a pretty package

Billie Holiday didn’t write “Strange Fruit.” It ultimately became her signature song, but it was written by a white man . Does that matter? Most would probably say “no.” When a Black friend told me she was going to write for a book packager, I wasn’t surprised. She’s an emerging author and working with a book packager is a great way to earn a little money while writing with a “coach.” But then another friend told me a story about a Black woman who wrote books for a packager that fell short of their expectations; the packager hired a white woman to rewrite the books, and yet the Black woman’s name remains on the published books. I started to wonder how often this happens, and with the Dolezal scandal in the news recently, I worry that book packaging might become just another way to “fake” diversity in publishing. I thought about a group of white editors sitting in a room, coming up with ideas for books about people of color. Could a book developed by a white packager go on to win the Coretta Scott King Award? To help me sort through these issues I reached out to two women of color packagers: Dhonielle Clayton of Cake Literary and Rhoda Belleza of Paper Lantern Lit . They graciously agreed to share their insights as insiders who know all too well just how hard it can be for writers of color to break into the publishing industry.


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1. I have a theory about community-based publishing being “organic” as opposed to traditional publishing, which forces stories by people of color through a (white) filter/editorial process. How do *you* think about books produced through the packaging process? Dhonielle, CAKE Literary’s motto is “stories from scratch”–what does this mean in a packaging context? Rhoda, does your role as “architect” allow you to build a “dream house,” or does it create a brain/body split where writers provide physical labor whereas editors provide intellectual/imaginative direction? I’m interested in the power dynamics.


DC: CAKE’s motto “stories from scratch” relates to our belief that writing a book is like making a cake, but it also speaks to how we approach building stories. We carefully think about the elements, or ingredients, in order to create the most interesting, impactful — and flavorful — end result; a deliciously diverse read. Sona and I both suffer from colonized imaginations, or a cultural Stockholm Syndrome where we, unfortunately, have whiteness living in our imaginations, and we have to actively work to eradicate this reality. As women from marginalized communities, we were plagued with misrepresentation, erasure, and lack of representation in the books we read as children and teens. We wanted to develop decidedly diverse stories and provide collaborative opportunities with writers-of-color and other marginalized writers. We live our lives put through a white filter, so the editorial process, being part of that, can sometimes feel that way. The way publishing is structured, the way books are presented, the way stories are told, all come from a white, Anglo-Saxon, cis-gendered, able-bodied, heteronormative, and Christian context and tradition. We’ve been trained to expect stories to take a specific form and shape, and can often be shocked and uncomfortable when they don’t (cultural Stockholm Syndrome!). But Sona and I actively think about these issues as we create new properties, and have conversations about it to make sure we’re making the right development choices.


RB: You’d said in your post that packagers have radical potential, and I’m so thankful for the acknowledgement. As a packager, Paper Lantern Lit provides an overall concept, character sketches, and a loosely plotted outline for the writer to work off of. As an architect, I find this less of an exercise of building my “dream house” because that has sentimental connotations; I love the projects I work on but I don’t romanticize my part in them. I strive to create sturdy structures that are made beautiful and given character by our authors.

I  definitely don’t see the power dynamic as a brain/body split; authors have to bring an immense amount of intellect and imagination when they write for hire. As a packager, we can plot the entire thing to great detail, but we don’t—because we know that in the moment, when the author commits a scene to page, whatever any of us previously imagined will inevitably change. Writing off of any outline, even your own, requires huuuge feats of imagination and problem solving. In terms of a power dynamic, I see it is greatly collaborative. I’m bouncing ideas around with my authors constantly.

2. Foods that contain GMOs are labeled in many states so that consumers know just what they’re getting. Should books produced by packagers be labeled so that readers–and especially reviewers, award committee members–know that the author isn’t (solely) responsible for the content?

RB: I don’t see the necessity but I’m not opposed to it, either. For any curious readers, this kind of information isn’t difficult to find. I know both Paper Lantern and Cake proudly display these books on their sites, and authors acknowledge us in their back content.

Apart from self-publishing, I wonder if any writer is solely responsible for the content? The editor at a publishing house will have suggestions that run the gambit. Maybe you’ll be asked to adjust a scene or maybe you’ll be tasked to make the character more heartfelt throughout their journey. Same thing with packaging editors, I believe, though we’re just part of the process earlier. Either way, an editor is an outside reader you work with to polish your vision—to clarify ideas, move the plot from A to B efficiently, rearrange blocks of text so that the flow of it is logical. Like I said, not very romantic….

