#ownvoices and my journey to Twitter

Last night I took a great seminar on the difficulties in publishing and the #ownvoices movement. I didn't know too much about it until last night, namely because I can't work Twitter. I've since created a Twitter profile simply because...well, everyone's doing it.

(Follow me @CA_Lightfoot if you're so inclined and help me navigate this mess)

I had the notion, I don't know why, that once I started to query it was "Up to the universe". I put it out there, start working on my next book, and just "set it and forget it".

Alex Temblador soon abolished that notion.

My surname not withstanding since I stole it from my husband (and I'm keeping it) I am a woman of color. My father is Mexican-America (though he calls it Texican) and my mother is Caucasian. I never belabor it too much, but I am a woman, I am mixed race, and I am proud of both things. It never occurred to me that the publishing industry might be a little harder for me because of those two things.

My eyes have been opened. Alex showed us numbers last night that shocked me to my core. My head is still spinning.

Instead of feeling discouraged, though, I feel empowered. (Kudos to Alex for that!) I have more tools to market my novel, a bit more know-how in how to play the game. I want to get into the trenches and get myself dirty while writing my second novel.

I know I've written a good book. My characters feel real, my world is in depth. I've got something special here. I know it. I just need to get it out there more effectively.

So, this morning, I'm going to try learning how to follow hashtags, then work on my query research. I wonder how many adult fiction books on angels and demons set in an urban fantasy world include a main character who is female, a former cop, and half-Hispanic?