How to Identify Your Target Reader
By Jessica Brodie
Who is your ideal reader? Many of us say we write for everyone, for God, for ourselves, for our muse. Perhaps this is true… but deep down, there’s a special person we subconsciously write for. This is our “ideal reader.”
You might think of this as your avatar, model, archetype, exemplar, embodiment, or your “perfect reader person.”
The truth is that if your book is for everybody, it’s for nobody. It’s generic. It falls flat.
Our job as an author is to dig deep into WHO we are really writing for and then learn to sketch out that “perfect reader” so we can understand him or her—and write directly to him or her.
We must feel him or her closely, intimately. Know him or her. Write for him or her.
First, you write for you. Then you write for your reader.
People read for a variety of reasons: to be entertained, be inspired, be stimulated mentally or emotionally, be thrilled, go on an adventure, help them relax, be enthralled, be scared, be mesmerized, learn about a culture, a time, a person, etc.
WHY is your reader reading this?
The following downloadable (free) worksheet will help you answer targeted questions to help you understand your ideal reader:
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