Writing advice is so often contradictory. Take, for example, the advice to write only for yourself or in service of your vision. But just as often you’ll hear: write with an intended readership in mind.
Neither piece of advice is wrong; they’re just prioritizing different things. Writers who consider themselves “serious” (or literary) tend to emphasize genius and artistry, which can result in challenging or difficult work. Writers who make a living wage from their work tend to emphasize service to the reader.
Of course, there’s usually a middle way; it’s not an either-or proposition every time. I like Stanley Delgado’s essay in the latest Glimmer Train bulletin, There Was a Man in El Salvador Who Owned Four Dogs, where he discusses his grandmother’s method of storytelling. He noticed that she told the same stories differently to him than to his mother—different elements, different drama. He writes:
The man in El Salvador who owned four dogs … and what happens next was based on her audience. And I think it helps to do that, to consider an audience. My grandma’s is an extreme example, but it helps to remember that a story exists to connect one person to another, for however briefly. My mother wanted high drama, I wanted spookiness. Considering an audience—a reader, in my case—doesn’t mean that they are going to be coddled, either, not like in my grandma’s example; considering a reader, to me, simply means realizing the power and weight and authority of words.
Also in this month’s Glimmer Train bulletin:
- Patience by Polly Rosenwaike
- Deepening Characters by Lee Martin
- What Else Can I Tell You? by Ed Allen
- This Knotted Labyrinth of Self by Douglas W. Milliken
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
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Don’t writers consider their audience almost automatically, simply by choosing which genre they’re going to write in (including “literary”)? I don’t want to read a book that was written based on what the author “thinks” his/her audience wants. I might forgive a writer for such pandering in the first book – but with the second, it becomes irritating and even insulting in some cases. I’ve already decided, by picking up a book in that genre, the kind of story I want to read. I don’t want the author to write “my” story – I want them to pull me into theirs.
So do you envision any reader or reader response when you sit down to write? It sounds like your idea of the reader is indirect, informed by the readers’ expectation of the genre.
I consider what I, as a reader, want from other writers, and try to give that to my readers. I know what kinds of stories I devour, and what kinds I read only to pass the time – that tells me, as a writer, what kind of story I want to write. I am the only audience whose reactions/wants I can accurately predict – and even I surprise myself at times! And that’s the real joy of being a reader – finding the surprise instead of the routine.
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