So how does bias in publishing work? I am not the only author who’s been on the receiving end. S.E. Cupp, Michelle Malkin, and Ann Coulter have all talked about their experiences being rejected a thousand times over when their careers began. All writers experience rejection, of course; it goes with the territory. But this is rejection of a different sort.

In Why You’re Wrong about the Right, S.E. Cupp talks about the nasty rejections she received from agents who came right out and told her they would never represent a conservative; Ann Coulter has talked about the years she spent trying to get published with mainstream publishing houses; and Michelle Malkin said basically the same thing as Coulter on a recent C-Span interview.

One could chalk this up to coincidence, I suppose. But once you’ve experienced it for yourself, there can no longer be any doubt. Yesterday I wrote that I may be the person who knows the most about this topic. The reason I say this is because the women above, like Sarah Palin, are chastised for the same reason: They’re conservative. My story’s a little more complicated. The subject matter of my first book wasn’t conservative politics (in fact I didn’t think it was political at all when I sat down to write it); it was the topic itself that was so controversial — more controversial than abortion, believe it or not.

I wrote about mothers at home. More specifically, I wrote a book that supports, honors, and encourages the women (and men) who stay home to care for their children. This was a colossal taboo at the time; Bernard Goldberg spent an entire chapter explaining why this is so in Bias. Indeed, motherhood is the most politically charged subject in America. You have to be very careful about what you say. If it isn’t the “right thing” — which means that if you don’t support the feminist agenda — the thought police will come and get you. And get me they did.

There are essentially two approaches to motherhood in the modern era: You either believe children “turn out” the way they do because of sheer biology (and perhaps a few environmental experiences) – or you believe, as I do, in the critical nature of mothering/parenting: that it ultimately determines who a child becomes. This does not mean children do not come into the world with a blueprint of their own, personalities that we parents can do little about; it’s just a belief that parenting is ultimately the reason why children turn out the way they do. There is research to support both sides in the nature/nurture debate, but in the end I believe it comes down to experience and common sense.

The book I wrote (published in 2004) is called 7 Myth of Working Mothers . This wasn’t my title (Did you know authors don’t title their own books?); my title was The Work of Motherhood. In it, I outline the reasons why children do best with “a parent at home when children are at home.” I also devote an entire chapter to the economics of raising children and demonstrate that the idea of two parents “having” to work is (unless you live in CA or New York) a red herring and discuss the real reasons for this colossal social change. (For a recent radio blog on 7 Myths, click HERE.)

Before the book even hit the shelves, Glamour told its readers in its “Do’s and Don’ts section” NOT to read Suzanne Venker’s book. Instead, the editors implored, people should read The War on Choice — about the “right wing” attack on abortion rights.

Soon afterward, I was interviewed on CNN — and anchor Carol Lin confided that my book had “stirred up all the women at CNN.” Then they ambushed me in a dual of sorts with the CEO of Working Mother magazine. Nor forewarning whatsoever.

The list goes on and on — there were even bookstores that wouldn’t stock my book. You had to get it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or directly from my publisher. It also took six months to find an agent who would represent me, and another 25 rejections before the book found a home. In the end, the lesson was this: Had I written about the importance of a nanny state by touting the “benefits” of day care or discussed how terribly difficult and unfair it is to be a woman in America, I would have had a very different experience.

Bottom line: If you’re a writer and your material isn’t politically correct (read: progressive), don’t even bother with the mainstream houses. Just pitch the conservative ones. As of now, that leaves you with exactly five chances to sell your book.