By Denise Turney

Emily Dickinson may not have gone out of her way to publish and market her written works while she walked the earth, yet, after her sister discovered and started marketing her poems, her work found its audience. People began buying her poetry, even discussing it at schools and in writer’s groups. This happening may point to the fact that every author, be they aware of it or not, has an audience, a group of readers who are eager to explore, examine and enjoy the stories or poems they write.

When to Start Finding Your Book Reading Audience

However, if you’re a writer, the time to ponder or try to figure out who you’re writing for might not be during the creative process. I say this because my experience has been that great art comes from within the artist, not from a strategy to sell lots of books. The success of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings may prove this.

If you create with truth and sincerity, after you publish and market your works, you may discover that people from certain backgrounds, age groups, etc. buy and appreciate your books most. You can discover this whether you sell 25 books or 25 million books. As you develop conversations with these people, responding to their inquiries and comments, don’t be surprised if these members of your reading audience start asking when your next book is scheduled for publication or if you plan on writing a sequel to your recent novel.

Of course, you can also take the traditional marketing approach and research a segment of the general population, learn what their passions, interests and backgrounds are and write stories that meet their interests. However, if your work feels forced (as if you were merely writing to get book sales from a certain demographic) readers may catch on. Your stories also might lack sincerity.

You also might not fully appreciate the creative process. Because it is during the creative process that writers often reap their greatest rewards as they tap into hidden truths, emotions, perceptions and beliefs about themselves.

Finding Your Book Reading Audience

After you finish creating a story, to find your reading audience you may want to follow the route Emily Dickinson took and let someone else spread the word about your books. You can do this by hiring a marketing firm or public relations specialists to tell the media and reading public about your book titles.

Should you decide to market and promote your books yourself you can connect with readers on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also blog and write columns for periodicals that reach the types of people you think would love to hang out with your book characters were they real people. When using the column writing approach, always be sure to include your name, book title and website URL in your byline.

If you plan on writing several novels, consider building a database that includes the names and contact information of book readers who purchase your novels, comment on your writings or let you know how much they appreciate you work. Also, distribute free or complimentary copies of your books to book reviewers and book club presidents.

Thank you for reading my blog. Please return often and read more blog posts. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! 

Sources:

Love Pour Over Me – http://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html