachievers.
Plume’s new editor-in-chief, Charise Davis, a Yale graduate of West Indian descent, more or less agrees with this assessment, and adds, “The issue is much broader than race. There are not a lot of working-class people in publishing either, and there aren’t even that many men. When I started out 13 or 14 years ago, I noticed that everyone had very wealthy parents and they were all from the Northeast.” The quintessential publishing employees were like Brooke Astor and Jacqueline Onassis: white women with degrees from elite universities, a passion for books and ideas, and enough capital to consider the job an extension of their philanthropic schedule. Craig also identifies the practice of hiring from within social groups as a barrier to creating a racially representative workforce. “A lot of entry-level stuff is people recommending people, which results in the usual racial barriers. They hire the friends they went to Vassar with.”
Davis, though she doesn’t wish to sound “Pollyanna-ish,” points out that the industry has experienced positive change. “Five years ago, there was an explosion of imprints that were publishing work by Koreans, Indians and other people of color,” she says, referring to divisions such as Rayo and Amistad, the mostly Latino and African-American branches of HarperCollins. “It all increased exponentially. There has been visible progress.”
Nevertheless, if the strings are generally pulled by whites, that creates a more complicated problem. “Invariably,” says Craig, “a black-themed book will come up for consideration, and there won’t be anyone of color to put in an opinion, or there’ll be one, who shouldn’t bear the burden alone. So we all pretend we’re experts. Maybe I’m the only one who’s embarrassed by that.” The end result of such roundtables, one can only fear, could be that the only books depicting people of color that get published are those that do not challenge white assumptions.
Most of the people interviewed seem to agree that the lack of nonwhites in the industry mirrors the social problems of society at large. “It’s a reflection of the culture,” Davis says. “There’s no empirical data to show that publishing is ‘whiter’ than other industries. People of color are unequally represented in several [professions].”
One consequence of the book world’s reluctance to reverse this trend may be the plethora of independent “street lit” publishers, which have sprung up to serve a primarily black working-class audience hungry for lurid subway reading. But no one I spoke to would go so far as to call the major publishing houses segregated. “That’s a loaded word,” Craig points out. “There is a way to make money on books directed at people of color, but you need to know how to [publish] them successfully. If someone has the energy and knowledge, they can do it. But you have to reinvent your machine.”
In other words, here we go again. Scratch the race problem and you’ll find an economic one underneath. But what about Davis’s success story—doesn’t it give the lie to the idea that qualified people of color avoid publishing because of the low salaries? If she wasn’t independently wealthy, one might ask, how did she cope with the chump change? Davis laughs. “I lived with my parents.”
Binky
Tue, Aug 28, 07, at 10:24am
Did I ever tell you about the time that one of the only Latinas at Little, Brown was denied the opportunity to serve on the diversity committee?
It's racism, pure and simple. The few non-whites that do get hired rarely get promoted, no matter how well they perform. There are too many stories of talented people of color sitting at the desk outside of editors' and publishers' offices for years, while their white counterparts easily climb up the ladder.
Jeopardy
Mon, Aug 27, 07, at 3:35pm
There are too many aspects of this article that are completely true, that I could spend all day for a week discussing them. I've worked in publishing for several years and while I have only managed to be promoted once from assistant to associate, I have been "consulted" on any and everything that is black related. According to someone in the know I don't have the applicable experience to be promoted, but yet I'm asked to give my opinion on everything from book jackets, to book content of one of the most prolific children's illustrators out there. I wonder how well that fact would go over, that someone with not enough experience is suggesting changes to your work--with your editor present--simply because that person happens to be the only black person on staff? "Craig" is absolutely correct when he says â??a black-themed book will come up for consideration, and there wonâ??t be anyone of color to put in an opinion, or thereâ??ll be one, who shouldnâ??t bear the burden alone. So we all pretend weâ??re experts." This is the real world of publishing, epecially when it pretains to African-American novels. Not only have I learned that it's not acceptable to have an African-American woman on the cover of a novel about African-American women, but that Caucasians will be turned off by a book that appears too black. The entire process is insidious and my enthusiasm for publishing is waning.
Tin Lizzie
Sat, Aug 25, 07, at 6:24pm
I find it very telling that Ms. Davis was the only one willing to get on record in this story. Specifically, I find the very fact that "Craig" felt he had to use an alias heart-sickening.
Speaking as a young black female who has worked entry-level positions in publishing, everything in this article was not news to me. I chose the agenting route as opposed to festering in the publishing house, as it became quickly apparent that was the only way to make any kind of decent money. You are more likely to find the upwardly mobile in this area of publishing as it is all about making something out of nothing, and your ability to produce result is the only litmus scale that really matters.I have beat out many a NYU and Columbia student purely based on my passion for the job. I am also the daughter of immigrants and for most 1st generations(as well as all upwardly mobile blacks), making no money is a shame upon my family and a disgrace to their sacrifice.
Publishing is not any different from any other corporate structure except that it is a handful of white men ruling upon a large of white women; and while some of those women are well off by way of their families , many more are well off by way of their husbands. This allows them to stay in publishing and still garner enough respect from the Jones' in the real world.
The real howl nowadays is the lack of good talent in the industry, but the fact is many young white women today are not as willing to just marry some well off man in order to get by. They know they have to mak it on their own and publishing doesn't pay for Vasser's student loan load or a Manhattan lifestyle."Show us the money! " they say, as they turncoat on their petty inheritance.
As to the subject of publishers response to the black consumer, the answer is very simple for all publishers...pick a strong story that is well written like you do with all your other books, and treat it with the same respect .
Random.One
Fri, Aug 24, 07, at 3:28pm
I'm an African-American woman in publishing and I can definitely attest to the fact that (#1) it is not an industry which generally attracts the upwardly mobile. The low salaries in comparable positions with other industries turn away all but those with a passion for books. Also, (#2) publishing doesn't occur to many to be a viable career move for many people of color simply because it's a job that most workers "fall into". Excluding the (very) few graduate level publishing programs and the hordes who want to be journalists, publishing (specifically book publishing) is not usually listed as an option (despite its many facets and career opportunities). This has something to do with the who-you-know aspect regarding entry-level positions, but also because the industry does little to build career-focused interest in young people at any level of schooling. Finally, the time it takes to start earning a livable wage (in the heart of the publishing industry, New York City, that can be a long wait) can discourage many who are faced with the demands of family and life. Working in the entertainment industry with a fancy title may bring me some reason to pop my collar, but since it's one of the lowest revenue generating segments, I'm also sporting empty pockets. I'm not an entry level employee and I'm still waiting for a salary that isn't both an embarrassment and a hindrance. In the meantime (like Ms. Davis) I'm bunking in a small room in my grandmother's house.
Rupert Murdoch
Thu, Aug 23, 07, at 11:47am
Are we to assume that the "West Indian" woman is black? There are West Indians of all colors (including white), you know.
