Write Better Books. Know Who You're Writing For.
Prepare your book for the marketplace by zeroing in on why people will buy your books.
Eyes tend to light up when I introduce myself as a book coach. Either with curiosity as to what that even is (it’s like a piano teacher for writers, helping them work the keyboard to make music; or like a literature doula, helping writers bring their books into the world) or with aspiration. The latter ones have publishing their work on their bucket list, and their expertise and excitement gets me excited too.
I mean it—I truly love talking with creators about their passions! Art begins like an itch under the skin. I take joy in it, and want every person with a will and a voice to be heard.
Writers, like all artists, need to approach the work with their whole heart on display. The hard part comes in realizing that in order to make a living, we need to break our hearts into profitable little pieces. Heartbreaking.
It’s a cynical take, but it’s important to set up this distinction in business. Writers create for themselves; authors create for the reader. Simply put, when art becomes product, it stops being about the artist.
But is that entirely a bad thing? Let’s look at how to take action to prepare your book for the marketplace by looking at who makes the market: people.
Who turns a book into a bestseller?
One of the first questions I make sure to ask my clients is “Who is going to buy this book?”
The more specific answers I get in return, the more prepared I know writers are to hit the ground running. But instead I usually hear a sheepish laugh, or “My mom, maybe.” While I hope everyone’s mother can be so supportive, author careers don’t grow like that.
Publishing—indie or otherwise—is a game of money and public opinion, and writers are already targeting a niche audience. In the U.S. Book Show in May 2023, one panel about data shows exactly how that can be calculated.
Panelists noted that only 20% of Americans are “book people,” as Peter Hildick-Smith, president of Codex Group, put it. “That comes out to about 50 million people. We have found through our research that you only need to reach about 1% of those people—or 500,000 people—to be a consistent bestseller.”
And when it comes to indie publishing, the “bestseller” badge can be yours if you reach the top of any given category on Amazon. How many readers is that exactly? Depends on the popularity or how niche the target categories are.
But looking at publishing in this way feels not just cynical, but unfair. Boiling down something as personal and passionate as art into unfeeling numbers feels like a recipe for creative disaster. But buying into that defeatism is how we lose sight of the real people searching for your perfect book.
Remember, it’s the people who already love books that will pick yours up. That’s the glimmer of hope: Your ideal reader is already trying to find you, so all you need to know how to attract them to create a sale.
Speaking The Reader’s Language
Think of this way. We’re doing a unique service for the people who do buy books: we’re helping them think. Just like how public transit helps people go places without walking the whole way, reading leads people through complex and highly emotional situations. Learning how to speak to the reader’s needs will give you a major upper hand.
Focus not just on demographics. Think about what someone’s age or profession says about them as a person: What are their wants? What makes their eyes pop when they walk through the bookstore? What unique selling point can you highlight to make readers throw their hands in the air and proclaim, “Finally!”
Consumers Buy Art For Three Main Reasons
Escapism
It seems paradoxical, but readers like intense stories that grab their attention and create a real fight or flight response. While fiction is fake by definition, the more real a story feels, readers become more easily absorbed into the narrative. So make sure your books rate high on the Richter scale of emotion, which encourages a bigger emotional reaction in the reader as well.
Don’t forget to keep your plot in line with genre expectations: layering on “exciting” tropes that don’t match the suspension of disbelief can make you look out of touch, or worse, amateurish.
Self-expression
Paradoxically, consumers purchase art as a way to express how they feel as well. When it comes to buying a t-shirt or art to hang on the wall, the design reflects some of the values and aesthetics of the individual buying it, just as much as it does the creator.
What does this mean for writers? This means that if you value fast paced plots, your ideal reader will too. Your best bet to reach them is to look for the books they’re raving about and use that connection to your advantage. It also means that crafting characters readers will resonate with, ones that are able to live the life readers wish they could.
New Understanding
This seems like it would work only for non-fiction, but I believe the same can be said for works of fiction. After all, isn’t writing the most direct line to experience something that we don’t have access to right now? Through your books, your target reader can learn more about what it’s like to live in another person’s shoes, to see the world more fully. I know several times I’ve picked up a book because the main character was vastly different compares to me, and those books were more memorable because of it.
Ultimately, the goal of art for the consumer is to confirm their own identity. That’s why some people reject what is otherwise good art. It doesn’t connect with them specifically, and the tendency is to assume that our own experience is universal.
Decide right away what specific itch you’re helping your reader to scratch
When we’re just getting started, each individual sale can feel like a miracle. But creating our book with a focused strategy helps to pull back the curtain on “the miracle” to reveal it as a fact of the business.
Start by looking at yourself: what makes you want to buy a book?
You have a favorite genre, but at some point you’ve heard it all before and want something new. (Or if you can’t get enough, you want to hear it all again). Or you have a beloved author who left a lasting impression after every book you’ve read.
You need to zero in on what makes you say “Yes, finally!” when searching for a book, or else lose the unique selling point your books has to offer.
Take Action
I’ll give you some questions about your current book idea. The idea is to challenge you to look beyond targeting specific keywords or categories on Amazon. You still need to research those things, but readers buy the books. Focus on their needs first, and use the tools at your disposal to make sure they can find you.
What have readers said they want to experience?
What’s something in your genre that your reader hasn’t seen in a while? Or not at all?
In the reviews of other books like yours, what good things did people say? What problems did people write about?
What would you love to see in the world that readers have also been wanting to get?
The last question is especially helpful, because this is your art, after all. Readers buy the books, but it can be difficult to keep momentum if you aren’t thrilled with the story you’re working on.
In fact, since you’re always your first reader, it’s important to keep this in mind: if this is the story you’re dying to seeing in the world, then chances are other people want to see the same thing. For widespread commercial success, we sometimes think we have to sell out, but that’s not true. You can still serve your market while enjoying the ride.
All you need to do is get to know your reader and let them know that they’re not alone.