The world of rejection can be harsh one in the publishing world, especially for writers of color, says PP Wong in her blog for the Huffington Post.
Wong published the rejection letters one Asian American author recently received and wondered whether institutional racism was involved.
“The novel was a fascinating take on Asian American culture. We were very impressed by his poignant and humorous story. However, we are currently publishing the books of ‘Famous Asian’ writer so we believe there may be some overlap if we take this book on. We wish ‘Asian Friend’ all the very best in his writing endeavors.”
Another rejection letter went like this.
“As much as I loved the writing, due to the subject matter, I’m not sure whether it will be something that can sell in our economic climate. The novel does not seem to fit into the genre of our current Asian authors and we do not know how to place it in the market.”
Those letters aren’t racist, but Wong suggest the “climate” under which they were written may have been. You can read her reasons in the Huffington Post.
