Question 9
When an agent says they're looking for BIPOC voices, does that include people of Asian descent?
Is #ownvoices still a useful hashtag or are people moving away from it because of overuse/inappropriate usage?
Are there ways to find a critique group or partner that don't involve trusting internet strangers?
What is the best way to use a brief pitch session with an agent at a writing conference?
You can find this mentor, A.Y. Chao, here!
1. BIPOC is an umbrella term for people of colour which specifically mentions Black and Indigenous people not to restrict the term to only those groups, but to recognise the severe injustices those particular groups face. South Asian, East and South East Asians are most definitely included under this umbrella.
2.Many orgs have stopped using ownvoices in favour of specific intersectional identity. This is a good article that addresses many of the issues:
https://diversebooks.org/why-we-need-diverse-books-is-no-longer-using-the-term-ownvoices/. The main problem is the tag being weaponised against marginalised creators, i.e. forcing character identity to match author identity and if the match isn't overtly obvious, to punish/out/harass the marginalised creator. Better tags are those specific to your identity which you’re comfortable sharing—eg diaspora, Desi, Chinese, Korean-American, Muslim, Armenian, ND, DIS, etc.
3. Ah CPs are so important! Finding a good fit personality wise and establishing a baseline of trust are so vital to a successful relationship. I wouldn’t totally discount ‘internet strangers’—some of my best CPs were once just that! I got to know them over a longer duration—for example I did a year long writing course and have a core group of classmates who are wonderful CPs. Our tutor set up a critique rota so over the year we got to know and grew to trust our CPs with the tutor and course rules as our safety net. I also have a long time friend who is an excellent CP (she’s an academic and writer herself, so I lucked out). Being part of a mentee group is also a great way to get to know fellow writers. In person writing groups are a good choice if you prefer face to face. Just remember to take your time to build the relationship. Swap a few pages to begin with to get a sense of the person and see if you’re a good fit. Don’t be afraid to say not for me if it’s not working for you. Good luck!
4. I love those one-2-one agent sessions because it’s a nice contained way to meet an agent and get a sense of what they are like as a person. I recently read about an author who uses agent sessions to test out rough pitches and ask the agent for their feedback on what works and what doesn’t, and whether the story would be marketable. I thought that was a brilliant way to approach those sessions since agents are such a resource of knowledge and experience. It doesn’t have to be about selling your book but can be about gathering intel on the industry and improving your pitch too!
