| Americans are reading less...why you don't need to | | | | city, country or suburbs? Where do they shop? |
| worry. | | | | What kinds of activities do they pursue? The clearer |
| Americans are reading less. That's the conclusion of a | | | | you can be, the easier it will be for you to bring this |
| recent study by the National Endowment for the | | | | person to mind. You can even give them a |
| Arts. It's a follow up to an NEA survey that found an | | | | name--maybe you're writing for an Audrey, a |
| increasing number of adult Americans were not even | | | | Matthew or a Chandra. |
| reading one book a year. This information can be | | | | Where Will You Find Them? Once you know your |
| depressing, especially if you've been spending all your | | | | reader, where can you find them so you can put |
| precious time writing a book. Are you creating | | | | your book in front of them? Remember, it doesn't |
| something that no one will ever read? Not necessarily. | | | | have to be the usual channels. If you've written a |
| If you have crafted your book and planned your | | | | book on wellness and nutrition, your book doesn't |
| marketing properly, these statistics will NOT apply to | | | | have to be in a Borders or a Barnes & Noble to find |
| you! | | | | your reader. It might be easier to find them in a yoga |
| Here's why. The majority of the public doesn't read. | | | | studio or a health food store. If you write for |
| But the majority of the public is not your audience! | | | | entrepreneurs, you could find them in a Staples, an |
| Think in terms of the 80/20 rule: 20 percent of a | | | | Office Max or in airport bookstores. You can do joint |
| group will most likely provide 80 percent of your | | | | ventures with other authors or entrepreneurs who |
| business. Your job is to make sure you're | | | | have lists full or your ideal readers. Be creative here. |
| targeting--and finding-- your people, your 20 percent. | | | | The only limit is your imagination. |
| Who Is Your Target Reader? Some writers have | | | | Don't Forget International Markets Remember, the |
| trouble thinking in terms of "audience" because it | | | | NEA study only covered the United States, which |
| seems like a vast faceless mass. So instead thinking | | | | means there can be many, many readers waiting for |
| of your target audience, think of your target | | | | you all over the world. If your book is sold in the |
| reader--one person. This can be someone real or | | | | internet, your book is available everywhere. You can |
| someone you've idealized in your mind. When I was | | | | also use webinars, chatrooms and blogs to make |
| writing my first novel, I had one of my co-workers | | | | your book tour a globetrotting event, all from the |
| at People magazine be my first line reader because I | | | | comfort of your home. |
| felt she embodied my target market. When I wrote, | | | | Keep in mind that sales and audiences have dropped |
| I kept her in mind as though I were sitting in her | | | | in many areas and industries: television, movies, |
| office telling her the story word for word. | | | | houses, cars, baked goods. Does that mean they |
| When you think of your reader, ask yourself many | | | | stop making these items entirely? No! They just |
| questions. How old is the person? Where do they | | | | know they have to do things differently. The same |
| live? Where do they work? Are they married or | | | | goes in the book world. Go find the different way |
| single? With children or without? Do they live in the | | | | that works for you. |