Connect with Readers: Knowing who you’re writing for helps create stories that resonate emotionally. The story becomes more relateable.
Guides Your Writing: It influences your tone, language, themes, and even the structure of your story. The story has a more complete style and does not feel like a first draft.
Improves Marketability: Agents and publishers are more likely to pick up stories tailored to a clear audience. They don’t want to see a MG author writing picture book length stories. They want 80k+ word manuscripts if you write for MG.
Steps to Identify your Audience
- Define Your Genre
- Ask yourself: Is your book a romance, fantasy, thriller, or another genre?
- Look at bestsellers in your genre and analyze their audience demographics.
- Create a Reader Persona
- Imagine your ideal reader: their age, gender, interests, and lifestyles.
- For instance, a YA fantasy reader might be a 15-year-old who loves magic and adventure.
- Research Reader Preferences
- Join online communities (like Goodreads, Facebook groups, or Reddit) where readers discuss books. *Hint: I am a part of all of these communities and find a lot of help there.
- Take note of what readers love and dislike about books in your genre.
- Analyze Successful Books
- Read books similar to yours and study the reviews.
- Identify recurring praises and criticisms.
- Understand Trends, Not Fads
- Trends are long-term reader preferences (e.g., strong female leads).
- Fads are short lived (e.g., vampire romances at their peak). Aim for timeless appeal with a sprinkle of trend awareness.
Tools for Audience Insights
- Social Media Polls: Ask your followers what they like to read.
- Beta Readers: Gather feedback from readers who fit your target audience.
- Surveys and Questionaires: Use tools like Google Forms to ask potential readers what they want in a book.
Balancing Authenticity and Audience Needs
While understanding your audience is essential, don’t lose your voice. Write what you’re passionate about and find a way to align your story with what your audience craves. Authenticity shines through and helps your work stand out.
Happy Reading! And good luck in the New Year!
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