23: Publishing Edition

elenacarlena for This Week in the War on Women

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Saturday March 18, 2023 · 5:03 PM PDT

2023/03/18 · 17:03

This WOW is brought to you “courtesy” of John Paul Mac Isaac. This part of the story turned out to be less male-female and more “conservative”-liberal. And it turned out to be an involved search, although with interesting (I think) results along the way. But if you are more interested in our usual news roundup, please feel free to skip down to “In Other News”.

A story by Laura Clawson reporting that Hunter Biden is now suing the people who have tried to make his life miserable (good for him!) got me looking further at the computer shop guy. You know that guy, the supposed small business owner who supposedly took in Hunter Biden’s laptop for repair after liquid had been spilled on it. Then this computer guy decided that it was more important to pass along the contents of that computer to Reptublicans, specifically Rudy Giuliani, than to protect the confidentiality of one of his customers. And he wonders why he is no longer in business.

So this failed business owner and white guy you wouldn’t trust with scooping your dog’s poop has “written” a book about this whole experience! (No ghost writer is credited, but come on, this is the only writing listed in the guy’s bio.) And he did not have to self publish — this book was published by Liberatio Protocol. Which apparently is/was a right-wing division of Simon & Schuster, one of the major publishing houses. However, the Simon & Schuster pages about their own division appear to have been scrubbed.

If you’re an aspiring and mostly unknown writer like me, you know how difficult it is to get published, and many end up resorting to self publishing.

So this disconnect between the publishing success of this white guy only remarkable for his ethical and business failures, and the publishing struggles of the rest of us, got me thinking: Are the success stories mostly white male? If so, by how much? Can I find other commonalities of publishing success; say, a right-wing philosophy?

US demographics show that publishing staff are about 75-80% white. Surprisingly to me, they identify as about 55-60% male. I expected a much smaller ratio of women in the industry, but another website (that I can’t find again now!) showed that even executives and boards of publishing companies are about 40% female. That’s a good start! But the rest of the diversity information is very disappointing. In particular, Blacks comprise only about 3.5% of publishing staff, about 13% of the general population; Hispanics/Latinos about 8%, 19% of the general population; Native Americans 0.3%, about 3% of the general population. It looks like their inclusive recruiting efforts need some work!

Working writers reflect these demographics pretty closely, with about 55% women making about 95% of what men make in the field. However, again, about 75% are white, 8% Hispanic/Latino, 6% black and 0.4% Native American. Trying a different source and one in-depth study of authors and creators at one publishing house, the percentages are almost identical.

Still not sure, then, why you and I have so much difficulty getting published. Apparently the odds of publication are only about 1-2%. Notably, along with all the usual necessities such as spelling and grammar, odds increase if your book “fits” within a particular genre. And then here we see that women authors “fit” within lower-paying categories such as romance and fantasy. These are also categories that publish a lot more books, and so overwhelm the market that chances are no one book will catch on massively. And so here we find at last some reasons why published female authors make about 89% of what published male authors make. As well as how difficult it might be to break away from low pay: If you are a female author and submit a “male” manuscript such as one featuring science or science fiction, will they think that your female name does not “fit” in the category?

If you’re still with me on this question, note this list of famous multitudinous rejections: Included are female authors of Twilight, Harry Potter, and A Wrinkle in Time. But also male authors of A Time to Kill, Carrie, and The Wizard of Oz.

Still not convinced that this failure of a white IT guy didn’t have something else going for him, I kept digging. Aha, right-wing authors are very popular! In this article, they suggest that right-wing readers are fans of a few prominent writers, intensifying their popularity; whereas left-wing readers read a much wider array of authors, diluting the popularity of any one.

And yet finally, I think I found the real answer here in The myth of the conservative bestseller: Right wingers game the system. They get conservative groups to make bulk purchases for them. The books may sit in boxes in some office or warehouse somewhere, but that initial purchase gets them on the bestseller lists, and from there people buy because they’re bestsellers. And so right-wing narratives are pushed into the popular consciousness and look like they are much more popular than they really are. And even though we know that many right-wing voters are not very well educated and do not read a lot, “somehow” right-wing books are nearly all at the top of the mainstream bestseller lists. Because the RNC or a PAC or the Heritage Foundation or the Koch Brothers, etc., bought them in bulk. Note that also, then “bestselling author” right-wing trolls are invited to go on book tours, onto talk shows, and may make significant money with speeches. Because “everyone” is interested, right? Their book is a bestseller! Right-wing bestselling authors, as you might expect, are much more likely to be male.

Note also that bulk purchases can be seen and tagged, so these could be erased from mainstream bestseller lists because they are not really popular. But so far, the publishers of such lists have not decided to do so. And probably the publishers are against it, because I doubt that they care whether books are bulk purchased or not. As long as they are purchased, publishers make their profits. We would love to see this imbalance corrected. But we may have to rebalance by finding liberal supporters who will bulk purchase, regardless of whether or not they are interested in reading.

What do you think? Protest the game? Or play the game? Please feel free to discuss in Comments.

In Other News

Violence

UK: IOPC investigating senior officer’s alleged description of rape complaints as ‘regretful sex’:

Sir Stephen House denies making the comments to a Home Office adviser at a Scotland Yard meeting in January 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/…

Abortions

You won’t be surprised to see lots of news in this category!

