Hello, and welcome to Nadi Abdi’s blog on Writing, Reading, and Politics. I’m your hostess, Nadi Abdi, author of Power of the People: The Demon Cleaner book one. Today, we’re discussing St. Martin’s Press, the controversy regarding one of their employees, the company’s silence on the issue, and options Black authors have when their publisher chooses racism over them. 

To recap, in late October 2024, an employee of St. Martin’s Press made a post on Instagram the content of which held a lot of hatred towards Muslims, Palestinians, pro-Palestinian protesters, and other marginalized communities. The employee’s identity wasn’t disclosed, but this person works in marketing. The ask was that SMP make a statement condemning the statements by the employee and ensuring the safety of BIPOC and marginalized authors and influencers who work with them. As of yet, they have remained silent. In response, Muslim and BIPOC booktok members have organized a petition and a marketing boycott. The petition asks SMP to speak up about the incident. The boycott asks booktok influencers to not review books published by SMP or their imprint Wednesday books.

For black authors in particular, none of this comes as any surprise. We’re well aware of how white the publishing industry is. The more research and investigation that’s done into the industry, the more we see just how little care and consideration is given to the voice of BIPOC individuals from top to bottom. Now, we’re seeing an influx of white authors making money by writing BIPOC characters and readers calling it diversity.

By the numbers, we know that only 30% of published authors are non-white. The Muslim and BIPOC population is not SMP’s target audience or the people they most want to work with. They’re showing they’re not worried about our safety and are deaf to our concerns when working with them or reading work published by them. But the problem doesn’t begin or end with SMP. This is an industry wide issue that’s festered in the sweltering heat of racism.

The only way for us to be safe is to remove ourselves from places where we are unsafe. The internet and indie publishing has made it possible for BIPOC and marginalized authors to create and publish in a space that is safe for us, where we are respected, and where our voices are heard and are authentic. It’s important as writers and readers that we create an economy and community that supports BIPOC indie authors in a country where traditional publishing doesn’t.

If you’re a BIPOC or marginalized author working with a traditional publisher, congratulations on completing your book and getting it into the hands of readers. But also, have an exit plan in case you find the publisher doesn’t value the safety of all of their authors.

Options

With trad publishing having such a strong and obvious bias, the question a “non-trad” author must ask is, “What are my other options?” I’m currently reading a lot of books about marketing. As an indie author (and any business owner really) you need to dig deep into the art of marketing. One thing I’ve recently learned is the importance of figuring out and narrowing your niche as much as possible. 1,000 fans will generally be enough to sustain your business so you can keep building (or so I’ve just read in This is Marketing by Seth Godin).

I say all of that to say this. If you’re an indie author trying to offset some of the stress of being an indie author, it may benefit you to look at small, Black-owned presses. Build a community of Black authors and book bloggers who review your type of work. I, myself, review fantasy and sci fi written by Black women. You can find narrators also if you’re going to do audiobooks.

Author Michael Laborn has built quite a community on Bindery. With his imprint Left Unread Publishing, he publishes and supports Black and Brown authors with a focus on LGBT and disabled communities. Bindery also has a host of other authors and small presses that publish Black and Brown authors and give the work the respect and safety they deserve.

There are lots of Black-owned bookstores on this list that offer a home for the work of Black, Indigenous, and Authors of Color who write in various genres. 

My Threads and Substack following list is full of Black women who self-publish or publish through small presses. 

Big name trad publishers can claim to want to diversify, be equitable, and inclusive, but so long as they’re unsafe, so long as they allow racists and racism a seat at their table, they are nothing more than burning houses into which we are expected to integrate for their pride and quota. We have other options and a chance to build our own artistic economy. We should take it.

Pay Your Bills

If a big trad company offers you a good sum for a piece of your work, take it. I’m not saying don’t set yourself up well financially. That would be crazy. You can do more from a place of financial stability than from struggle. You don’t have to give them all of your work, or even your best work. Give them what they pay for. I’m proBlack, not probroke. 

NB4 someone says I, personally, am bitter about being rejected by the trad industry. 

I never tried. Was never that into it. To be frank, the way my ADHD stays molly whopping my ass, I’m amazed I’ve been writing articles every week. This isn’t about me being mad that white people don’t like my work. (I’ve never been that famous.)

Although, I think it’s interesting that many will go to that. 

Black people don’t need to dislike white people in order to want to work with Black people. This is about creating spaces where Black people know that the people we’re working with are safe to work with. If white people feel some type of way about that, that’s not our fault. That’s yours. Be easy. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Come back next week. We’ll discuss more about writing. I’m Nadi Abdi. See you then.

Read more by Nadi Abdi

The Demon Cleaner: Blog, Substack

Black Women in Fantasy: Blog, Substack

Nadi Abdi on Writing, Reading, and Politics: Blog, Substack