Comments on: Who is your reader?

By: D. C. DaCosta

D. C. DaCosta — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 03:03:33 +0000

I write for people like me.
I fear, however, that there aren’t very many….

By: Joelle

Joelle — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 21:29:45 +0000

I was just reading a book about start-up companies and he talked about how to define your customer. One thing he said that I found interesting, and I think could apply here, is that our first inclination is to define target groups by age or race – senior citizens, or black twenty-somethings. He suggests you instead group people by interests and values. That way you cover many demographics, but are still specific. It might actually be a useful read for anyone doing a nonfiction book proposal. It’s called The $100 Startup.

By: Kevin A. Lewis

Kevin A. Lewis — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 19:24:57 +0000

I used to try including readership info in my fiction queries until it became apparent few agents cared about that end; I know it makes absolutely no sense, because were I in that seat that would be the main point I had in mind. So, these days I include an age tag for my Middle Grade/YA comic piece, and for my reworked A-Team piece I’ve merely removed all YA markers on the pitch letter and let the recipients figure out where the cash lands by themselves; they shouldn’t need me to do that for them if they’re good at their trade, one thinks….