Why Black Indie Authors Especially Matter During Black History Month

Happy Black History Month! I hope y’all know that even though I’m Black every month, I’m Black as hell THIS month! Period! But there’s something very important I’d like to discuss today, and that is the support and/or lack thereof, of Black independent authors, especially when there is no better time to support them than now.

If you know anything about my social media presence, you know that I am a staunch Black indie author supporter. In Bookstagram land, there ain’t very many folks out there who intentionally support them. First, let me acknowledge that Black indie supporters are out there, loud, and present, but relatively few if you look at the entire pool of bookstagrammers. Why is that?

Let’s be very clear. The narrative, which is a growing false narrative at that, is that independently published titles lack quality as compared to their traditionally published counterparts.

I’m here to tell you as an AVID reader who has been intentionally reviewing Black indie titles for two years now, I’ve come across very few books that are poorly written, lack grammar and structure, lack story arch, have ugly book covers, lack knowing their target audience, etc. And if they do, ask yourself – are these aspects more important than the content of their voice and the overall story? I know bad structure and bad grammar/spelling is a severe distraction. Trust me, as a reviewer, I get it – believe me. But as I said before, in about 95% of the indie books I’ve read, this is usually a non-issue, and doesn’t take away my confidence in indie authors as competent writers.

So, with that being said, this “narrative” about poor quality is a horrible excuse to not read, review, and buy indie titles. Why? Because I bet you took a chance on a traditionally published title that has negative reviews on a wide scale or has negative discourse around it because you wanted to see what the hoopla was about. I bet you even spent money on it. Hell – I’ve done that before. 

There are POC readers and even POC reviewing companies out there who will take a chance on a traditionally published title with negative discourse around it and will be QUICK to bypass/disregard an independent author working their butts off to promote their work, tell them “we don’t review indie titles,” or if they do decide to read it, will critique the hell out of the work because of personal bias.

Unfortunately, our own target audiences are significantly more critical of Black indie titles than they are with terrible white traditionally published titles. My indie friend Audra Russell from “Between the Reads” podcast on her latest show gave an excellent example: Fifty Shades of Grey. So many of us bought that book, multiple books in this series, knowing that the book is as basic as all get out.

This, my friends, is what you call internalized White Supremacy – when you hold members of your own race to an unfair, higher standard than the dominant group because you’ve adopted ideas of what is “quality” from a white standard. We have to break this stronghold within ourselves for the sake of the success of Black creatives and communities. I am not saying we cannot dislike a Black book or give constructive critique, but when it gets to the point where your criticisms significantly outweigh focusing on the intention of the work and the voices/audiences it appeals to, then that’s an issue.

So with all of that, here’s why I believe supporting Black indie authors especially during Black History Month is imperative:

1. Black indie authors are not censored. Their voices are not altered or controlled by corporate publishing industries or by white agents that determine the worthiness of their books, especially when they usually measure this “worthiness” through a privileged lens. What better time/month to support authors whose voices are untouched and as authentic as it could possibly be. This leads me to my next point…

2. Many agents/publishing industries will pick up stories by Black writers only if they’re writing about what’s being talked about in corporate media/news. And it’s usually connected to anti-Black trauma, because I mean, white corporate media adores anti-Black trauma porn and they know it sells. Think about this. Between 2012 – 2017, which was peak time with the discourse around police brutality and Black Lives Matter, you saw a slew of books come out by Black authors directly related to police brutality, anti-Black racism, etc. My point here is that yes, there is a need for the expression of those experiencing anti-Black violence and our response to it, however these aren’t the only stories. And guess who have been telling them for years? Black indie authors!!!! Yet, many act like stories outside of anti-Black violence don’t exist. Only as of recent (2018-2021) have traditionally published Black authors who are not writing about anti-Black racism been getting the attention they deserve. However, it must be time to leverage indie Black voices who have been drowned out for years.

3. The trend for a lot of white authors these days is to write POC characters in hopes of appealing to POC readers for their own profit/gain without ever having supported, bought, leveraged, or read Black books. Nor have they listened to Black readers, communities, immersed themselves fully in Black culture/experiences to even be close to be qualified to tell these stories whether they are fiction or not. And they’re only doing it because that’s what the industry is pushing for: more POC representation and to give themselves a pat on the back for being “inclusive.” However, we do not need white voices to represent us in storytelling – these stories are already being told by Black indie authors and traditional authors who come directly from that perspective and culture. Leverage them! Now isn’t the time to lift up white authors who have significant advantages in both traditional and indie industries trying to tell Black stories. Especially during Black History Month!

So with that, folks, Black indie authors matter during Black History Month. They’ve always mattered, but this is the perfect opportunity to read, share, and support them. I am thankful to those who have already been doing this, still do it, or have just begun to do it. And as long as Books By Janee, LLC, bookstagram, and author page exists? That’s what I will dedicate my full support to.