Does #OwnVoices Apply to Me?

NOTE: I am preserving the information below because #ownvoices is still a common term in the writing community, but WeNeedDiverseBooks announced that they will no longer be using the term “ownvoices”. As such, I no longer use this term myself in a professional capacity, as when editing—although many individual authors from marginalized backgrounds find the term meaningful, and are still welcome to use it.

Instead, when writing about my own work or when editing for clients, I prefer to identify any specific representation present in the text. For example, you could say “this book features a main character whose neurodiversity is drawn from my experiences as a neurodiverse author.” Feel free to add this into the metadata of your query, although the same caveat as below still applies - you should never feel pressured to reveal things about yourself that you don’t want to, regardless of whether your identity informed your book or not.

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#ownvoices is a movement in publishing founded by author Corinne Duyvis. Duyvis wanted to draw attention to “marginalized characters written by marginalized authors” (from this interview). She coined the hashtag, and it took off from there. 

There are many categories of #ownvoices diversity out there--as many as there are categories of diversity. For example, consider: stories featuring LGBT+ representation written by LGBT+-identifying authors; stories featuring neurodiverse characters by neurodiverse authors; or stories with BIPOC characters written by BIPOC authors. 

The #ownvoices label brings much-needed attention to the fact that we need books that aren’t just featuring diversity, but which come from diverse perspectives because their authors are, themselves, from diverse backgrounds. 

If you are from a diverse and/or marginalized group, and your writing features that same diversity, you are entitled to use the #ownvoices hashtag in a query letter (or in a pitch contest, etc.). If you’re not sure if your identity meets these criteria, research online (and definitely don’t put the burden on #ownvoices authors to educate you about diversity and marginalization). If you’re still not sure, you’ll never appropriate a label that’s not meant for you if you...just don’t use that label. 

That said, there should never be pressure on authors to reveal parts of their identity that they’re not comfortable with to strangers (i.e. agents or editors). Just because your story may meet the #ownvoices criteria, it doesn't mean you have to slap the label on it if you’re uncomfortable doing so. 

Similarly, #ownvoices authors should never feel constrained to only writing #ownvoices stories. My books all feature #ownvoices representation in one way or another, but that’s because I write myself into my characters every single time. But just because you’re LGBT+, a BIPOC creator, or disabled, it doesn’t mean you always have to have that representation in your stories. Write the stories you want to tell!