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Topic : Re: How do I write for the majority, without alienating my minority? This is something of a companion question to How does one write from a minority culture? A question on cultural references I - selfpublishingguru.com

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You don't necessarily need to target the majority audience at all. Niche publishing has always been "a thing," but these days minority audiences have a stronger influence because it's easier for a motivated niche audience to find a given book. And there have been recent, uncompromising books for niche audiences that have reached a wider mainstream audience without selling out.

You can target the majority audience via inclusion, instead of adaptation. Issa Rae helped ensure a diverse audience for her pioneering web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by including main characters who were white (and also main characters of other races as well!) but the viewpoint of the show was still firmly centered in her own experience and perspective as a black American.

You can adapt your work for a majority audience without pandering. You can over-explain things that a Jewish person would probably already know, without making them fake, and you can present real-three dimensional non-stereotyped characters in a narrative presented for a mainstream audience. It's possible that your work may be passed over or rejected by people who demand to be pandered to --but you don't want that audience anyway.


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