Targeting Your Audience

The most important variable in storytelling is the audience, your readers.  As extensive as your expertise may be regarding your narrative, once readers take over, the interpretation is entirely up to them. Suggestive lines you had implanted to hint towards one thing might be read as pointing to another. Don’t be alarmed, that’s bound to happen.

Another pitfall is when a collection of readers take up your story when it’s not a genre they’re interested in. Then again, that’s also bound to happen. Once the book is in circulation, how readers view it is entirely out of your control. Yes, it’s natural to hyperventilate now. This condition of authoring can cause anxiety. However, there’s one vital strategy you can use to prepare your writing for readers. Target your audience.

Before:  As you begin brainstorming your novel, take your readers into account. Who are you writing for? What do they like to read? What topics will they be interested in reading? These are a few general questions you can ask to help define your audience. Of course you’ll reach people on the periphery, but your main concern should be your ideal readers.

During: Now that you’ve started to write, pay attention to the diction you use and how you explain your concept, as these are also pieces of the puzzle to communicating with your ideal readers. It is advantageous to have your main characters fall within the age-range of your audience, as this will allow them to relate easier. Of course don’t limit yourself—people love reading about unique characters.

After: When the book is completed, be sure to have beta readers that exemplify your readers review the material. If your audience demographics are diverse, have a variety of people read it. Simple enough. Before choosing which of the several paths you could take towards publishing, create a stable platform that also reaches those you envision reading your story. At each step, always think of your readers.

Readers are the reason authors write. Of course we enjoy expressing ourselves and our ideas through a symphony of words, but generally speaking, if you ask any writer why they write, it’s for other people. We want to give the world something to hold on to and remember us by. And perhaps inspire future generations as classic tales once did for us. With that said, clarify your audience and target your material, after all, they are the root of your success.