- Andrea Torrey Balsara
ISWG August 2022

August 3 question - When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original or do you try to give readers what they want?
I wish I could cater more to what readers want, but if I don’t feel something in my bones, if
it doesn’t deeply interest me, my writing is flat. Since my interests are outside of the
mainstream, it means I am usually looking at indie publishing, whether self-publishing or
through a small publisher.
I am in awe of authors who write authentically but whose work hits the pulse of the times.
In AWE!! I loved Divergent, and The Hunger Games, and even the first Harry Potter book.
For me, I think my best hope is to keep expanding my field of interests, keep a “learner’s
mindset,” and trust that if I love what I write, someone else will too.