Excited for the 20/20 Visibility in Publishing hosted by @SYPScotland starting now! With an amazing panel by @styx_hope @Young_E_H @nakutski @Sha_Nazir and @everdundas!
Boosting representation, diversity & inclusion in publishing is my goal, so this event is so important to me!
How are the panelists coping with the new normal of Covid19?
- Presses transitioning to a more digital approach
- The industry has a bad habit of not putting one& #39;s health before productivity @Young_E_H
- Disabled ppl were already in a sort of semi-lockdown; strange to see the rest of the world come into the disabled ppl& #39;s reality: staying home, suddenly loosing their job... Ppl are comparing lockdown to a dystopia, but we were already living in the dystopia. @everdundas
How can we be better moving forward?
- It was great that lockdown allowed disabled ppl to stop being locked out of the world, but we must ensure that this is upheld going forward.
- This is an opportunity to push for access; we need to support each other. @everdundas
What would you like to see changed/improved?
- Accessibility must be at the core of festivals and events.
- Events in London are not a regional thing; it& #39;s a London things and it risks locking people out @nakutski
- Improving digital events - they can be interesting too!
- If indies can do it on a limited budget, larger companies can do it too.
- Digital events not to be thought only as an international thing, but also as a way to access local homes @nakutski
- Moving towards a hybrid model: live events and a livestream feedback @Young_E_H
- Digital or hybrid events can also bring down price barriers for ppl on low incomes. Pay-what-you can tickets.
#PublishingPaidMe - thoughts?
- "Publishing Paid Me" and accessibility > Clearer information on how printing and publishing works. Murkiness and mystique works for no one. Marginalised ppl are forced to carve a space for themselves, which is frustrating.
- Stop being so shy about our income, where it comes from, our expenses and the hidden costs of participating. Being more open and transparent about publishers& #39; processes @Young_E_H
- Disparity between what is happening at the top and at the bottom, big publishers v small publishers.
- As a publisher, I almost make no money. Most of what I get comes from being diverse & other things. @Sha_Nazir
- The system is unequal; booksellers take too large a share...
- ... 50-60% off books is unsustainable.
- Publishers has a sense of responsibility: you know you can& #39;t take that money because you know your writers/employees don& #39;t earn enough.
The anonymous spreadsheet on publishing salaries - thoughts?
- Start paying wages that reflect the living expenses of the area ppl live in. £18k is not enough for London.
- Money needs to be distributed more equally across job roles.
- Ppl with much money are out of touch with what it means to ration it to survive.

If there is so much profit in publishing, why isn& #39;t there more salary equality and authors are paid more? What can we do to ensure people can live off this trade?
- We are hindered by our internal mechanism that we want to make something.
- Should be paid the amount of value for the work one has done.
- Artistic & creative work is underpaid in comics due to economics being broken - recouping the creative cost nearly impossible. @Sha_Nazir
- Publishing needs to prioritise people who work for it over location. Diversify the ppl you hire @nakutski
- If you have people who are happy bc they don& #39;t have to struggle to live in London, the industry would be happier.
- Paradox of being able to afford the LBF but not pay its workers.
- It& #39;s impossible to improve diversity without improving wages.
- Big publishers make noise out of improving diversity but then don& #39;t take material steps to make the industry more accessible (through fair incomes)
- Publishers should stop protecting established money-making authors over marginalised authors and the staff. They should not subsume their morals to keep their jobs. Publishers must take a stand to protect marginalised communities and their staff. @Young_E_H
- Publishers should hold accountable established authors who publicly display racist, homophobic, transphobic behaviour.
- Put the money into the hands& #39; of marginalised communities.
Final thoughts and action points for the future?
- Be mindful building panels: why invite all white males for a panel on diversity?
- Refusing to make events not accessible is no longer acceptable.
- If your bookshelf is really white, make a list of diverse authors and read them more frequently.
- If you consider yourself an ally, think hard of where you can put your money, resources and energies (and ability to go outside) to help minorities!
- Publishers/agents should find better ways to acquire titles - no more tokenistic querying.
- Publishers must be active in reaching out themselves to underrepresented categories instead of taking the passive approach of "we take what we are given". @nakutski
- There is excessive pressure on indie presses to be "the diverse ones" and chase after diverse writers/workforce, when they have low funds. As opposed to publishers who have massively larger resources. Indies have less funds and have to do all the legwork @Sha_Nazir
- Large publishers stop publication bc diverse books are not "commercially viable."
- Large booksellers are the next gatekeepers that keep diverse voices from being circulated. @Sha_Nazir
- Transparency in distribution based on a cooperative approach @nakutski
- Covid proved that economics are more important than people. The economic risk of spreading underrepresented voices is frustrating: you can& #39;t spread diversity if you don& #39;t spread it.
- @Sha_Nazir proposes establishing a sort of panel to tackle these hurdles and...
- ...identify gatekeepers to dismantle them.
- @nakutski is talking about the importance of giving applicants FEEDBACK ON THEIR APPLICATIONS. Publishers don& #39;t fully realise how hard the application process truly is (esp to newcomers...)
How can one ensure that they are being taken on for their talent/skills instead of just because they come from a minority?
- Market v genre dilemma in publishers: following a "checklist" of what sells (plus classic reprints) occupies the space new books and voices should have
- Reasons why new/underrepresented voices are rejected are often nebulous.
- It is NOT a matter of "filling quotas". Saying "we already have one Trans author in this anthology" is not a valid reason (and frankly it& #39;s rude and tokenistic, imo...)
And that& #39;s all for today& #39;s event! Make sure to follow the panelists @Young_E_H @everdundas @nakutski and @Sha_Nazir! Thank you @SYPScotland for hosting this brilliant event!
I will go ahead and plug @Young_E_H& #39;s book "They/Them/Their" (which is going straight to my summer TBR list) published by @JKPBooks! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💛" title="Gelbes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Gelbes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤍" title="Weißes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💜" title="Violettes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Violettes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖤" title="Schwarzes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Schwarzes Herz">
I will go ahead and plug  @Young_E_H& #39;s book "They/Them/Their" (which is going straight to my summer TBR list) published by  @JKPBooks! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤍" title="Weißes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💜" title="Violettes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Violettes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖤" title="Schwarzes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Schwarzes Herz">" title="I will go ahead and plug @Young_E_H& #39;s book "They/Them/Their" (which is going straight to my summer TBR list) published by @JKPBooks! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💛" title="Gelbes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Gelbes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤍" title="Weißes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💜" title="Violettes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Violettes Herz">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖤" title="Schwarzes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Schwarzes Herz">" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
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