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Not sure if this should go here or in literature, or if this should even be a topic at all... or even if there's one like this. It's a thought that occurred to me earlier after receiving an e-mail- which I will get to later- and I've been thinking about it. Some writers tend to compromise in order to get their work published. An example of this is James Frey's book A Million Little Lines. He was outed as a liar because the book was originally marketed as his autobiography, and he was accused of lying so that he could get published and make money. Eventually, the book was remarketed as semi-autobiographical. This brings into question the ethics of some writers- journalists, authors, diarists and the like- and whether some of them would be willing to sell-out to be famous.
I submitted to a publisher a couple of weeks ago, and they accepted me. They gave me the contract, the details which I could contact my would-be publicist, etc. I looked over the contract and gave them a few conditions of my own (as quoted from the e-mail I sent):
"Firstly, I live in the United Kingdom and it has always been a wish of mine to become known in my own country before I branch out into other countries. Would this be possible?
Secondly, are there any fees to pay? It is my misfortune that I am not in a position to be able to pay any form of fee.
Thirdly, it is my concern that you have not read my manuscript as it contains some very non-Christian content. If I consent to be published by Tate, are you going to edit it so drastically as to make the homosexual characters heterosexual? If so, then I will not consent."
Yes, the publisher was founded on Christian grounds, but I thought that since this is generally an accepting world they would overlook the gay romance. They replied:
"Yes, I wanted to discuss editing the homosexual character. By your email, it seems that this is not an option and will respectfully close your file at this time. Thank you for getting back to me Hannah, have a blessed day!"
This is why I was thinking about writers' ethics- I'm proud of myself for standing up for my gay characters and not selling out, but as a family member pointed out, it is hard to get published. Ladies and gentlemen, my question to you is: is it right for a writer to 'sell out' to be published?
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AGBellamy
Member Since 06 Dec 2009Offline Last Active Mar 25, 2012 - 11:23
