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Does the race of the hero in a book matter to you?

Recently a friend and I were talking and he wondered allowed if the fact that our books feature black protagonist might be limiting our sales. I don't believe so but I was wondering what others think.

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To me the race of the character matters only in that the character ring true. Reading a character that is loosely based on stereotypes versus a 3 dimensional breathing work of art that feels like they can step off the page is something a reader will never confuse. In other words I would not look at a cover and think "that character isn't like me..."

No. Not at all. Why should it? Think of all the popular black authors writing black characters. I've enjoyed many Toni Morrison books, and they all have black characters. Love Zora Neale Hurston's works too, and have read and enjoyed Alice Walker, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Terri McMillan, and have devoured the poetry of Angelou, Brooks, and Hughes, along with books of his short stories. If it's good it's good.

For me people are more similar than different overall, so the more the better, if anything I think most books don't embrace the world we live in enough and don't branch out to include everyone who shares this planet.

I don't get why this would matter to anyone. Well written characters are what matter, not their race.

I agree with my esteemed colleagues.

Most lead characters are too culturally/ethnically neutral.
I was pleasantly surprised recently to find the lead character in a book was not only Polish, but embraced his ethnicity, and that his ethnicity played a role in the story.

I'm happy to see all my GR buddies in one place. :)
I agree with them.

I agree with my colleagues as well, be they esteemed or otherwise.

Good answers! Race doesn't matter to me. A hero can be anyone who is well written.

Race really shouldn't matter at all. I like it when there is cultural diversity in a read. Wish it would happen more, honestly. No matter what the race, beliefs or cultural background, as Tressa said, if it's good, it's good.

Jon Recluse wrote: "I agree with my esteemed colleagues.

Most lead characters are too culturally/ethnically neutral.
I was pleasantly surprised recently to find the lead character in a book was not only Polish, but e..."

That's how I feel when a southern character turns out not to be an incestuous cannibal hillbilly but one with intelligence, wit, and bravery. Doesn't happen often, lol, but when it does I celebrate it.

I wonder what the percentage of black horror/sci-fi authors is? Doesn't seem like genres they write too often in.

UK audiences went crazy for the "Luther" crime series on BBC during it's 3-year run from 2010-2013 (see link below) and it didn't matter a rat's arse to anyone that the lead character was black. It wouldn't have made a difference what colour or creed he was - it was the quality of the screenplay and the complexity of his character that made it such a success. Plus the guy was a first-rate actor who played the role faultlessly.

Sorry to say, chaps, but authors will hang on anything as a reason why they are not selling.

Luther is an amazing series, can't wait for the next one to come out.

I really can't imagine that many people these days who appreciate compelling storytelling in books or movies would give a fiddle what color a character is. Smart people appreciate a good story regardless.

In no way does a character's race stop me from reading a book. I like my characters to be fleshed out.

As Jon said, more times than not, the majority of what I have read is racially neutral.

And the story is what most of us are here for anyway. As an intelligent, modern reader, I would love to read more ethic horror.

I keep meaning to read some of Octavia Butler's books because they're so highly regarded.

Kate wrote: "Luther is an amazing series, can't wait for the next one to come out."

Absolutely! For me, it remains the yardstick against which all crime drama/novels are measured. Quite a few found wanting of late, regrettably.

Tressa wrote: "I keep meaning to read some of Octavia Butler's books because they're so highly regarded."

Same here, ironically enough I wanted to read them because I liked the covers in the 1st place lol, then I got to read about the story and it sounds wonderful.

I have Fledgling by Octavia Butler and would love to read it for a buddy read!

Yes, let's do a Butler buddy read!

I agree with what everyone has said. Most people won't be turned off by the race of a character as long as they're fully flesh outed. I'd love to see more sci-fi/horror books with ethically diverse characters. The only way the race of your character could limit sales would be if it was placed in the African American Lit. section in the bookstore- as is the case with most books with black characters. But that's not a problem for you.

