When I - or anyone, for that matter - says "know your market", we mean that you need to know exactly who your book or product is FOR. Not just YA or MG but YA readers who like paranormal romance or MG boys who want potty humor and drawings.
The reason you need to know your market is because step #2 is to BE where your market is. My book is an MG for girls (mostly) ages 8-12 who like magic, friendship, and happy endings. This blog is not where I'm going to find those readers. Facebook is not where I'm going to find those readers. Researching where those kids hang out and get their reading recommendations from is crucial. I'm imagining that librarians, school events, and interactive websites are going to be top on the list of places that they are that I can also be (or my book can be, when I finally have a published book).
Being where your market is takes research and thinking outside the box. You may need to get your creative little head going to figure out how you can afford to be where you need to be, but you can totally do it - you wrote a book, after all. Well, you will have if you are at this stage of the game.
Know your market. Be where your market is. Any questions?
12 comments:
I like your positive thinking. You are right. If you can finish a book, everything else is frosting on the cake.
I'm a blogger, not a writer. I have no market. I can't relate to this at all...but it all makes perfect sense.
Yep, spot on. But thanks for putting it in plain English.
Thanks so much. I would not have thought of that on my own.
Good advice! I'm trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge Blogs this month. My alphabet blog is at myqualityday.blogspot.com
Excellent advice and very much appreciated to! I'm always all ears for marketing tips!!
http://bettyalark.blogspot.com
That's a great point. FB and blogging and even Twitter let me connect to other writers, which I totally enjoy--and a lot of them are readers too--but the teens and other readers of YA--they are elsewhere! Maybe I'll have to start spreading my tentacles into other areas once I snag a book contract. ;o)
i'd hang out in the bookstore, in the sci fi section...where else?
and what happens when they go away? i'm afraid of ebook takeover! ah!
Excellent point, Laura. Nice to meet you on this A-Z challenge. Have a nice weekend. :)
As usual great advice. Now, where am I going to find mad, silly, funny people who like romance? Oh yes, my friends LOL
That's really been an issue for me with the poetry blog. The poems are for kids, but the target would be teachers, librarians, and parents with kids of all ages (eventually the poems will be categorized by suggested age level). It's going to take some research to find them all, that's for sure.
Good advice. I need to wrap my head around this stuff and get moving for my next project.
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