When it comes to diversity in literature, we can see that the option of self-publishing has helped the cause.

Empowering Voices Movement

The 1960s saw a rise in civil activism, with empowering voices and movements sprouting up throughout the world for various causes. In our ever-globalized world, we are better able to see people from different backgrounds and interact with those with different points of view. But why is that important? And what does it have to do with self-published authors?

In the world we live in, there are social and political challenges. These differ across different groups, such as men and women, people who are classified as different races, people from different ethnic backgrounds, and people with different sexualities. There are those who are marginalized in our society because they fall into a category that is less represented.

You've probably heard of the word privilege, whether it's in the context of being a man, being white, or being heterosexual. Sometimes, this word takes people off guard and makes them feel defensive. It sounds like an insult or an attack. In truth, societal privilege is not so much about having a really easy life; it's about not facing certain obstacles. These obstacles could be institutional racism, homophobia, misogyny, or other kinds of discrimination. Encouraging diversity helps us address these problems as a society.

In terms of diversity in literature, we consistently see problems when looking at authors published through traditional literary agents. Authors from marginalized communities are consistently underrepresented, and when they are represented, their voice is diluted, and we do not see their genuine stories or experiences.

Traditional publishers often play it safe and like to stick to the types of authors and stories they know. This means there is less representation of people from marginalized communities. That's not to say authors who are published by literary agents don't deserve representation or haven't earned their status as a published author; the point is that there are writers from marginalized communities who would also be worthy of being published, and the real, genuine stories of people from marginalized communities should be told uncensored and not sanitized to avoid discomfort.

Self-Published Authors and Diversity in Literature

There are benefits to being a self-published author. As well as keeping all the royalties, as an author, you retain complete creative control. This means you can tell your story the way you want to.

Any empowering voices movement revolves around giving people the opportunity to use their voice, and in the world of self-publishing, an author doesn't have to worry about adjusting their tone or story to fit into what readers may be used to. While traditional publishers generally don't take risks and focus on publishing works that they know will be successful so the literary agent can make their money back, self-publishing offers more freedom.

We see diversity in literature through self-publishing because there is no gatekeeper standing in the way. Self-publishing opens the doors to diversity.

Diversity in Literature and Authentic Representation

Crucially, when we talk about representation, we are not talking about token representation or stereotyped caricatures. For true diversity in literature, there needs to be authentic representation.

When it comes to educating people about those who are different from them, we need to see the real story. So whether it's representing autistic people beyond stereotypes, portraying indigenous cultures accurately, or including ethnically diverse characters, it's important that there is truth to what is being shared. The best way to read an accurate representation of people different from you is to read books written by those people. Thanks to the opportunities presented by self-publishing, anyone can share their stories.

How Self-Published Authors Can Promote Diversity in Literature

When we talk about self-published authors and diversity in literature, there are three things the authors themselves can do:

Include diverse representation in their work.
Hire a diverse range of people for their publishing team.
Make their work available to as broad an audience as possible.

On the first point, this can be done by writing diverse characters and representing people from different cultures. Different groups that are represented in a community or society should be represented in their literature. For example, over the past couple of decades in New Zealand literature, there has been a growth in Māori representation.

When it comes to putting together a publishing team, it's important to give opportunities to people from different backgrounds in society, whether that's a ghostwriter, editor, or printer.

In terms of making work widely available, consider translation. Translating books to another language, such as Spanish, helps your work reach wider markets and ensures more people can get the benefit of your work.

Self-published authors can help promote business diversity and empower diverse voices.