I don't really mind. The only time I even notice is when something race-specific comes up.

Race of the hero doesn't matter to me at all, it's the story that is most important to me.

Tressa wrote: "Yes, let's do a Butler buddy read!"

Yes! You can count me in for that one :-)

No because the only race on this planet is human. If you are referring till ethnicity and cultural background, the answer is also no. Despite that, the character is still human. Unless of course they are something that is not human or is extraterrestrial.

if you're not racist in your everyday life I can't see how it could matter in a book!

Rhian wrote: "if you're not racist in your everyday life I can't see how it could matter in a book!"

Ha! That pretty much nailed it!

glad you agree julian :-)

Rhian wrote: "if you're not racist in your everyday life I can't see how it could matter in a book!"

It's not always about being racist. Some publishing-related people/businesses assume people won't read books with characters outside their own race. Of course, that's not true ;)

Whew thank goodness that is true or books would be incredible boring to me!

its shocking if thats true! give us readers some credit!

I'm beyond fed up with the white-washing I see everywhere. At this point, a character with a different ethnicity (that isn't stereotyped, but brought to life) is a big breath of fresh air.

So yeah, a book's characters being ethnically diverse is actually a big selling point for me. It's more realistic.

Auden wrote: "It's not always about being racist. Some publishing-related people/businesses assume people won't read books with characters outside their own race. Of course, that's not true ;) ..."

Now, I will have to admit that genre does matter to me. I work at a library and have seen the urban fiction genre explode in popularity, but I am not interested in reading it. But general fiction, poetry, short stories, classics, by black authors or with black characters in them I will read if they're good quality fiction.

I'm actually more interested in the story and the subject matter. If it's not a story of interest to me, I won't pick it up, no matter what the race of the person is. I do get excited when I see an Asian girl or guy in the center of the action - I'm half Japanese/half Irish- but I wouldn't NOT buy a book because the main character is black, Hispanic, Native Indian or Asian - I think it comes down to WHO that character is. Is he/she relatable? Can we get behind that person and join the journey with them? Do we believe in them? Why did the author choose to tell this person's story? How does this story touch me and change my life? Have I ever met someone like this in my life? And how do I feel about this story? John Grisham's A Time To Kill outs a black family right in the center of the story. There is so much history there, and great stories to be told. I love history - all types of history - and there are a lot of ugly truths in history that different groups of people have endured. My fathers family were put in Japanese camps during WWII, the way Jews were treated all over the world during WWII (my husband is Jewish), the rights that black people had to fight hard for in the 1960's and beyond, and of course - as women, we've had quite a history as well, fighting for our rights as well. I think if it's a good story and it gets passed over for race, sex, origin or anything like that, it's utter foolishness. As writers and readers, we owe it to ourselves to come to a new book with our eyes and our hearts wide open. That's my two cents, for what it's worth.

Having said that, there are certain types of books I WILL NOT read. Chic lit. Romances. Anything that chronicles what I like to call "rich people with problems". I'll probably be blasted for saying this, but if you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you don't have to battle half the problems that those of us who don't have to. It's true, money can't buy happiness but I'd feel a lot better if I had a margarita in my hand overlooking the beach my oceanfront property of my "summer home".

That's why I really enjoyed . The protagonist was gay, but it wasn't a focal point of the story. To me it was just cool to read a book with a main gay character who kicked ass.

I do think that it's important in terms of deciding how they speak in my mind but it doesn't bother me regardless of who it is. It's just good to know in case the character is meant to have certain practices or dialogue that would be more race specific or something like that.

Nope, doesn't matter to me... provided it's not an excuse for a lame stereotype.

Never

Nope.

Half truth though. It does matter if they are a stereotype, or if the author is making a huge deal out of their character's race like they are a pioneer, breaking a trope, like we shouldn't care supposing the character's skin colour was different.