Who is your audience?

As a writer, this is the most important question you need to ask yourself. This question is important, because it leads to other questions. How will my audience react to my writing? Will my audience relate to my writing? These questions are critical to ensuring that your writing is cohesive, inviting, and relatable. No writer should be saying that every person is their audience. That is a sign that they have little knowledge about writing, crafting for an audience, and creating work with an audience in mind. I doubt very seriously if book series like Captain Underpants were written by Dav Pilkey were written for everyone. After a few pages, it is clear that those books were written for mischievous little boys grades 2-5 that need books to read. The overall appeal and popularity of those books make the series inviting for other readers that want to step into the shoes of those boys in each adventure. Through the adventures, readers can become rebels, leaders, and heroes. Learning to write with an audience is key to being a successful writer.

Happy writing!  

Whatever happened to just being a writer?

I come from a family of artists. My mother is a second generation author. I remember her writing circle that produced publications at a time when it was considered to be outstanding for an author of color to get published. The fact of the matter was that those avenues just didn’t exist for writers of color. Self-publishing has changed much of this along with the establishment of new indie companies and new vanity press companies. Therefore, celebrated a new book release through parties, press releases, etc. is beginning to become a thing of the past. There are at least 2-3 books published every day. Therefore, it is imperative for writers to begin to set their own standard for success. Some writers base their success on book sales. The new buzz in the book industry is the .99 cent authors. Also, the authors that do promotions that are not free where their work is fifty percent or more off. I base my success of my work solely on my ability to put together well thought out work that children can both enjoy and learn from. As an author, I want to get my work in the hands of readers. This can be done in a variety of ways that may not always include an ebook download or purchases from the two main distribution outlets. Writers must define success for themselves in the midst of this industry and there is nothing wrong with being a writer.

Happy reading!