Telling Untold Stories

Joanne Lockwood is joined by book coach and editor Tracy Stewart, founder of Freshly Press, to explore why so many voices and storylines still struggle to be heard in publishing. Together they unpack how the industry’s commercial caution, limited marketing budgets, and traditional expectations can shut out authors whose work doesn’t fit familiar norms.

They discuss the practical obstacles that underrepresented writers face: imposter syndrome, the cost of editing and production, and the challenge of building an audience before agents and publishers will take a risk. Tracy also highlights accessibility barriers for disabled writers, including the physical and digital hurdles involved in writing and self-publishing, and the way disabled protagonists and authors are still too often sidelined.

The conversation also touches on technology and AI, including where it can be genuinely enabling (such as dictation) and where it raises ethical concerns around copyright and the loss of “soul” in storytelling. Throughout, Joanne and Tracy return to the value of authentic narratives—stories told with nuance by those who live them—and offer practical encouragement for listeners who want to write: start by getting words on the page, clarify what you want the reader to feel, and seek the right kind of professional support when you’re ready.

One-sentence summary

Tracy Stewart believes that stories carry the soul of lived experience — and when we silence disabled and underrepresented voices, we deny the world connection, dignity and truth.

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Synopsis

Tracy Stewart did not set out to disrupt publishing — she simply began to notice what was missing. After leaving a traditional career and moving to France, she entered the world of books from the inside and saw that the stories being promoted were largely the same: “traditional, middle class, white” narratives that did not reflect the fullness of everyday life. As someone who had always loved books, that realisation shifted her. She began asking harder questions about who gets heard, who gets funded, and who is told — implicitly — “your story isn’t commercial enough.”

What Tracy is trying to change is not just an industry pattern but a human absence. She wants the novelist with a disabled protagonist to be picked up without a publisher flinching. She wants writers with visual impairments to have the tools to create without begging for access. She wants stories written by people who have lived them — because, as she says, storytelling has a “rhythm” and a “soul” that cannot be fabricated. For her, this isn’t about trends or market gaps. It’s about connection. When we read each other honestly, we are enriched. When voices are boxed into corners or excluded entirely, we all lose.

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10 Small, digestible concepts for easy learning

1. You can’t edit a blank page.

Courage starts with getting the words out — even if they’re messy.

2. Imposter syndrome comes in waves.

It doesn’t mean you’re not a writer; it means you care.

3. Storytelling has a soul.

Rhythm, cadence and lived nuance cannot be fully manufactured.

4. Access is not a luxury.

For many disabled writers, software, screens or support are the difference between silence and work.

5. Publishing is a chain.

Every link wants a share, and the writer often carries the heaviest risk.

6. Representation without integration is tokenism.

A separate shelf can signal difference as much as visibility.

7. Lived experience carries authority.

You feel the difference when someone writes from inside the skin of a story.

8. Commercial caution creates cultural gaps.

When publishers fear risk, whole communities disappear from view.

9. Writing is an exchange.

The reader invests time and money — the writer must offer meaning in return.

10. Difference should be ordinary.

A disabled protagonist, a queer romance, a neurodivergent lead should not be a plot twist — just life.

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The “why” in the story

What they believe is true about people

People are hungry for connection. They want stories that show them lives different from their own. And when they encounter them, they are touched by them.

What they cannot unsee

That disabled writers are still waiting at the gate — not because of lack of talent, but because of access barriers, commercial fear and structural neglect.

What they are no longer willing to tolerate

The idea that stories about disability are niche, risky or non-commercial. The quiet appropriation of lived experience by those who have not lived it.

What they are trying to build instead

An ecosystem where writers from all backgrounds can create with support, dignity and realistic opportunity — and where their stories sit naturally on the shelf.

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Narrative structure

1. The trigger:

Seeing that publishing largely reflected one demographic — and realising how many powerful stories “don’t make the cut” because publishers are “not brave enough” to take them on.

2. The tension:

Commercial caution versus cultural responsibility. Publishers seeking “partial guarantees” while marginalised authors struggle even to access tools to write. The emotional fatigue of watching talented clients praised for quality — yet still rejected.

3. The insight:

“Storytelling has a rhythm… a soul.” When someone writes from lived experience, there is nuance you cannot replicate. Integration, not tokenism, is the goal.

4. The pivot:

Building Freshly Press as an affordable, accessible gateway. Offering conversations before contracts. Encouraging writers to write first, refine second, and remember the reader.

5. The destination:

A literary world where difference is ordinary — where a disabled protagonist is simply a protagonist, and where every writer who has something to say can access the tools to say it.

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Five key takeaways and learning points

1. Messy beginnings are not failures.

So what: Stop waiting for polish. Start with honesty.

2. Access determines voice.

So what: If someone lacks the tools to create, talent alone is irrelevant.

3. Visibility is not the same as belonging.

So what: Segregated representation can still reinforce otherness.

4. Readers feel authenticity.

So what: Lived nuance deepens connection — and connection drives change.

5. Commercial fear shapes culture.

So what: When gatekeepers avoid risk, entire perspectives vanish from public imagination.

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Ten distinct ideas explained

1. The cost of entry filters voices.

When preparing a manuscript can cost thousands, only those with financial cushioning can play — talent is not the deciding factor.

2. Disabled authors face layered barriers.

It’s not just confidence or craft — it’s screens, dictation tools, transport, physical access.

3. Imposter syndrome is structural, not just personal.

When an industry repeatedly sidelines people like you, self-doubt is not irrational — it’s conditioned.

4. Token visibility can isolate.

A labelled shelf may offer access, but it also signals “other”.

5. Appropriation dilutes depth.

Stories about marginalised lives written without lived experience often flatten nuance.

6. Rhythm matters.

The flow of authentic storytelling mirrors human speech, memory and emotion.

7. Writing supports mental health.

For some, storytelling isn’t optional — it’s survival.

8. Audience clarity sharpens voice.

When you know what you want readers to feel, your message strengthens.

9. AI can enable — and erase.

It assists with structure and access, but cannot replace human cadence or conscience.

10. Bravery shapes culture.

When publishers take risks, culture expands. When they don’t, it contracts.

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How people should change as a result

1. Think

• Move from “Is there a market?” to “Who is missing?”
• See access as infrastructure, not charity.
• Question why some protagonists feel ordinary and others “brave”.
• Consider how commercial caution shapes what you believe is normal.

2. Feel

• Shift from comfort to productive discomfort.
• From passive consumption to engaged curiosity.
• From scepticism about “niche” stories to openness.
• From pity to respect for lived authority.

3. Act

• Review books you read — algorithms reward visibility.
• Seek out authors from underrepresented backgrounds intentionally.
• If you write, start now — imperfectly.
• If you publish or commission, examine who you default to.
• Advocate for accessible tools and formats in your workplace.
• Integrate diverse stories rather than siloing them.
• Support writers by listening before advising.

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One thing to remember

When we make space for the people who live the story, the story gains its soul — and so do we.