The publishing industry has been taking some flak over the past few months for a variety of different controversies. From American Dirt to the Romance Writer’s Guild, there seems to be a problem around every corner.

However, how bad are these issues and can they be avoided? I was listening to a podcast on NPR about the American Dirt controversy and it was quite insightful on how the participants looked at the issues of publishing, authorship, and censorship. If you would like to listen in, I have the podcast embedded below.

Listening to the different perspectives, it creates a clearer picture on how to handle different cultures in stories and how online criticism is not the same as censorship. I wish they would’ve spent more time on the idea of censorship and dive a little deeper into what that would look like today. That topic I found the most interesting and can heard around the 25-minute mark.

It’s obvious that the issues being raised need to be addressed, but I don’t think the controversies are inherently bad. Why? Because it means we have more to learn. To improve. Take the criticism, use it, and be better. That’s what most people want. Criticism is a spotlight on our mistakes and we can use the light to find our way out of the dark. We can also use it to avoid the issues completely.

The podcast really boils down to a simple statement by David Bowles, a Mexican American author, mentioned at the beginning of the podcast:

“It’s just about doing the homework that has to be done.” - David Bowles

So, for those writers out there that want to write unique characters outside of their culture or life experience: Do your homework.

If you would like more short podcast related posts on the website, please let me know in the comments or send me a message.

Until next time,

J.J.