The reason most indie novels are written like the author is terrified of doing something wrong is because the overwhelming majority of indie novelists get their start by networking in the violent panopticon of the social media indie publishing community, which favours the people who are able to win at the social policing game.
Okay so this comment got me googling because I hadn't heard of Isabel Fall
And if you also hadn't heard of her go read this because uhh... Holy Shit
I had heard of the whole messed up situation with this story, but I hadn't ever read the synopsis of the story before, and WOW
This story sounds like it could have been a brilliant exploration of gender and warfare and violence but instead it was attacked by people who didn't know how to confront a story that made them uncomfortable, and the author faced horrible consequences.
It's so important to be able to deal with stories that give you uncomfortable feelings in other ways than just attacking it. Being shown new perspectives sometimes has feelings of discomfort because it's an unfamiliar way of seeing the world.
You can read it Here
I am still so, so angry about what happened with Isabel Fall. People claiming to be progressive and queer-positive shoved a trans woman back in the closet after sending her into a suicidal breakdown because they couldn't engage in a bare minimum of reading comprehension. Everyone involved in this should be deeply, deeply ashamed of themselves.
