#PublishingPaidMe is a

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

, used mainly on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, and a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

campaign to expose racial disparities in pay in the publishing industry. The hashtag was created by writer

L.L. McKinney Leatrice "Elle" McKinney, better known by her pen name L.L. McKinney, is an American writer of young adult literature. Her debut novel, ''A Blade So Black'', was released in September 2018. McKinney created the PublishingPaidMe Twitter hashtag i ...

on June 6, 2020, and culminated in the development of a crowdsourced Google document in which authors shared their advance payments. The document showed relatively lower advance payments offered to Black writers compared to their White counterparts.

Purpose

The hashtag, #PublishingPaidMe, was created on June 6, 2020, by U.S. author

to "highlight the disparity between what's paid to non-Black authors vs. Black authors." About the name, McKinney said in an interview, "It was short and to the point. I like alliteration, so it was just one of those things that clicked together. It was for the people who would be using it, so it’s like the beginning of a sentence." Information shared using the hashtag has focused on book publishing advances, because they are easy to tweet and understand. A publishing advance is a payment authors receive while still writing a book.

Response

Quickly after the hashtag went

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

a Google Document was created and writers began

crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...

and sharing information about advances. As of June 12, 2020, the Google document had information for over 2,500 books. The document shows that well-known and award-winning Black authors earn comparatively small advances compared to some virtually unknown White authors with little to no publishing history who have received incredibly large advances. The same week the hashtag was created it was tweeted and retweeted thousands of times. News outlets such as the New York Times,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, and

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

covered the story. Although started in the US, within days the hashtag sparked conversations in France and the UK about racial disparity in publishing.{{Cite web, title=#PublishingPaidMe: A Hashtag to Expose Racial Disparities in the Publishing Industry, url=https://www.lappthebrand.com/blogs/latest-posts/publishingpaidme-a-hashtag-to-expose-racial-disparities-in-the-book-industry, access-date=2020-06-13, website=lappthebrand

Impact

Approximately one week after the hashtag #PublishingPaidMe went viral, another hashtag, # BlackOutBestsellerList also rose to prominence. The creation of this hashtag was propelled by both the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

and #PublishingPaidMe hashtag. The #BlackOutBestsellerList was used by

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

publishers and authors to encourage readers to buy books by Black authors between June 14 and 20, with the ultimate goal of taking over the bestseller lists.

References

External links

Crowdsourced Google Docs Spreadsheet
of publishing advances Hashtags Race-related controversies Equal pay for equal work Book publishing Black Twitter Social media campaigns