The Next Step on the Path - Who Is Your Reader?
Let’s continue our series which will take us, step-by-step, from absolute beginner to published author. The topic of the previous issue: How Do You Define Success? If you missed it, you can read it here.
Today we’ll work to nail down just who our audience really is.
Too often, when we think of “writing for children”, we imagine we’re doing exactly that: writing for all children. Or perhaps we’ve narrowed it down to an age group. But, if you say you’re writing for middle schoolers, are you really writing for all middle schoolers? Pretty unlikely.
Consider this: The best advice for creating a character for your book is to have a full dossier on that character crafted in your head, or perhaps even on paper. How old is she? What kind of clothes does she wear? Does she live in a particular part of the world? What does she like? Dislike? What’s her favorite school subject? What does she like on her pizza? and so on.
Now the character is more than an abstraction, she starts to become real flesh and blood.
So here’s the trick to finding your target reader:
DO THE EXACT SAME THING.
Before you start your manuscript, create two “characters” to represent your potential readership. One boy, one girl. Give each one a name. Imagine their age, their physical appearance, the way they speak and how they dress. Think about what they do with themselves in the hours not spent reading your book. Who are their friends? Who are their antagonists? What else do they read? In what kind of house or apartment do they live? And, most importantly, what are they looking for when they pick up your book? To be entertained? Enlightened? Scared? Tickled pink with laughter?
Don’t start writing your book until these two youngsters truly become real to you. Now, start writing your book for them. Forget the publisher, forget the editor, forget the (hopefully) millions of other kids that will ultimately read your book. Write this book for those two kids.
Not only will the task ahead seem less daunting, you’ll start feeling — almost immediately — a new connection with your readership. And that translates into something every good editor will pick up on immediately: a writer who can reach across space and time and connect with young readers on a one to one basis.
