Izzy, who works in editorial at a big five publisher, has had positive experiences in her current workplace, but this hasn’t always been the case; she recalls an internship “where a senior member of staff complained to a colleague that I was ‘too quiet’ and they ‘couldn’t make sense of’ me”, and where she had to atend an event last minute without warning, which she found challenging to adapt to, leading to exhaustion. In interviews, she got feedback that she wasn’t coming across as enthusiastic enough; “Most of my brainpower went into monitoring my tone of voice, body language and eye contact rather than actually processing the questions and delivering a good answer”. And she wasn’t sure about telling people she was autistic because “I worried people might think I was a burden and be put off working with me”.
Nobody really understands what autism is so very few people offer useful
adaptations in advance Daniel Aubrey, author
DANIEL AUBREY
Daniel Aubrey, author of Dark Island, had similar thoughts: “Nobody really understands what autism is so very few people offer useful adaptations in advance. You constantly have to ask and advocate for yourself, and when you’re a new author (especially one that’s newly diagnosed) that’s so hard because you feel like a nuisance. You feel like you have to put up with things because they’re great opportunities and if you don’t force yourself to do them your career will be impacted, but then you’re shatered.” He also discussed issues with events; he spoke about being at a festival and ending up in a “room with loads of other people and not a single person explained who they were or what was happening, but everyone else all seemed to start talking and I was just stood there at the edge of the room trying desperately not to run away”. Many of the autistic people I spoke to for
this article mentioned similar unspoken expectations around socialising, a lack of clarit with what was required of them, and exhaustion aſter feeling pressured to overextend themselves. Lynda Cooper, a senior commissioning editor at Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP),
TheBookseller.com
spoke about the importance of everyone being informed: “Understanding the basics of ND conditions should be a prerequisite for anyone in a communication- based industry.” She gave examples of ways to support neurodivergent authors, including sending short emails with deadlines highlighted in bold, seting clear meeting agendas, sending regular updates even when there isn’t news to share, offering deadline
extensions where possible, and being flexible about how communications happen—whether in person, or via a call. JKP has also started to introduce video guides for authors to demystify the publishing process to reduce anxiet.
When asked what else might help them, a common theme from autistic authors and publishing professionals was they wanted freedom to work from home or retreat to quiet places when needed, and not to be judged for how they communicate and socialise. Steph Jones, author of The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy, said: “It’s heartbreaking to consider how many giſted writers presume they’re incompetent and walk away from promising careers, when self-advocacy, reasonable workplace adjustments and employer education around neurodiversit could allow them to thrive.” The same could be said for other publishing professionals, too. So, where to start? Hopefully more neurodiversit policies will follow Hachete’s, but in the meantime, everyone should consider how we can communicate more inclusively so autistic people can feel less anxious and be free to be themselves. We may not always be able to show it, but we do really want to be here.
CAT MITCHELL
Cat Mitchell is a lecturer and the programme leader for the creative writing and publishing degree at the Universit of Derby. She previously worked in publishing.
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