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Still fighting this battle....
Writer Elizabeth Moon comments on a NYT article about gender bias in reviewing over here:
http://e-moon60.livejournal.com/330655.html
I admit to a little bit of discouragement over this continuing battle. In several places in the world, I watch and young people often seem to be living separate lives. It certainly effected my career. Warner bought my first book, FIRE SANCTUARY, thinking I'd be another CJ Cherryh and future Hugo winner. They told me -- and several prominent female writers told me -- that I did not have to use initials to preserve the illusion of genderlessness. And the orders on the first novel were half what they expected.
So -- did they judge their readership that wrongly? Was it the cover? The buyers at the major chains? I know an older friend who loved my SF and said he would read anything I wrote would touch neither the Alfreda novels (which seem to have as many readers among men as women who found the first book with its intriguing cover) nor my mystery with ghosts. The Alfreda series is 1st person female, the mystery 3rd person female and male POVs.
I have to eat and get ready to go to ArmadilloCon, but it's sad to see this still counts. I'm going to try to write an Urban fantasy for women and men. Surely we're ready for that?
PS -- the NYT article is here: http://jezebel.com/5622582/why-books-by-women-arent-serious
No, no brain for fixing the html today, you just have to read ugly links!
http://e-moon60.livejournal.com/330655.html
I admit to a little bit of discouragement over this continuing battle. In several places in the world, I watch and young people often seem to be living separate lives. It certainly effected my career. Warner bought my first book, FIRE SANCTUARY, thinking I'd be another CJ Cherryh and future Hugo winner. They told me -- and several prominent female writers told me -- that I did not have to use initials to preserve the illusion of genderlessness. And the orders on the first novel were half what they expected.
So -- did they judge their readership that wrongly? Was it the cover? The buyers at the major chains? I know an older friend who loved my SF and said he would read anything I wrote would touch neither the Alfreda novels (which seem to have as many readers among men as women who found the first book with its intriguing cover) nor my mystery with ghosts. The Alfreda series is 1st person female, the mystery 3rd person female and male POVs.
I have to eat and get ready to go to ArmadilloCon, but it's sad to see this still counts. I'm going to try to write an Urban fantasy for women and men. Surely we're ready for that?
PS -- the NYT article is here: http://jezebel.com/5622582/why-books-by-women-arent-serious
No, no brain for fixing the html today, you just have to read ugly links!
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Very much worth watching.