THIS WEEK
Black Focus Opinion
Silé Edwards
Publishing must focus on equitable and inclusive practices in its everyday operations to create a truly diverse and representative output
True inclusion is the goal T
and worthy of inclusion in something so wide reaching, and also the question that is always in my rearview: am I only being asked because they need some diversit? Because despite building a list and a name for myself as an agent in about two years, winning a trailblazer award for this very achievement—this is the first time I have been approached by The Bookseller for a profile or interview, and I cannot help but wonder if it will be the only time. That is the realit for Black publishing professionals, and in many cases, authors. You are not benchmarked against others in the industry, or today’s market. The room for failure or mediocrit is so slim because to be able to prove your worthiness in the first place, you have to be exceptional.
When I am looking for comps for books with a Black audience in mind, I have a handful of fairly recent bestsellers to choose from which is incredible. Unless, of course, I am pitching a book outside of those genres or one which won’t achieve those numbers. Does this mean it is a failure, or not worthy of publication? No. It means that realistically, this book won’t sell hundreds of thousands of copies in its first year. If the few which have defied the odds are what we use as the benchmark for every book, many won’t get the chance to reach the tens of thousands of readers who want more books like it. The hundreds of new readers that don’t know they will fall in love with it yet. Some books need to be given a chance, because they are brilliant, and even if they don’t quite achieve what was intended, the author be given the space
10 31st May 2024
The room for failure or mediocrity is so slim because to be able to prove your worthiness in the first place, you have to be exceptional
his piece started, as most of my pieces for The Bookseller do, as something else entirely. I was asked if I might be able to answer a few questions for a short profile interview in the Black issue. Five questions mostly about my career. Simple, perfectly achievable, flatering. Except, why, when I was approached for the profile in this issue of The Bookseller, did I cry in the bathroom? A culmination of things, but mostly the fact that it meant I was here, in this industry
to strategise and maybe even pivot. How many authors do we hear of finding success on their third, fourth, fiſth or 12th book? How many of them are (rightfully) lauded as inspirational stories and proof that you don’t have to be an instant bestseller to be a successful author? Now, how many of them are authors of colour? How many are Black, specifically? For clarit, it is not necessary to only comp Black authors to other Black authors and I have sold books without even considering the ethnicit of the comp’d authors; but something I keep discovering about the industry is that, pitching something as being as twist as your favourite crime thriller, or as swoony as your favourite rom-com, or as boldly polemic as your favourite piece of narrative non-fiction without a warning that it may have Black people as the primary audience, is a risky game. Anyone will tell you how polite and progressive publishing is, but no one tells you how important it is to read between those lines and play the game if that is the side of the industry you want to see and be able to show the authors you shepherd through it.
Aſter years of feeling like a proverbial sore thumb, I don’t feel like a minorit in the office I go to work in. The international focus of the agency I work for means that everyone in the business brings their different back- grounds (and sometimes, fluency in multiple languages) to their approaches to agenting and author care—a rarit in a sector where oſtentimes the team page on the company website looks like a family photo complete with a literal dog. I don’t feel marginalised or othered, which has made me a beter agent, because I can focus my mind solely on my job when I am at work, instead of the myriad things which hinder productivit and confidence. I didn’t take the decision to make this a comment piece
Silé Edwards is a literary agent for Andrew Nurnberg Associates
instead of a profile lightly, but I hope we don’t need to have special “issues” of our trade magazine for very much longer. I hope the industry realises there is enough space on the pages of the everyday issues. I hope the industry puts more focus on equitable, inclusive practices in our everyday operations and finally creates a truly diverse and representative output. True inclusion is not having to justify yourself or wait for the special moment where you are finally the right box on the form to be part of something that is meant to be for everyone.
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