Danny asked N.G. Peltier:

I'm from the Caribbean and an aspiring writer. Do you think being a Caribbean native comes with its own set of difficulties in the publication process? If so, what are they?

N.G. Peltier Hi there! Great question and it surely does. Publishers may say they can't relate to your characters. I've also gotten rejection responses saying they already have something similar on their list when i know for sure they did not have a romance set in Trinidad written by a trini author with trini characters.

There's also the challenge of trying to remain authentic to your culture and how we speak but agents/editors/publishers and even some readers who aren't from the Caribbean may have an issue with us using dialect in our work. I struggled with this as well. Do my characters use too much dialect, not enough dialect? At the end of the day you need to know the core of your story, what you're trying to achieve and where you are not willing to compromise. I've had a publisher give feedback that to me felt as if they wanted to change the heart of what my book was about so i simply said a polite no thank you.

But there will be people who will want your work because it's not the typical US/UK setting and will be eager to help your work shine without stripping it of its heart. Hope this was helpful!

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