Jezebel, "Survivors Testify Against Bill Requiring ‘Proof’ of Rape to Get an Abortion: 'How Dare You?'"

DK "Extremist Texas judge poised to take unprecedented action to ban medication abortion"

Via Jessica Valenti's Substack: Florida Republicans are trying to pass a 6-week abortion ban making it illegal to "actively participate" in an abortion. Naturally, the terminology is vague enough that it might include the Uber driver or someone who loaned the patient money for the procedure.

Utah just passed a law requiring abortions to be done in hospitals, and limiting medication abortions. And North Dakota's Supreme Court upheld a lower court's order blocking enforcement of an abortion ban while the case is litigated.

Idaho hospital to stop labor and delivery services citing "political climate" and doctor shortages:

Idaho has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. According to the Associated Press, in a court brief filed in August 2022 in support of a Justice Department lawsuit against the Idaho abortion ban, medical groups argued that Idaho physicians are forced to choose whether to break state or federal law.

Wyoming governor signs law outlawing use of abortion pills:

The governor [Gordon] said he was also allowing enactment, without his signature, of a separate bill passed by state lawmakers to prohibit conventional abortion procedures except when necessary to protect the health and life of the mother, or in case of rape or incest.

-snip-

Gordon acknowledged that abortion rights proponents who have already challenged Wyoming's "trigger" abortion ban that went into effect after the Roe v. Wade decision have filed suit to block the newly passed Wyoming ban preemptively.

Health

A disturbing article on the dearth of maternity care in rural Georgia, especially for Black women:

It is a failure in Georgia’s health care system: implement a demanding process to open new health care facilities, institute few regulations around when facilities shut down, and let Black communities suffer the most extreme consequences.

Pandemic has had limited mental health effects except for women, parents, older adults, sexual/gender minority groups, and healthcare workers. So, “little overall effect,” really.… That’s the title. Srsly.

Paychecks

March 14 was Equal Pay Day, "how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year".

Uncategorizable but Mind-blowing

HuffPo, "Florida Republican's Bill Would Ban Young Girls From Discussing Their Periods In School"

Because that’s what girls need when they suddenly find themselves hemorrhaging — no adult willing to talk with them. That won’t cause any trauma. /s

Fashion

How Women Designers Reinvented Sexy:

I'm not usually interested in sexy fashion. But I found this to be interesting (bolding mine):

For the designers who are proposing a new vision of sensuality, it’s not just about the reveal; it’s about giving the wearer the agency to control just how much or how little. Like Burch, a number of designers took a modular approach to showing skin, offering flexible or adjustable pieces that a woman can manipulate to highlight what she feels are her own best assets. Instead of declaring, “This season is all about the legs!” Burch offers pieces that allow women to make those choices for themselves. Women are becoming more confident, she explains, and “I feel like they’re redefining what sexiness means to them.” Women don’t want to be given rules about what to wear, Burch says. “They want to be empowered. And I think to have your own personal style around that, and accentuate your body in any shape or form, is an amazing thing.”

International

From NPR,
"Women across Iran are refusing to wear headscarves, in open defiance of the regime"

A stunning video from the massive protests taking place in Israel now, of a procession of women donning red "Handmaids Tale" robes, to highlight the threat to women’s rights posed by Israel’s new far-right, ultra-religious government:

"Handmaids Tale" protesters marching in formation down Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street this afternoon, looking exactly like they do in the miniseries. Chilling. pic.twitter.com/I6SDXWIVW8
— Allison K. Sommer (@AllisonKSommer) March 16, 2023

Lastly, on the encouraging side from Jordan:

"The main message I want to share with all women out there is that your future is in your hands, not your husband. I always tell my daughters: the most important thing is to be financially independent."
Ra’edah shows #WomenKnowHow to fix things 🔧 https://t.co/X88xrIdav7
— CARE (care.org) (@CARE) March 14, 2023

Good News

USA TODAY’s Women of the Year project honors local and national heroines who make a positive impact in their communities every day"

Meet the Women of the Year nominees, https://www.usatoday.com/…

Finger Lakes Campaign Tells More About The Region’s Trailblazing Women:

The Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council wants visitors and locals to find out which of the area’s brave women they can relate to—and find out more about its past and present trailblazers.

In promoting the region’s women’s history and women entrepreneurship, the council recently has created an online quiz called “Which Brave Woman Are You?”

-snip-

The featured women include abolitionist Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in America to receive a medical degree; Jikonsaseh, who helped to unite the original five nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy; and suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

[Note: We prefer “suffragist” to “suffragette,” but that’s the quote.]

Intrigued? You can take the quiz here. Note that you do have to give them some personal info to take the quiz, but you can make it up.

(Also they could have done better at making the text more contrasty against background; I emailed them about that, but no change as of early Saturday evening.)

Action items

Petitions:

MomsRising to Congress, "to act quickly and take a multi-faceted approach to closing the wage gap that undermines and disproportionately harms women, moms, and moms of color".

The Center for American Progress to the Senate in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Nominations may be made for Women of the Year (strong, resilient) through the end of March here, https://usatodaynetwork.secondstreetapp.com/...

As always, this is a group effort! Many thanks to Angmar, SandraLLAP, Tara the Antisocial Social Worker, and mettle fatigue for items, discussion, and tagging!

This content was created by a Daily Kos Community member.

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This Week in the War on Women, 3/12-18/23: Publishing Edition

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