Reasons for withdrawal: why I have pulled out of WICKED PRETTY THINGS.: seanan

Reasons for withdrawal: why I have pulled out of WICKED PRETTY THINGS.

Just last week, I announced that I would have a story in the YA anthology Wicked Pretty Things. I was extremely excited; this was going to be my first young adult publication, and I really, really want to start publishing some of my YA (werewolves and movie stars and sociological experiments, oh my). It seemed like a great opportunity.

Then I heard that one of the authors, Jessica Verday, had pulled out of the anthology. Which seemed a little odd, given how late we were in the process.

And then I found out her reason. To quote her blog post on the subject (originally posted at http://jessicaverday.blogspot.com/):

"I've received a lot of questions and comments about why I'm no longer a part of the Wicked Pretty Things anthology (US: Running Press, UK: Constable & Robinson) and I've debated the best way to explain why I pulled out of this anthology. The simple reason? I was told that the story I'd wrote, which features Wesley (a boy) and Cameron (a boy), who were both in love with each other, would have to be published as a male/female story because a male/male story would not be acceptable to the publishers."

...uh, what? That's not okay. I mean, really, that's not okay. I began, in my slow, overly careful way, to get angry. Then I saw a statement from the editor, saying that the decision had been entirely hers, and had been in no way a reflection of the publisher's views. I sat back. I thought very, very hard. And I decided that, barring any additional developments, I would stay in the anthology, rather than hurting the other authors involved with the project by pulling out.

Naturally, there were additional developments. In light of the ongoing situation, my own discomfort with this whole thing, and the fact that discriminating on basis of sexual orientation is never okay, I have withdrawn my story from the collection.

And here's the thing. There is absolutely no reason to censor a story that was written to the guidelines (which dictated how much profanity, sexuality, etc. was acceptable, as good guidelines should). If Jessica had written hard-core erotica, then rejecting it would have made perfect sense. Not that kind of book. But she didn't. She wrote a romance, just like the rest of us, only her romance didn't include any girls. And she didn't get a rejection; she got her story accepted, just like the rest of us. Only while we got the usual editorial comments, she got "One of your characters needs to be turned into something he's not." And that's not okay.

Books do not determine a person's sexual orientation. I was not somehow destined to be straight, and led astray by Annie On My Mind and the Valdemar books. I was born with universal wiring. I have had boyfriends and I have had girlfriends and I have had both at the same time, and none of that—NONE OF THAT—is because I read a book where a girl was in love with a girl and I decided that being bisexual would be a fun way to kill a weekend.

But those books did tell me I didn't have to hate myself, and they did tell me that there was nothing wrong with me, and they did make it easier on everyone involved, because here was something I could hand to Mom and go "See? It's not just me, and it's not the end of the world, and it's not the only thing that defines me." Supposedly, ten percent of people are gay or bi with a tropism toward their own gender. It stands to reason that there should be positive non-hetero relationships in at least ten percent of YA literature. And they're not there. And things like this are why.

I am not withdrawing from this book because I'm not straight. I am withdrawing because of my little sister and her wife, and because of my girlfriend, and because of my best friend, and because of all the other people who deserve better than bullying through exclusion. Thanks to Jessica for bringing this to our attention, and thank you to everyone who has been supportive of my decision to withdraw.

I am sorry this had to be done. I am not sorry that I did it.

dpaxson

March 28 2011, 22:27:01 UTC 6 years ago

New comment

George Scithers made me take a reference to masturbation out of my first story sale because ASIMOV'S sold to a lot of teen-agers (who presumably weren't aware of masturbation?!?) But it wasn't essential to the story (about a male whose consciousness is transplanted into a female body) so it wasn't a deal-breaker. It was also thirty years ago. One would hope that things had changed since then.

Obviously not nearly enough. You did the right thing. So, are you going to put your story out electronically or in some way where we can buy it? And what about Jessica's story? Hey, you could do your own anthology. I'd submit to it....

seanan_mcguire

March 29 2011, 01:43:01 UTC 6 years ago

I also can see saying "hey, this market doesn't support on-screen sex/masturbation/the word 'banana'" if the terms are upfront and universal, you know?

I don't know yet about the story; there are Things in the Works.

sweetmusic_27

March 28 2011, 22:28:05 UTC 6 years ago

We talked about it at the bookstore. Nancy, who hadn't heard, said, "In this day and age?" and there was general happiness at you and other authors taking a stand against That Sort of Nonsense. (Unsurprisingly, considering my store, but still.)

Anyway. What I really wanted to say was --

FUCK YEAH, SEAKING.

March 29 2011, 01:43:28 UTC 6 years ago

FUCK YEAH, SEAKING.

I love you.

debikm

March 28 2011, 22:29:13 UTC 6 years ago

Congratulations for standing up for what you believe in. It's time for people to take a stand and I'm proud of you!

