So Own Voices is a big topic of discussion on Book Twitter today.

As always, I have thoughts. I am an OV author, so naturally that comes with views.

OV is different for every single marginalisation. Let's start there. You cannot substitute sexuality for race, or disability.

AOC cannot hide their marginalisation so knowing whether a book exploring race is Own Voices or not can save readers a lot of rigmarole. Plus, there are huge problems with white authors capitalising on cultures that are not their own, and getting many things wrong in the process.

Now disability, where I come in. Narratives around disability are few and far between and, historically, they have mainly been written by abled people. Tropes and dangerous stereotypes have developed as a result. And disabled people live with the consequences of that.

But the founder of the OV movement (a disabled person) was very clear that the mission is not to police identities. Are there books I think are very poor in terms of their disability rep? Yes. Of course. But I keep that private and choose to uplift and support OV authors instead.

Sexuality, gender identity, mental health and surviving trauma are where things can get really murky. Not to say that race and disability are cut and dry, of course they are not. But these issues are perhaps not as obvious. Perhaps not so transparent.

Authors shouldn't have to parade their identity around to be taken seriously in publishing. They shouldn't have to reveal private information to validate their work. And they should be free to (intelligently & mindfully) explore topics that may not be a known aspect of their life

And reviewers and bloggers should be able to critique work without fear of reprisals.

I'll say that as many times as I need to. Authors have no right to hunt down their critics and that behaviour is abhorrent.

There are 2 huge aspects of this recent debate that are not being said enough.

1) Publishers are the gatekeepers, not authors.

2) There is a toxic minority using activism for sport.

Everyone has a book in them. Not everyone can get a book deal.

Publishers decide who gets a book deal. They absolutely do. It is up to them how much due diligence they do. Sensitivity readers, editors, proofreaders. It's their call.

Anyone creating a piece of art is going to have things that they miss. Otherwise it wouldn't be a work of art worth consuming. It is publishers who decide its fate.

Despite being an OV author, my publishers hired an ND editor to check over my book. They take rep very seriously.

But not every publisher will

I still had an early reader say that my 1st chapter showed internalised ableism.

(Kind of the point of one of the character's arcs)

My own identity was policed because it didn't pass a purity test. They finished the book & retracted the statement.

So this leads to part 2.

There is a tiny, teeny, absolutely a minority group of people... who love to cyberbully and police.

As everyone talks about how many queer authors have now felt they needed to come out in order to avoid harassment (more than one, I'm stressing)...

Can we talk about that? Can we?

I'm not talking about bloggers, reviewers or people who write detailed, nuanced critiques. I'm not talking about people who get frustrated when an author doubles down on a bigoted take or supports a terrible cause.

I'm talking about the (absolutely tiny) group of people who love to live out their high school mean kid fantasies by bullying authors, other readers or bloggers because they failed some unspoken test.

Marginalised authors & readers fall prey to this more than others, & it's ugly

Publishers have the power, never forget. They still get paid, no matter what Goodreads says. They'll move onto the next book, the next author.

Hounding an author may not get their book deal cancelled. But it might shatter their mental health. It might break a human being.

It might force them to reveal a part of themselves that they wanted private.

I willingly chose the OV path, but my mental health has been so fragile because of the amount of personal questions I have had to endure. The endless hoops people have wanted me to jump through.

I care about good representation. I don't think anyone who knows me could say otherwise. And I see bad rep when it comes to disability. A lot.

But I am not interested in harassing the authors because of it. I'm interested in discussion, understanding, nuance and growth.

So ask yourself, when you're putting on your armour to go to battle for good representation:

Are you interested in change? Do you want to solve the problem? Do you want to see a way through this?

Or are you just baring your teeth and enjoying the blood being spilled?

I'm only speaking for myself and disabled rep. Cannot speak for race, gender identity or sexuality.

But I know no author sets out to hurt me or my community when they write bad rep. I know they don't. If it's bad, I take my issues to the publisher & never use personal attacks.

We can all work to make this space kinder, more nuanced, more inclusive and more accountable. But that starts with looking at where the power lies.

No one deserves to have their life ruined or their privacy stripped away.

I've seen reviewers make mistakes and be harassed.

I've seen authors take horrific stances and be revered.

Please do not misunderstand me, bigotry must be confronted. Each and every time.

I would like to see, coming out of all these discussions, a pledge of civility and grace.

You never know every inch of a person's soul.

And if you're part of a mob, don't you ever wonder?

What if they one day turn on you?