On doing publicity, and using social media as a Black woman

 

I’m just really interested in talking to people, and having people there who want to hear what you have to say about your book is wonderful, a great privilege, and I love connecting with people who are generally interested.

 

So far it’s been positive but because of the nature of my novel I do wonder how that’s going to go, especially as a Black woman, you’re told that if you look at MPs Dianne Abbott gets the most abuse of all MPs, and women news presenters get horrendous abuse on Twitter. There are certain authors who don’t go on Twitter at all, not because they’re too big for it but because if they did it would become an absolute nightmare.

 

Also the voices - too many voices in your head! You know, you have enough. You live with a couple of voices, you have those you love all around you then you have those people you need to just get on with, make the day work, and actually you don’t want to hear what the whole world thinks.

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On the publishing industry and racism

 

I could go out with my Jamaican family in London and we probably wouldn’t be bumping into lots and lots of authors. It’s just a case of what you’re exposed to and where you live and who’s going around. There were plenty of times in my life where I knew absolutely no one who had written a book; it wasn’t until my 30s I don’t think until I met someone who had. Some people will be very talented, but they might not have thought about being an author since they were ten, because it’s really off their radar. They still might have very polished talent that they don’t know how to approach, so it’s important to have these different routes into the industry.

 

4th Estate are very outward-looking and interested. They have a BAME Short Story competition in connection with The Guardian, and this will be its third or fourth year. It’s a really important way to get to people who don’t have access to other authors, who don’t have the exposure to the kind of people who might help you shape your approach to publishers.

 

I get a bit angry with comments that it's all gay transgender Caribbeans on mobility scooters getting published. Having been through the publishing process and having had plenty of rejections, it’s really quite hard to get published. You need things to come together and helping things come together for a diverse group of people is terribly important; it’s important for the future of the publishing industry as much as anything else.

 

Cat: It seems a bit childish: ‘he got a present and I didn’t’

 

It’s childish but then the educated white classes have always had the present. Time to pass the parcel! The only thing I would agree with is that the bar must not be dropped for anyone of any colour or gender. I agree with that passionately because I love good literature and I believe in good books and I don’t want the bar to be dropped for me or anyone else and that’s how I feel about it. But don’t make the assumption that because someone’s Black, that’s why they got published.

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