March 29 2011, 01:43:43 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you.

rms_butterfly

March 28 2011, 22:30:18 UTC 6 years ago

Good for you! I respect, support and whole-heartedly agree with your decision.

March 29 2011, 01:54:31 UTC 6 years ago

lobsterbandita

March 28 2011, 22:33:47 UTC 6 years ago

I'm glad you did it. One of my best friends as a teen was terrified to admit to the rest of us that she was gay. I wish that she had more stories like that available to her then, and books that reflected who she was in a positive and healthy manner. I would like to have saved my friend years of heartache and pretending. I wish that editor sounded more like she understood how hurtful and offensive her words are. Thank you for withdrawing too.

March 29 2011, 01:54:54 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, dear. :( I hope she's better now?

6 years ago

s00j

March 28 2011, 22:46:41 UTC 6 years ago

****love*****

March 29 2011, 01:55:02 UTC 6 years ago

ladymurmur

March 28 2011, 22:53:27 UTC 6 years ago

**applauds**
What a brave decision. Good for you! If possible, this has only made me appreciate you and your work even more.

March 29 2011, 01:55:28 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you. :)

beckyh2112

March 28 2011, 22:56:39 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you. I wondered how you were going to react when I first heard about this, because I remembered how happy you were to get in. (And also your dark story taking place at night. ;-)

Thank you for taking a stand about this, and I hope the publishers straighten up and pay attention to what keeping this editor on for that anthology is doing.

March 29 2011, 01:56:03 UTC 6 years ago

I was cautious, because I don't want to get a reputation as a diva, but there's a line between "maybe people are taking things wrong" and "no, you're just plain wrong."

inkgrrl

March 28 2011, 23:01:25 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you. As I posted on Jessica's blog, I have a real problem with LGBT being labeled alternative anything - that's like labeling red hair an alternative color. Some of us are wired one of many ways, some of us are lucky enough to have universal wiring... nothing alternative about any of it, just part of the spectrum of human.

March 29 2011, 01:56:38 UTC 6 years ago

I'm willing to give it alternative right now, because we need to publish more to get the percentages equalized.

vincentursus

March 28 2011, 23:01:47 UTC 6 years ago

I remember you posting about your enthusiasm for anthologies, and how amazing you found it to get into them.

This must have been hard for you.

Congratulations. Take pride in having done it.

*hugs*

March 29 2011, 01:57:27 UTC 6 years ago

I'm trying.

*hug*

druidspell

March 28 2011, 23:08:58 UTC 6 years ago

As someone who scoured the YA bookshelves on Thursday looking for books that featured healthy same-sex relationships, who once stole a book on gay teens from the public library because I was too ashamed to check it out, who loves YA, who loves your work as a filker, essayist, and author, and as a lesbian who grew up in a small town and was trapped in small Catholic schools who really would have appreciated having a few books with gay characters to show me that I wasn't the only one in the world who felt this way:

Thank you. Thank you for standing up for us. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for standing WITH us. Thank you thank you thank you for making the hard choice to pull out of something you were so excited about because there was something rotten in the state of Denmark, as it were. I'm sorry you (and Ms. Verday, and any other author who has withdrawn) were forced to make the decision between your contract and check and your ethics, but thank you for choosing your ethics. I will never forget this.

phoenixsansfyr

March 29 2011, 01:59:50 UTC 6 years ago

What she said.

Thank you for standing up for all of us that are wired just a little bit differently from the norm, for those of us who are who we are because that's us, not because something or someone tweaked us into it.

Thank you for being someone so up-and-coming, so very visible to so many people I know, and standing up and screaming for what is right, and denouncing vehemently what is wrong. Thank you for being one of us, and being a voice, and being brave and strong and not living in fear (to steal your own words). And what do I mean by "one of us"?

The gay, the straight, the slightly maybe not quite sure yet genderqueer, the lesbians, the bisexuals, the monogamous, the poly-lovers, the pagans, the Christians, the ones who believe so strongly in a world to mirror ours that it just has to be there, the ones who don't know their own mind yet but have a gut feeling they'll listen to some day, the world at large. Thank you for pointing out that wrong is wrong, and pretty words from a bigger group do not make wrong into right.

And this applies to all other affiliated authors who have done the same, but very much to you, Seanan, because you've made yourself the hero of a lot of non-straights (and straights) with this.

naamah_darling

March 28 2011, 23:09:38 UTC 6 years ago

Today, today I am proud to be your fan.

That can't have been easy. It is deeply appreciated. It makes a difference.

March 29 2011, 18:27:17 UTC 6 years ago

I am proud to be worthy of you. :)

Thank you.

Deleted comment

March 29 2011, 18:27:36 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you for being an amazing editor who never makes me do this.

azurelunatic

March 28 2011, 23:25:07 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you so incredibly much.

I was going to say why this meant a lot to me, but my $0.02 grew into an $0.37, so I'll link it instead. The short version, indeed yes, is FUCK YEAH SEAKING, as so many of the other people have said here in comments.

