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This month, I want to touch on a very important topic: understanding who you're writing for. You do that by defining your audience.
Defining your audience will influence your approach to storytelling, the types of stories you tell, and how you market your books.
Demographics
Think about the age and gender of your potential readers. Are you writing for a male or female audience?
What age will your readers be? Targeting women in their 40s will result in stories that have different themes and language than books targeted to twenty-somethings or children in middle school.
My romance novels with characters in their 20s and 30s have different problems than my characters in their 40s and 50s. Working toward a promotion in their career might be the focus of a younger character, while a middle-aged character could be dealing with life after divorce.
Keep these types of potential differences in mind when working on your stories.
Understand your genre
Readers of different genres have specific expectations. Romance readers want a happily ever after where the characters end up together, no matter what trials and tribulations they encounter during the story. Fantasy readers expect long stories where they can immerse themselves in the world-building.
If you typically read in a genre, chances are you understand the expectations. If you don't, it's important to do your research and read books in that genre so that you don't disappoint your audience.
Research some of the most popular books in your genre. Study them. Analyze the plot and the types of characters, themes, and narrative structures that resonate with readers. Don't copy the ideas, but use them for inspiration for your own stories.
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