"Change Takes Time" - A Mid-Way Ramble...

"We are the sum total of our experiences. And again maybe I’m a fucking Pollyanna about all of this but I believe we are only as pigeon-holed as we allow others to pigeon-hole us (in any way shape or form)."

I read this on Cece’s blog earlier today, and I have to say, Halle-effing-lujah.

I do believe that we are the sum total of our experiences. My experience as a black person, is different from a lot of other blacks.

The racial divide is there, but sometimes you’ve gotta say fuck it, this is who I am, this is how I think. It doesn’t make me a sell-out, it just means that I refuse to get bogged down by racial issues, and see racist intent around every corner. As far as I’m concerned, that way leads madness.

The Shelving Issue

The question that hasn’t been answered to my satisfaction yet, is who is responsible for romance books being shelved in the AA section?

The publishers who believe that niche marketing works? The bookstores who want to make sure that the books are easily accessible to AA readers? Or the AA readers themselves who want the books to be easily accessible to them?

Who has the power to make wholesale changes to the way that AA-authored books are currently shelved?

One question that nobody seems to have asked is, what happens if the ideal compromise re shelving, is reached? What then? What’s the next argument?

In my opinion, it then boils down to one thing. Getting white folks to get over the “But I can’t relate to ‘those’ types of characters” line. That’s a lame excuse, and will continue to be a lame excuse, especially as you Americans seem to love those European hystericals with their lords and ladies, and roguish dukes, and virginal duchesses, whom y’all have fuck-all in common with.

How to achieve this? Bloody good marketing, that’s how.

Coming up next: Shelia Goss (you may want to turn down the volume, as there’s music on this site)