It was difficult, wasn’t it?

It was hard coming up with an idea that inspired 100,000 words.

Tough forcing yourself to sit down every day and write.

Heart-wrenching to cut out fluffy words, beloved characters, or sentences, making you want to cry like a baby.

But you finished.

Time to send it off into the world.

Your query letter is ready and proofread. Twice. Not a comma out of place or a double ‘the’ anywhere. You’re confident. Ready.

Then you type your name.

Melissa.

Jewel.

Or Kaylee.

And a twinge of fear creeps into your heart.

Will your feminine name hurt your chances of being published?

Just a Girl

“Above all, be the heroine of your own life.” -Nora Ephron

I took my friend to the side of my house, ready to have a little chat. I was six.

And mad.

I pointed my dimpled pointer finger in his face, unafraid.

I needed to know why.

“How come my twin brother got to go this boy’s birthday party and not me?” I asked him. We were friends, too. At least, I’d thought so.

After our one-sided chat, I ended up being the only girl at a boy’s party.

And it was awesome.

Later, as a teenager, my brother was hired into the same type of hospitality job as me. Both of us with the same work experience.

But they immediately made him manager.

It’s through these tiny life experiences that I learned that boys and girls are not always treated the same.

I just never thought the world of publishing would be that way.

Even With Publishers?

“I would venture to guess that anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.” -Virginia Wolf

I have not published a book. I’ve never sent a query letter. In fact, I have yet to finish writing a novel.

But it is my dream.

So, when I read an article about women in the publishing world, my heart sank.

Have I lost my chances of being published before I even write my last word?

In an essay by Catherine Nichols she sends her query letter and book out to agents and publishers under the name George. Sometimes to the same places she sent under her name, Catherine.

Out of 50 queries, the name George had his manuscript requested 17 times.

George did 8 and a half times better than the name Catherine.

With the same material.

The only difference was the gender.

Terrifying.

There is a hopeful part of me who thinks this may just be the article writers case. That perhaps her science wasn’t done correctly.

But, when I think of a writer I automatically see a man. Preferably, with a Hemingway type mustache.

We are historically preconditioned to think men are better writers.

And that must affect publishers as well.

By Any Other Name

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

J.K. Rowling

J.D. Robb

Harper Lee

All female authors who have written under male pseudonyms to reach a larger audience.

A male audience.

They worked with the world they had. Adapted.

And why not? There’s nothing wrong with it and I’m happy it works. If you want to write under another name, go for it.

Who knows, I may write under another name one day.

But I don’t think we should fear our feminine name. I think we should be proud of it.

Even famous female writers throughout history wrote under a male name.

Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women wrote as A.M. Bernard.

And the Bronte sisters, separate authors of classics like Wuthering Heights, all wrote under male names.

The one who didn’t, the woman who paved the way for female authors, was Jane Austen.

And yet, her brilliant writing is still considered ‘frilly’.

I am a Woman, Hear Me Type

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better.” — J.K. Rowling

I am a woman and a mother. Two huge things that can hold me back from the writing world.

Yet, I use these things to help me through it.

These ‘faults’ are what make me a better writer. Those nights up with the crying baby have taught me how to live when I feel like sleeping death.

My monthly fluctuating feelings have shown me how to write with emotion.

Labor taught me pain, and how to push through it.

Being a woman and mother has helped me become a better writer.

I am proud of my name.

Be proud of yours.

If we’re going to write stories, let’s use our femininity, our past, and emotions to write poems, articles, and novels that blow toupees off heads.

Embrace who you are.

Men Rock

“I don’t often hear talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can see that they are and when they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence.” -Emma Watson

Does this mean a man isn’t as good as a woman?

Of course not.

Be nice to our boys. They rock.

They live with their own hardships and stereotypes.

• They must be strong.
• The breadwinner.
• And never cry.

They must open doors for women yet can be considered sexist if they do.

As boys, they are taught to not like girly things, not to wear pink.

If they write a book, it’s supposed to be action-packed or intellectual.

We all have our walls to climb.

Don’t be hard on each other. Complement each other. Male or female, we are in this together.

And either sex can be published.

Even if we have to change the world to do it.

Let’s start by focusing on the story, not the gender.

Our Part of the Puzzle

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” -Robin Williams

Maybe the publishing life is easier for a male.

So, what can we do about it?

We have the rare opportunity to change perceptions.

And it starts with the people reading the slush pile, the editors and agents who read our work and either accept or reject it.

Change begins with us.

Maybe we should stop signing names in our query letters? Have every letter be anonymous.

This way we can pay attention to the story, not the writer.

Focus on words, not s.

Leave that for the bedroom.

Follow me on News Break!

...

Follow