Getting things wrong, getting things right

I was not heavily involved in Racefail, but obviously, the issue of cultural appropriation is one that concerns me, both as a British citizen (EPIC fail on the colonisation front), and as a writer who writes stories set in another culture. Someone has just sent me a link to a long and thoughtful critical thread on the Chen series - somewhat belatedly, I'm responding, as I've only just been pointed to it.

With this kind of issue, I think you have to be as objective as possible. There's no way that I'm going to have a better handle on someone else's culture than they do. I think you have to start out from the beginning with the assumption that you will get things wrong, and the knowledge that you have an obligation to get things right. I do obviously undertake research, but there are areas where the nature of that research is going to be problematic: it's in translation, it may be outdated, and there's also an issue regarding who it is written by. That's going to be the case with historical research, as well. However, you can't blame your sources; you've got to do better.

Basically, if as a writer you get something wrong, you have to look into it and you have to correct it (with a mea culpa if necessary). Which, since I have the rights of the novels and if I reissue them in e-format, I will be able to do. Thank you to all who have contributed to this particular issue.