Race and Gender Do Not Dictate The Genre Or Audience

Like all editors and agents, I get a lot of submissions of one type that truly frustrate me. These are submissions where it is clear the author really does not understand the genre and seem to think that by doing one thing with a character, it suddenly rolls that book into a particular category. For me, this happens to be multicultural fiction and women's fiction. I know I have written about this in the past, but I do think, every now and then, we need a reminder.

Both of these genres can be seen as a lens into a particular world that might not be familiar with people outside of that group. Both give us an insight into how a character, who is truly part of that world, make decisions, react and behave, because of that "cultural" vision. I should note, I am putting "cultural" in quotes because I am referring to this as something similar to "a culture of learning." Neither fall into the definition of culture. 

When we talk about multicultural fiction, we need to see that entire world. Goes simply beyond the color of a person's skin or the person's name. Simply telling me that a character is an African American Female, does not make this multicultural or a story that would especially appeal to the African American population or the African American population. I recently read a submission that did just this, and had the person not mentioned that element, the race or the gender of the character did not matter. 

For it to be truly multicultural, it needs to be a story what that culture functions in the story much like any other character. We see how that entire world dictates everything the character says and does in the story. It impacts decision making. It is truly a living, breathing entity.

If you think of going into a true Italian trattoria in Florence, Italy, you know what I am talking about. I am not referring to those that cater to the Americans with their Fixe Prix menus. I am talking about those where the regulars hang out. EVERYTHING is Italian and THIS is what a multicultural text should do.

The same goes for Women's Fiction. These stories are not those with just a female protagonist. Male authors, please take note of this because you are some of the worst offenders of this type of submission. Women's fiction gives the reader a view AS a female how a the world is seen and the world functions. It is a story that gives the reader a chance to truly experience the world through this gender lens If you think about Phillipa Gregory, you can see just this. These stories show us a world that the historical books do not focus on. We see all of these events through the female lens.

You can probably add to this equation, that adding a LGBTQ character to a story does not change the focus.  Adding a romance to a story does not make it a romance. Putting the story in a romantic city does not make it a romance. 

Hope this helps!