When I want your opinion... no, I changed my mind, I do not want your opinion

Yesterday, I was approached by a publishing company to do some work; specifically a series of novelettes for serial publication in 2016. Each story would have to be stand-alone, but inter-related, in the same world, either different characters, or the same characters. With custom illustrations.

I batted the idea around  a bit; honestly, my calendar is awfully full, but I've had some good experiences working with small publishers on startup projects, and I'm interested in the idea.

(Young Adult, LGBT, space opera...)

I told the editor in charge (EiC from now on) that I'd think about it, but I was really busy and I wouldn't make any promises right now...

Talked about it with the husband... pushed some ideas around. What kind of tropes in science fiction / scifi light (space opera) would I like to turn on their heads? What's a typical sort of Young Adult format that would be easy to write in, give a bunch of interesting, inter-related stories. As novelettes, world building would be sort of limited (17,500 is the max word length per story) so I'd need to do some tropes, just to get people into it quickly...

Husband made some suggestions, which I love, we batted the idea around some more. I came home, batted the idea around with my creative consultant and occasional co-author, who brought up some moral quandaries, ideas, and general approval.

And then, I was talking to another friend about it - admittedly, it was an open forum, but I was excited about the opportunity and I wanted to see what this friend thought.

"LGBT?" demands someone I don't know, who's just recently been invited into the group. "Why would you want to politicize science fiction?"

Me. ....

Him: "I mean, good storytellers don't have to include stuff like that, it's not necessary to tell a good story, do you think Asimov and Heinlein and the greats were including political shit in their stories?" (giving him credit, he did list a couple of other science fiction writers that I haven't read... and so I can't specifically remember who they were.)

Me, "Well, actually, I do think so. I think the science fiction world is very white, heteronormative, male-centric and perhaps it's a good idea to tell someone else's stories, once in a while."

Him: "So tell me where science fiction authors are telling people to behead the gays, one book, where specifically that happens."

Me... "wha? I said hostile, and most of the authors you listed have had some serious issues with non-whites and women, and there's not a lot of inclusiveness for the LGBT community...."

Him: "And you think there's an audience for that? I mean, why would anyone... I don't think it'll help anything and you'll just discourage real people from reading it. You put an agenda in your work, and it just makes for crappy work."

Me... "real?... I AM a member of the LGBT community..."

Him: "And you read regular science fiction without all this political, LGBT crap in it, and enjoy it, right, so it's not like you NEED that... it's not NECESSARY for you to get in people's faces like that to write a good book. I mean, name me one book right now, that needs that sort of stuff. One book that would be better."

Friend, female; "Hey, I'm a white, straight, female and I love stories with different perspectives, I'm very supportive of LGBT and I think they should be more in fiction works..."

Friend, male; "There's someone who can't see around his privileged."

Other people in the group, chiming in on my side... (to give my friends credit, everyone in the immediate vicinity came to my defense.)

Him: "Well, I don't want to read shit like that."

Another friend, "I think this conversation needs to end."

Me ::still incoherently angry:: "You're right, it does."

So....

I'm going to take that fucking contract. And I'm going to write a fucking awesome story.

My Stupid Mouth

note these are all ones. I'm stupid, not rich.

As a gamer girl, with the added burden of being an acknowledged erotica writer, I'm quite familiar with the "Tits or get the fuck off" attitude. Girls can't play. Girls can't tank. Wife aggro. "Rape" used to mean "I got my ass kicked by a bunch of pixels."

My new motto is "I don't hate myself enough to listen to GenChat tonight."

And every once in a while I get smacked in the head by someone I like with the "girls are horrible/dumb/bitchy and why why won't they fuck me" line. (Gee, Prince Charming, I fucking wonder!)

So, this weekend, I get into an argument with a friend, because I just can't seem to shut up. If you act like a sexist fucknut around me, I am going to call you out. If you act like a privileged white guy rape apologist, I'm going to call you out, and then drop you off my friends list like you're toxic, because, well, you are.

I come downstairs to get coffee and I rant at my husband, "Why is there no way to actually get through to people? Why is it that I ask someone not to use 'rape' to mean 'something didn't go my way' around me, and I end up in a forty-five minute argument that ends when I ban someone from ever talking to me again? Why do they think they need to justify their thoughtless behavior by becoming worse? Is there some genetic code that prevents people from just saying 'Oh, sorry,' and going on to become a better person? Is it that much of a big deal?"

He didn't really have any answers for me, although he did offer to punch the guy in his stupid mouth.

And while I appreciate that my husband stands up for me, sometimes I really wish it wasn't so fucking necessary. I get better, faster answers from mechanics, teachers, repairmen when I ask my husband to talk to them... nice little girl, hesh yo mouth and go make me a sammich.

Gyah!

So that happened.

