Suggestions for improving querying for Autistic and Neuro-Diverse writers

This morning while contemplating the various queries and proposals I have in the hands of Literary Agents, it occurred to me that I was guilty of one of my greatest pet peeves: I had been complaining about something without proposing solutions. I have stories here on Medium talking about the trials of querying while Autistic and creating art when chronically ill. I’ve made a number of posts on Twitter airing my grievances, pre-Festivus. My grandpa Jim was fond of saying, “Don’t waste air on bellyaching if you aren’t going to do something about it. Put up, or shut up.” Well, this is me attempting to “put up.”

First, please allow me to qualify these suggestions. I’m not asking Literary Agents to make an offer of representation to someone simply because they are Autistic or ND. Rather, these are suggestions for queries and proposals that have already filtered into your “Maybe” queue. It is also not meant to be an all inclusive or de facto system. The range of neuro-diversity is a vast and voluminous umbrella.

Second, I am not presuming to understand all of the intricacies and minutia of being a Literary Agent. If I did, more than likely I wouldn’t find myself so distressed over the process. These are the thoughts of someone on one side of the equation, and filtered through that spectrum (haha).

Third, if you are issuing the call for Own Voices neuro-diverse writers, you are openly saying that you want to see work that breaks the mold from writers that aren’t mainstream. If you issue such a call, but then use the same process that you apply to all queries and proposals, you’re being unintentionally disingenuous. You are, in effect, saying that you want rhomboid pegs created by dodecahedron artists when you will only accept square pegs fashioned by the spherical.

My suggestions:

1. Attempt to be mindful of what it means to be ND. There is a very strong chance that the person querying that self-identifies has been treated with a lack of empathy and understanding for much of their life. By very definition this person sees the world differently than other people.
2. The publishing world has very nebulous and sometimes contradictory language. If you can be more precise, please, be more precise. ND writers are often hyper-focused and as they are accustomed to being misunderstood obsess over nuance and different interpretive meanings in an excruciating and self agonizing manner, even by the standard of writers (who are all accustomed to such things).
3. If a writer has already made it into your “Maybe” pile, you see promise. While you may typically only offer representation when a manuscript or proposal is 100% ready or nearly being 100% ready for editor submission, a ND writer may be unable to get it to that degree without your guidance. And unfortunately, that guidance may be beyond what is offered in a Revise and Resubmit response and closer to what is offered to a client.
4. If a ND manuscript or proposal has made it into your “Maybe” list, it fills a market need that isn’t being met, you like the writer, and the writer is open to and enthusiastic to edits and suggestions, you might consider the Opportunity Cost of not making an offer. While there are a number of Autistic and ND authors who have found success in the querying process, think of what has been lost because the stress of the process was too much for another. It’s “survivor’s bias.” Yes, there are a number of trials of publishing beyond that of querying and it might serve as a stress test to see if they can endure what comes next. However, when you’ve spent so much of your life being misunderstood and feeling like you’ve never been seen, being signed can serve as an inoculation to the additional rigors. “I’ve finally got someone on my side. I have been seen. I can handle what comes next.”
5. I am aware that being a Literary Agent is a business, and that you won’t get paid if you can’t sell our work. Thus, your time is valuable. I am proposing that exploration be given to tax code and working with a ND client. It may be possible to claim work with a ND client as a charitable deduction on your yearly business taxes until you make a sell. That may be an onerous undertaking, and contain unintended consequences that I am not foreseeing. But there might be other avenues along this line that help mitigate some of the risks.

Only through improving representation and celebrating diverse voices and narratives will change be possible in the larger sphere of society. Publishing can be more accessible if work is done to make it more accessible, and that work must include the input of Autistic and Neuro-diverse individuals. I don’t presume to know all of the answers, or even all of the issues. It has to start somewhere, though.