julie sondra decker the invisible orientation

I went on a little hiatus working on this book because my fiction got signed, but then I was back working on the book early the next year and I got this book signed to an agent in May 2013. While the book was being considered by agents, I acquired a large volunteer test audience and incorporated their feedback. I created a proposal for the book and began pitching to agents in the summer of 2012, but since nonfiction books don’t require a completed manuscript, I was still working on finalizing the text. I had to do a little bit of research to back up some of the statements in the book, too, and ended up citing a fair number of academic papers and other documents.

Because I knew there would be various reasons for people wanting to read the book, I felt that each section should more or less stand on its own–for instance, people might turn directly to the “If Someone You Know is Asexual” section before reading the section with the definitions–so I deliberately allowed some repetition in the sections. It was a quick write because I’d said so much of the content before in various essays, articles, and interviews, not to mention in personal conversation. I finished the first draft on May 21, 2012.

Review Fix: Would you describe to us the writing process?ĭecker: I created a basic outline and started writing the book on April 7, 2012. There are also gray areas–people who experience sexual attraction very rarely, or only in unusual circumstances, for instance–and some of them consider themselves to be on the asexual spectrum. Some asexual people are romantically but not sexually attracted to others, and some don’t experience romantic attractions either. It is distinct from abstinence or celibacy in that it isn’t a choice someone makes to not have sex it’s an experience of not finding people attractive in that way, and whether asexual people have sex is not what defines them as asexual. It’s a sexual orientation like gay, bi, or pan, and it’s thought that approximately 1% of the population is somewhere on the asexual spectrum. A reference section in the back gives readers options to access discussion, academic research, and educational materials on the orientation.ĭecker: Most people in the asexual community describe asexuality as a lack of sexual attraction, though some who identify as asexual prefer to say they don’t want to have sex, don’t find sex rewarding, or aren’t interested in sex. It includes tips for asexual people on understanding their orientation and relating to others, and it also has a section for non-asexual people. Review Fix: What is â€œThe Invisible Orientationâ€ about?ĭecker: My book â€œThe Invisible Orientationâ€ is about asexuality as an orientation: what it is, who it affects and how it manifests, and what it’s not. Review Fix chats with â€œThe Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexualityâ€ author Julie Sondra Decker to talk about her book, asexuality and living as an asexual.

Julie sondra decker the invisible orientation