(apologies for this 'my best friend is black/I'm not racist' paragraph.)

I have quite a number of friends who are QUILTBAG* including quite a few transgender in various stages of transition / gender corrective surgery.

And one of my friends was talking about being MtF and dealing with women who give unsolicited fashion advice, expecting her to be even more feminine than the standards they hold themselves to. Don't wear stripes, don't wear those shoes, why are you walking around without a purse, girl?

I said that I didn't think unsolicited advice was reserved entirely for trans; I've gotten unasked for advice on fashion, my weight, my hair, my hobbies, the men and women I sleep with, being a mom, not being a mom. If there's a subject out there, chances are good I've gotten some unsolicited opinions about how I'm doing it all wrong. Women are, unfortunately, prone to this sort of nitpickery/rung climbing/pecking order/mommy-drive-by behavior. Hell, I've done it myself. And then I opened my mouth and fell in.

"Welcome to the club."

And I got called out for it. My friend is a woman, she's been in the club for years and she's got her jacket already. I was being condescending and it was uncalled for.

I didn't mean it that way - I'm the sort of asshole who says "Welcome to Virginia" to people who complain about the heat around here, to my husband and my best friend who've been living here for decades. I'm not actually welcoming them anywhere, or including them in some exclusive club. I'm saying "yeah, it sucks. it always has. it probably always will."

I almost typed all that up on my friend's page and then I took a deep breath. Defending my thoughtless words. Getting somewhat angry.

Deep breath.

Wait.

Was I not being the sort of privileged asshat that I was just complaining about not three hours ago?

"Thank you for calling me out. I was being an ass without realizing it. I know it's not your job to handhold me though the conversation and assumptions of what's okay with me might not be what's okay with you. I apologize. It wasn't my intention to be an ass, but it happened and I was wrong. I want to learn to be a better person than I am now. Thank you for being understanding as well. The only way for me to get better, check my privilege as it is, is to be open to learning what I do or say that can be taken wrong. I don't think anyone can ever get everything right, but you do the best you can, leaving a criticism as being what it is, the opportunity to learn, share and understand."

It's not possible to never say something stupid without crawling into a hole, or surrounding yourself only with people who are exactly like you, who come from the same point of privilege. And I'm not telling you what I did because I'm trying to earn some sort of  LGBT cookie (see also feminist cookie). I was an ass.

And sometimes, I need to be reminded of it.

Which is exactly how being an ass, being sorry, and obtaining forgiveness should work.


*QUILTBAG is an acronym. It stands for Queer/Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Transgender/Transsexual, Bisexual, Allied/Asexual, Gay/Genderqueer. It is meant to be a more inclusive term than GLBT/LGBT and to be more pronounceable (and memorable) than some of the other variations or extensions on the GLBT/LGBT abbreviation.

Wednesday Writer's Call: Submission Guidelines for JMS Books

Submission Guidelines

JMS Books LLC is a small electronic press specializing in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender fiction (including erotica, romance, and young adult), as well as general fiction, and non-fiction.

While our preference is for GLBT stories, we accept stories containing any and ALL sexualities, as well as fiction without a romantic subplot.

We do not pay advances. Authors earn 50% of net royalties on all electronic and print sales from our website and distributors. Royalties are paid quarterly no later than 60 days after the end of the quarter.

Publishing With Us:

Our contracts are for exclusive electronic and print rights. We DO NOT ACCEPT previously published or self-published work, or novel chapters as stand-alone stories. The one exception to this is if your story has only appeared in an anthology and was never available as a single e-book. If that's the case, you may submit the story to us.

ALL stories are published in e-book format. Any story over 30,000 words is eligible to be published in paperback if sales goals are met. Short stories and novellas under the 30k limit by the same author can also be compiled into a print anthology if sales goals are met. Print publication is not guaranteed, but print rights can revert back to the author after six months from the publication date of the e-book. All print books are published and distributed through CreateSpace.

Young adult submissions over 30,000 words in length will be published in paperback the same month as the e-book is published. No sales goals must be met first for this genre.

We are a non-subsidiary, non-vanity press. All books, electronic and print, are assigned an ISBN. A cover image is provided at no cost to the author. Before you submit a story, make sure it is well-written, free of errors, and checked for grammar. Submissions with extensive problems, including those of plot and character, will not be accepted. An editor is assigned to work with you before your story is published. Authors may not provide their own cover art.

What We Accept:

JMS Books LLC accepts queer, literary, and popular fiction, including erotica, romance, young adult, and stories without erotic, romantic, or queer content. Stories must be between 5,000 and 100,000 words in length. We do not accept stories outside of this range.

Beginning 2013, we no longer accept stories under 5,000 words in length.

Non-fiction submissions must be over 30,000 words in length. For non-fiction submissions, query first.

