Lesson 2 of 7 Free account 4 min read
Know Your Reader: Audience, Category and the Promise of a Book
Who your book is for, which shelf it belongs on, and the specific promise it makes to the reader who picks it up.
Key takeaways
- Writing for everyone means writing for no one; describe one specific reader in detail.
- Your category or genre is a set of expectations, and readers notice when you break them by accident.
- Every book makes a promise on its cover, title and first pages, and the ending has to keep it.
- Read recent books in your category so you know what readers are used to, then decide where you will differ.
New writers often say their book is for everyone. It is a generous instinct, and it makes the book worse. A book written for everyone has no clear voice, no obvious shelf, and no reason for a particular person to choose it over the other books next to it.
Knowing your reader is not a marketing chore you do after the book is done. It shapes every decision you make while writing: how much you explain, how fast you move, what you can assume, and what the ending owes.
Who Is My Target Reader?
Start with one person. Not a demographic, a person. Give them an age, a job, a reason they read, and the last three books they enjoyed. Picture where they are when they read: on a commute, at bedtime with a child, at a desk with a highlighter. That one reader becomes your filter.
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