Hi Treacy,

Welcome to WW, and congratulations on getting some of your stories published.

I know a deaf writer (he's also an outstanding actor and teacher)and he's toured his shows throughout Asia, Australia and Europe.

The theatre industry is a little different to the world of publishing, but I cannot imagine for one second that a publisher will turn down a book purely on the grounds that the author is deaf. Yes, there will be some communication problems, but nothing that can't be overcome.

My advice would be to throw yourself in here, start writing and uploading your novel - you'll get good constructive, honest feedback - and then take it from there.

Very best of luck, and I'm looking forward to reading some of your work.

Best regards

Harry

Hello Treacy, Welcome to WW.

Well done on getting published and good luck with the novel. It is a daunting task. If you feel like uploading a bit in Novel 2 I'm sure you'd get some helpful feedback.

I agree with Harry, I don't think that being deaf would be an obstacle to being published if the writing is good enough.

Coincidentally, I have very recently uploaded a piece from my own novel written from the POV of a deaf character. You might be encouraged by the comments which express a strong interest in knowing more about the deaf world. (Many apologies if I have made any blunders in my interpretation of it.) I've adjusted the settings so that you can see it here: http://www.writewords.org.uk/archive/17333.asp

Best,

A.

Hi and welcome to WW,

I have been told many times that deaf writer won't be published

If this is true then it's a travesty!! I would think that anyone who writes a good enough novel would be published regardless. It's a business after all and agents and publishers are always on the lookout for good material.

I would echo Harry and Ashlinn, join a group that you feel best fits your genre and get involved. By giving and getting feedback you'll discover what stage you are at and it is a brilliant environment to improve your skills.

I would say if Connie Briscoe can do it there's no reason why you can't.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=pd_lpo_ix_dp_go_ca_uk_en?keywords=hearing%20impaired%20writers&tag=lpo%5Fixdpgocauken-21&index=blended

There are two anthologies of writing by deaf or hearing impaired writers here. Names which Google throws up are Stevie Platt, Chris Cline, Corinne Briscoe, John Egbert, Mark Radford and Karin Matsumori.

Maybe I'm being naive, but I'd say the advice you should take on board would be pretty much the same as for a writer with full hearing, so browse this site for really helpful tips on reading, craft, networking and submissions. I can't see the industry treating you any differently from any other new writer: they'll look at the MS first and foremost, because that has to stand alone, on its own merits. If the book is saleable, that's what will matter to them.

Why not try contacting some of the published deaf authors on the list above and seeing how they feel their hearing impairments shaped their work and experience of getting their writing out there?

And welcome to Write Words.

I may be off beam here, so forgive me if I am, Treacy, but if I were you I would not focus on being a "deaf writer" but just be a writer.

I can appreciate that it may make some aspects of writing harder, such as dialogue, but you know whether it does, while I'm only guessing. Are you a lipreader or do you use sign language, or neither/both? I ask because if you lipread well then presumably your grasp of dialogue would be no worse than the next man's. I'm not deaf but my dialogue used to be poor, so I read some books on how to write dialogue and it improved greatly.

Is it dialogue which worries you, or anything else specific?

There are a number of novels around which have a protagonist with a particular disability or facet. Mark Haddon's "Peculiar Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" has a main character with Asperger's, and it was extremely well received - everyone seemed to love it. I think it was loved because it gave a different perpective on the world than the one most of us see. Then "Astonishing Splashes of Colour" had a MC who had an unusual disability to do with seeing emotions as colours - also very well received.

So, being deaf, you may feel you could write about a deaf protagonist with total authenticity, which would give an interesting twist to your writing. Obviously the plot would have to be as good as for any other, but it would stand out over run of the mill scenarios, and people may be drawn to read it more because they are interested in how it really feels to live in a silent world.

However, while you may want to consider using that inside experience (because all of us have inside knowledge we may wish to use in our fiction sometimes), you may wish to write about hearing characters with no references to deafness at all!

I've not had anything to do with agents and publishers, but I'd have thought that the only reason you'd need to alert them that you're deaf is if they wanted to ring you. You could just say that you'd prefer them to respond by email or letter, or you could tell them you're deaf but only in passing, saying that phoning you is not appropriate. If I were you I would not focus on your deafness in your dealings with them.

I have a long-term illness but I prefer not to pigeon-hole myself by it, so I avoid telling people unless it's directly relevant.

As for people saying that "a deaf writer won't be published", well - you've proved that untrue because you've had some short stories published. So put that one to bed right now! All you need is, like the rest of us, to be good enough - your deafness won't come into it from the POV of a publisher or agent making a decision.

I hope I haven't offended you by anything I've said - if perhaps I've misinterpreted what you're asking. I wish you the best of luck.

Deb

Thank you for the replies and also those links. having read them over, I find myself agreeing with a few things here.

but if I were you I would not focus on being a "deaf writer" but just be a writer.

You're right, by referring to myself as a deaf writer, I believe I've been creating my own limitation on what's possible.

Thanks again for the advise and I look forward to posting work. But first I'm gonna have a good browse around this site, I've notice some priceless information here.

xxx Treacy

Apropos: I know a writer who is blind. She has a lot of problems with the technical practicalities of using a wordprocessor, etc. but she is a stunning poet and writes, in fact, very visually. She's had poems published in various magazines. Her writing is far better than that of many other writers who aren't blind. I say go for it. No decent publisher or agent will turn you down for being deaf.

Hi Treacy, and welcome. I'm with the others, especially with Deb about not thinking of yourself as a 'deaf writer'. Yes, there will be problems, as you've already found, but you're clearly determined, you've been published already, so I'm sure you'll succeed. And apart from that, you've come to the right place in coming here, because there's so much support and sound advice available.

I've known two deaf writers, one relatively unpublished, the other very well published in his own field, so it really shouldn't be a bar.

Zoe

Hi Treacy, this is not specifically to do with writing, but I thought you might be interested in this link:

http://www.matd.org.uk/

It’s about music for the deaf. I’ve met Paul Whittaker, the artistic director, and he’s the most wonderful guy. Very articulate, witty, funny and sexy. He’s been profoundly deaf since childhood but never let that get in the way of becoming a top class musician. God knows how - he can't explain it any more than I, for instance, can explain how I hear. He signs for major West End productions – Les Miserables, for instance – and says the hearing people think he’s just waving his arms around and the deaf people can’t hear anyway – it could be the theme tune to Bob The Builder for all anyone knows, but everyone’s happy. He’s just the most amazing guy!

Just putting this in as an example of how a significant problem needn’t stop you achieving your goals.

Best wishes with your writing.

Dee

Yes, I have a friend who is a considerable and published poet and who has been deaf since childhood. She is also an accomplished musician (piano)
Her name is Josephine Dickinson and her latest collection of poetry, recently published, is called Silence Fell. She has just done a tour in the States, performing readings.
Hope this encourages you!