Is it insensitive to use my non-white sounding name, when I am white?

I share a name with a published author. Thus I use a variation of my name to post comments on your blog. I know that I will have to correspond with industry professionals by my given name. Should I also make it clear publicly that the blog name is my pen name?

Thanks to the white guy who used a Chinese pen name to publish a poem, I am a little worried that any obfuscation of my very white ethnicity is going to cause problems. The name I have chosen could lead people to assume that I’m not white. Should I be concerned?

No.
What people assume about you is their problem.

There's a hilarious episode of Seinfeld about this exact situation.

When you query, you'll mention your pen name...or not.  There's a blog post on how to do both.

I find it hilarious that people are upset that someone adopted a "Chinese sounding name" to get published, when any survey of published works will tell you that the best way to get published, hands down, is to be a middle-aged white male.

That said, when anthologies or calls for submissions specifically say "we're looking for diverse voices" you can err on the side of good manners by telling them while you, yourself, are not colorful, your writing is.

The true problem with diversity is that not enough non-white, non-males are sending in work.

When you ask a newspaper's op ed page editor why so few women are published, they'll tell you it's cause 85% of the submissions they get are from men.

We need to do better on the ground floor: getting young writers of all colors and genders to send out work.

If anyone is interested in supporting that there are some great places to do so.

Girls Write Now is one

Afghan Women's Writing Project is another.

I'm sure there are more and the commenters will provide us with info.

But the best way to support diversity in publishing is to buy and read writers who are non-white, and/or non-male. It's not enough to say "I read regardless of color and gender." You have to actively seek out new voices. Your librarian can help you. There are some amazing writers out there you haven't heard of yet. And just wait till you see what I've got coming up the pipeline!

Query Question: my characters are people of color; I'm not

My current WIP features a young Alaska Native man, and while he’s not the MC, he has a very prominent supporting role (he is actually one of my favorite characters), and there are several other minor characters who are also Alaska Native. Since the book takes place in Alaska, this is appropriate, I believe. I am not an Alaska Native, but I have lived in Alaska for 26 years and I have many very dear friends who are. So while I don’t have personal experience being IN this culture, I hope that my associations with it (and extensive research) will create a voice that rings respectful and true. I also have zero experience being a man, but while that’s a whole different can of worms (no pun intended), for some reason don’t see that as big of an issue.

My question is this: I am hearing a lot of call for diversity in novels, which is awesome, but I am also hearing criticism about writers appropriating a culture for their own means. Obviously, writers must write outside their own reality (otherwise, what’s the point?), but when does writing about a race or culture outside your own become appropriation? We’ve discussed this a bit in our writing group, but I’d really love to hear your perspective on this. Thanks!

This is a tough but interesting question. It's very much akin to getting things "right" when simply by being a visitor to the culture, you can't know what's "right" down to the last detail. You will always see the culture through the prism of outsider.


That does not mean however that you can't write fully developed and interesting characters from that culture. The key is like that of all good writing: make it feel authentic, but not just to you, to the people from that culture.


Appropriation is a loaded word for writers, whose job it is to steal everything they can and write about it. When does it cross the line? Everyone is going to have a different view on this, but the thing to pay attention to are people in that culture.

I didn't understand that The Help wasn't a fun book until I read the comments about it written by Roxane Gay. While it's not about appropriating culture, it does seem to say that stories are given a wider audience only when those in power agree to tell them.

I'm not sure there's a real answer to your question. I think by asking it, by being aware of the problem, you're on your way to steering clear of it.