*hugs*

I can forgive a lot of the jackassery in the world, but "making Seanan sad" is a category unto itself, not quite as bad as "making Carrie sad" but not good either.

March 29 2011, 18:27:51 UTC 6 years ago

Aww.

I love you, too.

k_crow

March 28 2011, 23:30:23 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you. My life is a better place because of your books and your music.
Thank you. For standing up for what you believe in, and for being who you are.
Thank you. *offers hugs*

March 29 2011, 18:28:04 UTC 6 years ago

You are very welcome.

Hugs accepted, gladly.

guruwench

March 28 2011, 23:30:56 UTC 6 years ago

I have heaps of respect for you for making this decision, and I thank you for making it and for sharing your reasons.

I like you a whole bunch, just on that, and I've been told you're quite a fabulous writer as well. (I read sporadically lately, so I haven't yet acquired any of your books, but they're on my list.) I look forward to reading what you do publish and have published.

March 29 2011, 18:28:16 UTC 6 years ago

karjack

March 28 2011, 23:32:25 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you for this. You are and remain awesome. :)

March 29 2011, 18:28:25 UTC 6 years ago

Love you, lady.

aedifica

March 28 2011, 23:32:59 UTC 6 years ago

If a book could have made me gay (or bi), Annie On My Mind would have done it--it's an amazingly wonderful book. It couldn't.

Thanks for your stand; I know it must have been hard, and I respect you all the more for taking it.

March 29 2011, 18:28:48 UTC 6 years ago

You're very welcome.

And dude, Annie On My Mind rules.

teddywolf

March 28 2011, 23:46:18 UTC 6 years ago

A good choice to make - I salute you. That said, I hope the publisher realizes quickly what they just did and tries to make amends.

March 29 2011, 18:28:57 UTC 6 years ago

Me, too.

twfarlan

March 28 2011, 23:47:00 UTC 6 years ago

+5. Support'd.

March 29 2011, 18:29:04 UTC 6 years ago

dragondances

March 28 2011, 23:48:26 UTC 6 years ago

I know you've got pages and pages of support already, but I just wanted to say thank you for talking about this. I first heard about it a while ago, and one of my first thoughts was: "Hey, I wonder where Seanan McGuire will stand on this whole thing?"

For me, I was aware of gay people as a kid, since a lot of my aunt's friends were. Plus I loved Valdemar, and Last Herald-Mage has always been comfort reading whenever I was upset. Then in college I finally realised that the nervous excitement I had felt around certain female friends of mine in high school was because they were beautiful, and I made friends who were okay with that. But overall I'm still shocked at how rare real, everyday gay people are in fiction, compared to my experience.

I'm in awe of you for talking about it this honestly. I'd already been convinced to look up your books when I had a chance, but that's been moved up. I'm getting a tax return soon- some of it's going to head your way. Thank you.

March 29 2011, 18:29:39 UTC 6 years ago

I love your icon. Just FYI.

And you are very welcome. I tried to think the best until it just couldn't happen anymore.

wendyzski

March 28 2011, 23:51:07 UTC 6 years ago

Like I said on your Facebook page, I'm sorry you got caught up in this mess. But your actions just make me an even bigger fan of yours - because that kind of shit is not ok.

March 29 2011, 18:29:55 UTC 6 years ago

amanuensis1

March 28 2011, 23:52:20 UTC 6 years ago

You are an amazing person. I hope I can be like you in so many, many things.

March 29 2011, 18:30:06 UTC 6 years ago

joecoustic

March 29 2011, 00:01:39 UTC 6 years ago

I totally appreciate and respect you for taking this stand and letting us know the details.

March 29 2011, 18:30:18 UTC 6 years ago

You're very welcome.

elialshadowpine

March 29 2011, 00:03:17 UTC 6 years ago

I am really pleased to see this, and proud of you. That's not an easy decision to make, but I think it was the right one. Gay teens get enough crap from their peers; they especially don't need people making it more difficult than it already is for writers to publish stories about them. I was a bi teen, growing up homeschooled in a sheltered conservative Christian environment. The ONLY thing telling me that it was okay to be who I was were novels like Lackey's Valdemar books (I recently re-read most of the series, and wow, there were a lot more bi-gay-poly bit characters than I'd remembered), MZB's Darkover, and a handful of others. It certainly wasn't my gay-people-are-going-to-hell father.

GBLT kids need these books. I don't even want to think what my life would have been like had I not had them. I would've had literally no positive influence on that part of my life, and it would've been a lot harder than it already was to come to terms with it all.

So, thank you. Thank you a lot. My husband and I are behind on your series (we have the first two, just haven't gotten around to catching up because our TBR stack is going to eat us if it gets any larger) but we're prioritizing getting the books we're missing, because dammit, you're the type of author we want to support. :)

stormerider

March 29 2011, 00:07:53 UTC 6 years ago

What my wife said. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Reasons for withdrawal: why I have pulled out of WICKED PRETTY THINGS.

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