Stories don't need to contain graphic sex scenes or a romantic/sexual relationship between characters. If your story is erotic, there is no minimum sexual content requirement. Romance stories where sex is alluded to or described in literary terms are welcome. Stories without romantic or erotic content are also welcome.

We are looking for fresh, new voices in the following genres:
ACTION/ADVENTURE
BDSM
BISEXUAL
CONTEMPORARY
FANTASY
GAY
HETEROSEXUAL
HISTORICAL
HORROR
HUMOR
INTERRACIAL
LESBIAN
MENAGE A TROIS (OR MORE
MILITARY/WAR
MYSTERY/THRILLER
NON-FICTION
PARANORMAL
SCIENCE FICTION
TRANSGENDER
WESTERN
YOUNG ADULT

What We Don't Accept:

We publish what we like to read. Our tastes are broad, but we don't accept stories which portray GLBT characters or non-traditional sexualities negatively. We don't publish stories containing pedophilia, necrophilia, bestiality, incest, rape or nonconsensual sex, extreme fetishes, degradation, snuff, watersports, or scat.

We don't publish books with interior graphics, custom fonts, special formatting, or imbedded media. Stories cannot contain quoted song lyrics or quotes from movies or television shows. Any third-party quotes must be approved by JMS Books LLC and may be removed prior to publication if copyright infringement is suspected.

For young adult submissions, visit our YA imprint at Queerteen Press for detailed submission guidelines.

Submission Policy:

Electronic unsolicited submissions are accepted at any time. We don't accept multiple submissions (more than one story by the same author at the same time) or simultaneous submissions (the same story sent to several publishers at the same time). Such submissions will be immediately rejected.

Non-fiction submissions should include only a QUERY LETTER. This should be a detailed blurb of your book. Do not send an excerpt. If your book interests us, we will ask for one.

Submissions over 15,000 words in length should include three things: QUERY LETTER, SYNOPSIS, and EXCERPT. The Query Letter should be in the body of your e-mail. The Synopsis and Excerpt must be sent as attachments in RTF format.

The QUERY LETTER must contain the following information:
Your legal name and pen name, if applicable
The title of your story (include series information, if applicable)
Your writing credentials, if any
Word Count of total book or story (NOT page count)
Genre(s)
Blurb
The SYNOPSIS must provide an overall narrative summary of your story, including major characters, all plot points, climax, and conclusion. If your story is segregated into chapters or parts, provide a brief summary of each in the synopsis. DO NOT rehash the blurb and expect that to suffice. The ending of the story MUST be disclosed in the synopsis, along with any plot or character twists. If there is any content in your story that may be offensive (excessive violence or sex, BDSM, etc.), it must be mentioned in the synopsis. Please limit your synopsis to two single-spaced pages

The EXCERPT must be the first 2,000 words OR the first two chapters of your manuscript, whichever is longer. Do not choose an excerpt from the middle or end of the story.

Submissions under 15,000 words in length need only a QUERY LETTER and the FULL MANUSCRIPT.

Formatting Your Submission:

All attachments must be in RTF format only. If you use Word, choose "Save As ..." from the FILE menu and select "Rich Text Format" from the list. Any attachments in DOC, DOCX, HTML, PDF, TXT, WPD, or any other format will be rejected.

Format your submission as follows:
1 inch margins all around
Single line spacing
12 pt Arial font
First line of each paragraph indented (no tabs or spacing to create paragraphs)
Scene breaks should be four asterisks each centered on its own line
Title on first line, followed in parentheses by the word count
Author byline on the second line
No extra lines between paragraphs
Italics to indicate emphasis, thoughts, or foreign words
No underlining
No extra formatting, special or colored fonts, or special characters
Use smart quotes, ellipses, and em dashes where needed
All submissions must be spell-checked and self-edited. If the story is set in the United Kingdom or Commonwealth countries, UK English is acceptable. Stories set elsewhere must use US English. Regional words, slang, and dialect are acceptable. Stories must be well-written and free of grammatical errors. Do not send your first draft; send us your best.

Any submissions not formatted to our specifications will be rejected.

To Submit Your Story:

Send your submission via e-mail to submissions@jms-books.com with a subject line that reads: "SUBMISSION: Title of Story by Author's Name."

We respond to all submissions within 2 business days. If we like it, we may request the full manuscript. This is NOT a guarantee of acceptance. Depending on story length, the review time is between 1-2 weeks.

We DO NOT comment on rejected manuscripts.

All stories accepted for publication will require an exclusive contract for print and electronic rights, which will be sent and signed electronically. Our contracts are for an initial period of 2 years, after which they auto-renew. A sample contract is available upon request.

All U.S. citizens must agree to provide us with a completed W-9 upon contract execution.

Our submissions policy and guidelines are subject to change without notice.

J.M. Snyder, Owner
JMS Books LLC
Updated May 24, 2012