On knowing your audience

[sknox]

It's worth noting that a good many readers might be ignorant *and* the typical reader. I reckon my books have been read by perhaps scores. Maybe even a hundred. Statistically there's ample room there for ignorant readers.

I'll extend that. My novel A Child of Great Promise begins in the Camargue. I'll lay eight to five that most readers will not know that word, be ignorant that it is a region in southern France, and still fewer would know that there was once a Kingdom of Arles. I sort of relied on that ignorance, for it let me describe a setting and a people at least faintly exotic. Medieval cowboys in France? Ridiculous!

 

[Swank]

It's worth noting that a good many readers might be ignorant *and* the typical reader. I reckon my books have been read by perhaps scores. Maybe even a hundred. Statistically there's ample room there for ignorant readers.

I'll extend that. My novel A Child of Great Promise begins in the Camargue. I'll lay eight to five that most readers will not know that word, be ignorant that it is a region in southern France, and still fewer would know that there was once a Kingdom of Arles. I sort of relied on that ignorance, for it let me describe a setting and a people at least faintly exotic. Medieval cowboys in France? Ridiculous!

Totally get that. My novel about Stachybotrys probably threw people for a loop when Rhizopus lost out to Enerthenema Berkeleyanum Rost.

 

[Karapace]

That's absurd. How is a Buick Skylark going to end up overhead?

Trebuchet

 

[Karapace]

I'll extend that. My novel A Child of Great Promise begins in the Camargue. I'll lay eight to five that most readers will not know that word, be ignorant that it is a region in southern France, and still fewer would know that there was once a Kingdom of Arles.

Passed through Aries on the way to the Calanques, where we stayed in Cassis

 

[Montero]

Trebuchet

Had a rotten bill paying, admin, slow software blah afternoon. Wanted to relax for two minutes before the next ****. Thanks for that. Perfect.

 

[sknox]

Passed through Aries on the way to the Calanques, where we stayed in Cassis

Nice! (not Nice).

I'm jealous. I've never been, so had to make do with many videos and pictures and narratives, but I'm very glad to have "visited" that land. It's striking.

While in Arles, did you take in one of the bull fights? That's another aspect of this area that is peculiar, for they do not kill the bull.

 

[Karapace]

Nice! (not Nice).

I'm jealous. I've never been, so had to make do with many videos and pictures and narratives, but I'm very glad to have "visited" that land. It's striking.

While in Arles, did you take in one of the bull fights? That's another aspect of this area that is peculiar, for they do not kill the bull.

No we were busy climbing the limestone down on the coast. My wife is half French but her family are from the north near Roubaix

 

[Oligonicella]

I don't think Frank Herbert got in any knife fights and Arthur Clarke never did a space walk.

And the knife fights are unconvincing.

As for space walking, they train astronauts submerged in water. Never been swimming, you won't write convincingly.

 

[Oligonicella]

I’m with Laura on this. I have absolutely no interest or the energy to second-guess what my audience might or might not want. I write for myself and those who don’t like my stuff won’t read it. Worry about the things you can control.

Total agreement. I've said this from the first day on this forum. My series would never pass a publisher's reading (did it, done, didn't) so I chose another route. I'm not in it to make a buck, I'm in it to tell my tale. If people don't like the genre, I am not going to proselytize. If they don't like my style/approach, don't read any more than what convinced you. Not my audience.

 

[Oligonicella]

Trebuchet

For your viewing pleasure:

 

[Oligonicella]

A lot of these feedback responses could be met with finding and keeping (the harder part) a good editor. Though he's no longer able, I was extremely lucky to have one (Ogre, what a fortuitous nickname) for fifteen years. He had an interest in the genre but no experience or ability at all in the physical aspects I wrote about so I would (usually) diddle the text to make it understandable for him.

He also had a rather gentle life and working through the more harsh episodes was difficult for him and I had to delicately insert a word here or there to make it understandable while not changing the tone. In one particular scene involving a secondary trying to desperately convince my main he was destroying every other relationship he had she was using very harsh language (not just cussing). Ogre is one of those who thinks you can always rationally discuss things and couldn't understand why she would talk to him like that. I told him she was one step from giving up and didn't know what else to do. Still couldn't grasp so I finally told him he'd have to deal with the chapter as it was.

If you've never had someone trying to push you that last inch over the edge, it's hard to convey or understand the desperation in writing. You can imagine it and use all the 'right' words but that's different from understanding it.

 

[Oligonicella]

And the knife fights are unconvincing.

In 1942, Frank was enlisted in the military as the United States had joined the second world war. So he was at least taught the basics. Nontheless, the knife fights weren't all that convincing.

 

[clarissajaneen]

There's a couple main reasons for this advice. The first off being to dissuade writers from trying to write content that appeals to everyone. A lot of folks want to create something that is beloved across swaths of demographics, but realistically when a writer tries to create something for everyone, they end up creating it for no one because it ends up being to broad to really genuinely touch anyone.

The second reason is more for marketing, like many others have mentioned already in this thread, and won't be super relevant until you have a completed manuscript. If you publish traditionally, you should be giving your publisher a description of your target audience so they know what demographic is most likely to enjoy your story. And if you self-publish, you have to do all that work yourself so you know where to target your outreach. You can, of course, write a story just for you to show your friends. But if you're putting the time and effort in to get published (and money if you're self-publishing), then you want to make sure the right people who are most going to want to read your book are able to hear about it.