A new week means new goals.
It is time to be proactive, gear up, and do some things I don’t like doing.
The first thing I have to do is identify, well, you.
Who are you? At the moment you’re imaginary. But that’s okay. I have a great imagination. So who are my readers?
My readers are adults. Much of my work is about grown ups, struggling with grown up things. And the part that is more whimsical –ghost shark –tends to be hyper sexual. Let’s be specific and say 35-50.
My readers are probably educated. And damn that makes me feel like a snob. But business is business. The pleasures from my work come from the juxtaposition of the ordinary with extraordinary. I fear that main stream audiences, if you will me a kinder turn of phrase, is uninterested in the ordinary. They would be bored and frustrated by those set pieces; possible to the point of putting down the book.
As a result of this education, my readers tend to be white collar professionals or stay at home parents who used to be professionals. Or retired professionals. Lawyers, accountants, teachers, programmers, engineers. But the professionals who are looking for something a little less exciting than a John Grisham thriller or a John Le Carre spy novel. Yeah, so my audience are the people who don’t like some the most successful and popular adult books of all time. Go me.
So if that don’t popular stuff, what do they like? What do they read and watch and listen to? I think my audience likes comedy. They are a cynical bunch, and they need media to lighten them up. I would suspect people who like Marc Maron would like my books. I think my audience consumes too much news because they care about the world and they feel like their only option is to stay informed. My audience probably listens to pod casts, the ones that grow in the liberal ecosystem. So not Joe Rogan, the most successful podcaster going at the moment. Once again, go me. My audience eschews reality television (unless baking is involved) in favor of the PBS app. It’s not that don’t like light, happy things –they just don’t like vapid things. I honestly had no idea I could be so snobby. But my audience has probably watched Poirot. They like the witty banter and the predictable plot structure, especially after a long day. My audience likes smart science fiction, The Expanse, OG Star Trek, and The Matrix. My audience has a dry sense of humor; they like Ab Fab, comedy panel shows, and witty British people. My audience likes Lord of the Rings, Dracula, and most of Tom Wolf. I could go on, but I’m afraid I would be listing things I like.
I’m told the big two big questions are: What does my reader struggle with? How do my books help them with their struggles.
That’s easy. My audience is older they are worried about aging, their own mortality, the fate of the country, and the level of environmental disaster that we are going to leave for our children do deal with. My audience feels powerless with the far right is in charge of everything and nervous then the left is in charge. The second bit is equal parts that the left will screw up their turn in power or not go far enough out of fear of political reprisal.
My books initiate my readers into a kind of ritual. My stories are machines that make empathy and comfort. They reassure and provide a bit of optimism in a bleak world.
My stories all have happy endings.
Leave a Reply