did ya’ll know this was out? finally sister souljah has a follow-up to the coldest winter ever. when i was a librarian, “when sister souljah coming out with a new book?”, was definitely the 2nd most-asked question. the first was “can you sign me up for the computer?“.
the book is not a sequel, but a prequel to the coldest winter ever with midnight as the central character. the comments are really funny. some of the fans are not happy. it is so interesting that some of the reviewers seem to think that sister souljah personally did them wrong by not producing what they wanted. not that they were disappointed, but more she wrong for that.
as a writer is it my responsibility to deliver what my audience wants or the book that i want to write or think that i should write? as writers, we often hear that we must write to the market, but somehow that gets separated from the reader. the market is all spreadsheets, pie charts and percentages. the readers are flesh and blood with expectations. i suspect that sister souljah has the type of readers who will tell her exactly what they think given the opportunity. i think i want those kinds of readers. but to tell the truth, i’m not thinking about readers at all when i write. i’m consumed by the people in my story, making sure that they get heard, that they get to have their say.
it’s a great reminder that people, not markets buy and read books.
