At writing conferences and industry events, agents and editors alike are fond of saying you should write what’s in your heart, or what you most want to write. Don’t pay attention to trends or what sells, they say. Write your story, even if it’s out of style.
While that may be sound advice if you’re focused on the creative process, once the writing is done, if you haven’t the faintest clue about your readership, you’ll run in circles trying to market and promote your work. Of course, you can rely on a publisher or a marketing professional to do the work for you, but that can be risky as well as expensive—and not always an option.
Even you didn’t consciously have a reader in mind while writing your book, you’ll have to research or identify one once it’s on the market. But ideally, your concept of your target reader (or to start, the genre you’re working in—which equals a findable audience) should be clear from the start. In my latest column for Publishers Weekly, I discuss: No Clear Readership, No Clear Sales.
Jane Friedman (@JaneFriedman) has nearly 25 years of experience in the media & publishing industry. She is the publisher of The Hot Sheet, the essential newsletter on the publishing industry for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2019.
In addition to being a professor with The Great Courses (How to Publish Your Book), she is the author of The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal.
Jane speaks regularly at conferences and industry events such as Digital Book World and Frankfurt Book Fair, and has served on panels with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund. Find out more.