Being a black woman in publishing (a thread). My agent is shopping my new novel – KISSED BY THE SUN – an afrofuturistic story about a solar event that causes light-skinned people to live underground while darker skinned people develop telepathy and enhanced intelligence.

There is an interracial married couple at the center of the story (two NASA scientists) whose marriage struggles in this new world. My white agent was told by a white editor that the story offended her. Not that the story didn’t fit their line, not that the writing was bad,

not that she didn’t know how to market it – but that it OFFENDED her. My agent asked her if she was offended by books about enslaved blacks (no response). My agent is a professional, so she won’t tell me the editor’s name (Karen?),

but how does one justify being OFFENDED at black people being portrayed as brilliant inventors who launch the next technology age? #PublishingPaidMe $0 for this one because it still hasn’t found a home. @VictoriaECM @ReShondaT @authorMsBev