Do You Ever Have Trouble Choosing an Audience?

[The_Long_Serpent]

Maybe the genre isn't popular where you live? Maybe it's too niche and specific? Maybe it's a darker and edgier deconstruction?

Personally, I have a draft that has prose simple and direct enough for a children's book, but themes and plot points that appeal more to adults.

Do you ever have trouble choosing a target audience for your books? Do you even bother? And how did you solve the conundrum?

 

[ForestDweller]

I had a review expressing that problem. Apparently, I can't write a wish-fulfillment isekai harem and drama in the same story.

 

[EternalSunset0]

For me, not at all. Back when I was newer and was doing a collab with another person, we sort of had that problem.

Now, I pretty much know the people who would read my stuff, and I specifically cater my stuff to them, too.

 

[Valmond]

I don’t choose a target audience. Rather, I simply write what I feel like writing. I do that the best I can. Rewrite line by line, edit line by line, and an audio reader for final confirmation. My works can be read by just about anyone. I am however trying to expand that net. I believe right now, I have not quite touched LGBTQ+, which I am confident I can. The most I did was hint it at one point. My intention is simply to write a story, and that is all. In the process of this, I managed to create a diverse story, that can appeal to a wide range of people. The problem however, is for them to have the patience to reach the part where their supposed interests are.

I constantly carry all ideas from the time they are introduced, all the way to the end. As a result, readers usually tend to like my works when they find it. So, pretty much, I am focusing on improving myself as well as expanding my accessibility. I have no intention of rolling over for one side or the other. Which allows me to take the craft even more seriously.

 

[The_Long_Serpent]

I had a review expressing that problem. Apparently, I can't write a wish-fulfillment isekai harem and drama in the same story.

It doesn't seem impossible to me, but I tend to stay away from wish-fufillment stuff.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I figure the easiest audience to write for is people who are like me: female.

I say write whatever inspires you, and that passion will show through your work. If you like it, someone like you will also like it.

 

[DubstheDuke]

I have never even thought about an audience, which might be why my work is unpopular- but here is my opinion.

My audience is me.

I like my story, and people like me will like my story. So do I really need to target an audience in the first place? After all, if in doing so I create something that I enjoy less, what's the point?

 

[Queenfisher]

This thread feels like such a personal attack o_o.

I have literally just finished writing another post on SHF about exactly that!

Spooky coincidences...

So in short -- YES! A lot. I am actually gathering random novels on SHF that I feel are also having troubles with defining their audience, and I put them all into my folder of "Eclectic". Because they are.

Makes them all the more precious in my eyes

 

[Ral]

I'm not really a writer, though I really want to, but here is my opinion on the whole thing: It depends.

If you want to sell your story or something, the best would be do choose a genre. The genre have specific audience. There are certain audience for the Science Fiction Genre, a certain audience for Romance Genre, a different audience for the Super Hero genre, etc. You might have to research this. Or maybe you know a person or persons who reads the same genre you are writing for. Writing for a specific person or persons could help you.

Then there also traditional publishing, that is publishing thought publishing companies like HarperCollins. These companies have their own audience and they tend to publish only certain genres. They have rules and guidelines to what they would receive.

There are also fan fiction which already have an established audience, the fans.

Many though really just write for themselves. Their audience is themselves. You might think that is kinda restrictive but not true. If you have certain taste, then there are thousands, if not millions out there, who share it. If you really like what you wrote, then there are thousands if not millions of others who would like it too. Still, if others don't like it, no problem. The most important audience is you and that is the only person you have to satisfy.

Have an audience in mind, even if it is only a single person, even if you write only for yourself. As long as you have an audience in mind, then there is no problem. Even the very niche, there are still thousands out there as the audience for that. The problem actually happens if you don't have a clear idea of what your audience are. If you have no clear audience in mind, then your story would likely have no audience at all.

 

[LordAstrea]

I didn't give it a ton of thought because I really love catgirls and wanted to tell their story in the way I planned for so long. Then I wanted to add other beastkin/demihumans as well. Now I want a whole guild of them. *huff huff* But now the story has reached the point where it is out of my hands. Their will guides me. I only put down the words.
But yeah, in all seriousness, I started writing for myself. My audience would be the type that likes conspiracies in a big fantasy world following one mc for the most part, but also getting perspectives from others that are important for character development. Slow-burn harem and isekai sprinkled in too.

 

[Leti]

Try writing something that appeals to yourself unless you have a plan to abandon the story or can bear with it until the end. It's easy to lose interest in your own story if you don't like what you write.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Nigga just write whatever the fuck you vibe with. Law of probability states that somewhere in this blasted world there are fucks who'd read your shit. You just need to market and shill it to the right place.

Shamelessness is the name of the game

 

[thedude3445]

I always choose a very specific target audience for my stories: I pick one of my friends and write the story to appeal to that person as much as possible. Then I post it and desperately hope other people like it too. It's worked OK so far.

 

[Deleted member 29081]

It's all about the marketing. If your novel doesn't have an audience, you make one.