There is a theory that says you should have your ideal reader (or watcher) in mind when you write. All the experts say you need to find an ideal reader. So do you? And how do you go about finding who that person is or what they like?
I’ve spent some time considering this. Of course, I want my work to be read, but I also want freedom when I create something and then consider how to edit it for my ideal audience. But let’s try to think for a minute about how we could identify an ideal audience. For me, it comes down to two things when I think about the people I like, who “get me”, and trying to consider what they like. Try this for yourself, ask yourself:
- Who is the kind of person you like talking to the most?
- What shows do they like watching? What books do they read? What’s their favourite movie? Are their tastes like yours?
If you think about the first point, it’s probably quite simple to answer. For example, for me I like talking to people who don’t take the straight line from A to B with their thoughts. I like the outsiders, the free thinkers, the rebels and the loners. They don’t do things conventionally and they don’t always agree with the rules, they want to break them or bend them. I mean, I don’t just like talking to these kind of people and many of my friends are a lot straighter than that, but the one thing they probably all have in common is that they don’t see themselves as part of the machinery. They see themselves as individuals and ones who can correspondingly do something -they have agency if you will.
So far, so good right? Can you picture the kind of people you like talking to the most? Got a picture in your mind of your friends and the spectrum of conversations you have with them?
Easy.
Now comes the hard part. What do they like to read, listen to, and watch? Have you ever compared notes? I’m sure you have sometimes. If your friends and acquaintances are anything like mine, then really there is no way of telling what they will like. They will like the strangest things (to you) and will think you are off your rocker for some of your choices.
So, how do we, as writers, find that commonality in creation that will tap into a market? And a market that we can both access naturally and will sustain us?
There’s Writing and there’s Being an Author
One thing I discovered shortly after publishing my first book, is that there’s a big difference between being a writer and being an author.
A writer will throw themselves into their work, thinking that is the most important thing, but an author has to deal with the reality of no-one reading their work and having to drag it from door to door, bookseller to bookseller, hall to empty hall to make it land with some people.
Only through publishing your work and gauging the reaction can a writer ever know if they are on the right track. And also, what is the right track? Publishing helps you understand where you are going.
So I would encourage all writers out there to write *and* to publish regularly. A blog is a great start.
I listened to authors at an event recently where they talked about how they learned their trade through blogging, through flushing the pipes of creativity by just letting it into their being.
This is the only way you can become both a writer and an author – by writing and publishing and writing and never giving up.
An Addiction
So, writing has to be a balance of writing and publishing. A writer is no good without an audience because nothing happens if there is one, but how do you find the audience that is right for you?
It’s my belief that your single-mindedness will see you through. It is my belief from analysing the work of others, far more intelligent and successful than I will ever be, that the path to self-actualisation as a writer is strewn with discarded self-help books and articles on how to become a better writer.
You write. You publish. Rinse and Repeat. You keep going.
Don’t worry about your audience. Once you’ve done it for long enough, once you’ve found your voice, they will find you.
That is my plan. I’ve just started writing book 2, so I’ll let you know how I get on.
Thanks for reading this post. If you want to support my work please consider buying my book for yourself or someone you know. Thank you.