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26 tweets,
6 min read
Read on Twitter
This is such a wild misunderstanding of how publishing works. Twitter weighing in is the closest we’ve ever been to readers having an actual say. It is an imperfect method and not without problems, but nowhere near as imperfect as the publishing industry unchecked... 
Dreary monoculture is a *chefs kiss* perfect way to describe how publishing and the resultant bookshelf has looked for most of our lives and throughout its long history. Well done.
People who write about critique being censorship must believe books just appear magically on the shelves and no books are written that don’t get published. That’s the only explanation for such a severe lack of analysis about how the world works. I got nothing.
Reupping this piece I wrote a while back on censorship and childrens publishing amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.thegua…
(didn't write the headline)
Folks who never had a damn thing to say about the problem suddenly become Expertt Vonn Critique McActually about the solution.
If things like marketing, distribution, and publicity either didn’t matter or were distributed evenly, this might be true. But they do and they’re not.
Had to retry that tweet cuz I honestly wasn’t clear on what the second part of his tweet meant.
Also lol at self publishing being the closest thing to readers having their say IN WHAT GALAXY YOUNG MAN
People are so quick to forget that without writers, mostly Women Of Color writers stepping up and taking a stand we wouldn’t be in this moment where the bookshelf is finally starting to look like the real world instead of a private school in lower Manhattan. Critique got us here
Without the movement to make publishing more equitable and less racist, the last word on the matter would still be “black and brown books don’t sell” (subtext: you people don’t read). Meanwhile, because, in part, of that organizing, the New York Times bestseller list disagrees.
The folks mad about “twitter mobs” were perfectly happy to let things continue as they were: overwhelmingly white, racist, homophobic, trashy and demeaning on multiple levels.
I am annoyed.
I am annoyed.
Lmao this convo literally started with you telling me I was wrong for saying social media was the most say readers have ever had. I'm glad we've come full circle.
Came all the way around in just three tweets but he still thinks he's right and I'm wrong ahhh Twitter lololol
Welp RIP to my mentions lol I'm going to bed ✌️
Ok I lied
Teenagers are also not involved in the publishing industry, which is actually where the decisions about what they read are made. If your concern is really for teens having a say, direct your attention there.
Second half of the tweet legit came out like a old school mob threat lmao I hope the Notorious JCO didn’t mean it like that! *goes into literary witness protection program*
“the satisfaction some people feel when others are mobbed or censored may abruptly cease when the wave turns, & they become the brunt of attack, ya see”
Oop
one more thing: the people who have critiqued books for being racist have been doxxed, threatened, harassed. They have indeed born the brunt of attacks. Their satisfaction is irrelevant and your assumptions about them are misplaced and insulting.
Oh I remember! Still mad about that
This is now my favorite Oates
*Morgan Freeman voice* that wasn't really her concern
New rock opera title:
Star Wars Episode IX: Joyce Carol Oates Just Be Sayin Shit.
