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I've been thinking about this after reading an #ownvoices book that the author described as the book of their soul, etc. etc., but I found it to be...well, weird, to be honest.
And sure, you could say the book wasn't "for" me, because even though I overlapped with some of the author's marginalizations, I didn't overlap with all of them. (Namely, I am not at all kinky.)
But I'm normally a big believer in writing books that should be able to have appeal for a wide audience, even if they are primarily about/for a particular marginalization. For example, I'm writing a book about an autistic protagonist, but I'd hope it could appeal to people who like paranormal romances, people who like snarky protagonists, and people who like sweet romantic fluff in general.
It makes me slightly paranoid about my novel, E, which is the book of my soul, the book that I wrote for my mentally ill, asexual, marginalized self. I'd hoped it would appeal to people who like enemies-to-lovers, action, mystery, assassins, intense feelings, etc. But it makes me wonder: is E "too weird" for people who aren't me?
Because I've already gotten a negative reaction from people who didn't like how much time I spent describing the protagonist's mental illness.
...I don't know, but it's something I've been worrying about.
And sure, you could say the book wasn't "for" me, because even though I overlapped with some of the author's marginalizations, I didn't overlap with all of them. (Namely, I am not at all kinky.)
But I'm normally a big believer in writing books that should be able to have appeal for a wide audience, even if they are primarily about/for a particular marginalization. For example, I'm writing a book about an autistic protagonist, but I'd hope it could appeal to people who like paranormal romances, people who like snarky protagonists, and people who like sweet romantic fluff in general.
It makes me slightly paranoid about my novel, E, which is the book of my soul, the book that I wrote for my mentally ill, asexual, marginalized self. I'd hoped it would appeal to people who like enemies-to-lovers, action, mystery, assassins, intense feelings, etc. But it makes me wonder: is E "too weird" for people who aren't me?
Because I've already gotten a negative reaction from people who didn't like how much time I spent describing the protagonist's mental illness.
...I don't know, but it's something I've been worrying about.