Packaged or not, the author does some seriously heavy lifting—and of course, you can take or leave those suggestions, but I really do believe that collaboration shapes the book in remarkable ways. And suffice to say, it only works when the author and the editor trust one another!

DC: Usually this information is found on the copyright page. It shows whether the copyright is shared between the packager and the author, or solely belongs to the packager. Readers, award committee members, and reviewers can discover this information rather easily. Packaging used to be feel more secretive and insider-y — which is a large problem — but now I think it’s becoming more of an open secret. I like that it feels more open because writers, especially writers from marginalized communities, might be able to explore these economic opportunities, and have access to work-for-hire projects to supplement their writing careers like other writers have done for decades.

3. For writers of color who are largely excluded from the publishing industry and/or have little chance of working with an editor of color, what are the advantages of writing for a book packager? Does it make a difference when the “scripts” are developed by people of color instead of whites? Why not run a literary agency and help writers to develop their own ideas rather than developing the narratives yourselves?

DC: The best part of the packaging process — and the biggest advantage — is learning the art of collaboration. If you work with a great packager, you will feel like you’re in the story trenches with someone else, and that you aren’t alone. Writing can be such a solitary path, and working with a packager can help make this process feel a little less lonely, as you navigate it. At CAKE, Sona and I build the batter, but the writer is the one that comes in with the spice, adding their own uniqueness to the project. You will also get a crash course in the traditional publishing process, and access to the contacts of a company.

The reason Sona and I launched a packaging company was because we were both a well-spring of ideas. We knew that we would never be able to write — or do justice — to all the ideas we cooked up. After our MFA program, we also felt like the publishing world was a “good ol’ girls/boys club” and we dealt with many alienating experiences as women of color trying to exist in this space. We wanted to reach back and help other writers who also wanted to take the path of traditional publication, but struggled with their own manuscripts. We thought this could be a way to help people economically stay afloat as well as work on their craft, create something new, and return to their own work renewed. We didn’t start a literary agency because our skill set isn’t suited to negotiating (and wading through) dense contracts.

RB: The best kind of book packagers serve as literary incubators. Writers get to see the inner workings of what it takes to craft a proposal, go on submission, and sell their book. They get their foot in the door, and several authors who have completed a book series with us go on to find their own agents and write their own series. Between our five employees at Paper Lantern Lit, we have 25+ years of traditional publishing experience—and for a writer or color who wants to go that route, you can leverage our experience and contacts to your advantage.

And since we know many editors and publishers, we are are able to more quickly distinguish where there might be a hole or demand or need in the market, and it’s quicker for us to develop than to sift through thousands of potential applicants. We’re creating our own destiny, rather than waiting for something to fall into our laps. For the right writer/project, PLL would work with an editor to flesh out their idea—but those circumstances are very unique.

The literary agency is a different thing all together; the assistance you described sounds like what literary agents do now a days (or many of them do). For me, I like my capacity as an editor and would rather leave selling to other people. 

4. If a packaged book won an award, to whom should it go? Writer or packager?


RB: That would be the author!




DC: I think the award should be shared, if this is possible. The idea originated with the packager, but the execution was a combination of the writer’s unique skills and the packager’s editorial direction. Or packaged books can be eliminated from award consideration. I’m not sure if one has won an award before. I would need to research that.



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Dhonielle Clayton spent most of her childhood under her grandmother’s table with a stack of books. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side. She earned an MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University and an MFA in Writing for Children at the New School. She taught secondary school for several years. Now, she is a librarian at Harlem Village Academies and co-founder of CAKE Literary, a creative kitchen whipping up decadent — and decidedly diverse — literary confections for middle grade, young adult, and women’s fiction readers. Her debut novel TINY PRETTY THINGS with Sona Charaipotra is out now, and her YA fantasy series THE BELLES is coming soon from Disney/Hyperion, and she is represented by Victoria Marini at ICM/Gelfman Schnieder. Twitter: @brownbookworm

Rhoda Belleza received her BA in English and Communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Post-graduation, she wandered up and down the West Coast, stopping in almost every city along the way. Fortunately, none of them fit quite right. She finally found a home in Brooklyn – where she lives, breathes, and eats fiction. She’s the editor of Cornered: 14 Stories of Bullying and Defiance, and her work has appeared on the rumpus.net. Before becoming an associate editor at Paper Lantern Lit, she was a copywriter, barista, shuttle driver, and writing instructor. She loves to feel the seasons change and is currently in a co-dependent relationship with her bicycle. Twitter: @rhodabee