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How to identify the target audience?

Is it ok to not have a specific target audience?

  • In my story there are five supporting characters alongside the main character, and they all have very different sub-plots. The main character is a young woman who is struggling with coming into her own and questioning the things she always believed in. Her mentor/role model is a middle-aged man who lost his wife and child, and is also secretly seeking redemption for something bad that he did. He finds a kindred spirit in a strong, middle-aged woman who also lost her husband and children. The main character's companions consist of a boy (he matures throughout the story and becomes a warrior) trying to live up to the reputation if his older brother who was killed in battle, as well as a devoutly religious young man and an cynical atheist who challenge one another but also manage to strengthen one another. So essentially my characters range from mid-teenagers, twenty-somethings and up to forties, and the character sub-plots cover coming of age, redemption, life after love, and religious beliefs, amongst other things. I honestly can't say who my target audience is, because I would say ano of those, i want a wide range of people to be able to get something out of my story. The central conflict is a war, and all these people are involved with it in one way or another. Do i need to haveca specific age group in mind as a target audience or is it ok to have a mixture like this?

  • Answer:

    It's perfectly fine not to have a target audience. Real, true writers, of the heart usually (Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Richard Matheson come to mind, considering their ranges of books and genres), don't have intended, target audiences. They literally write whatever the hell they want to write. For King and Matheson, that's usually horror, but you'll see books that are completely out of their expected genre from time to time. Personally, I have no target audience in my writing either. I like to think of it as a story of life, a sort of recreation of life, but my preferred genre (horror) is the prominent force of the novel, in some ways. Books like "Twilight," "The Hunger Games," or any James Patterson novel or John Grisham are targeted for their selected readers. It's not a bad thing to do that, but it can be restricting, and isn't always written from the heart. I respect authors who write for themselves and for others simultaneously, not worrying about who's going to read it or why. That's the beauty of writing, of being a writer! You can be different! Haha! Good luck with your writing! Cheers!

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It's perfectly fine not to have a target audience. Real, true writers, of the heart usually (Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Richard Matheson come to mind, considering their ranges of books and genres), don't have intended, target audiences. They literally write whatever the hell they want to write. For King and Matheson, that's usually horror, but you'll see books that are completely out of their expected genre from time to time. Personally, I have no target audience in my writing either. I like to think of it as a story of life, a sort of recreation of life, but my preferred genre (horror) is the prominent force of the novel, in some ways. Books like "Twilight," "The Hunger Games," or any James Patterson novel or John Grisham are targeted for their selected readers. It's not a bad thing to do that, but it can be restricting, and isn't always written from the heart. I respect authors who write for themselves and for others simultaneously, not worrying about who's going to read it or why. That's the beauty of writing, of being a writer! You can be different! Haha! Good luck with your writing! Cheers!

Cody

"Do i need to haveca specific age group in mind as a target audience" To sell your book to a publisher? Yes, you do. You can't expect adults to be interested in parts of your story aimed at kids, or for a book to be sold as suitable for kids if it's full of mature content. But it's normal for teens to read books aimed at adults, if that's what you'rereally asking.

cathrl69

Well, it's not illegal, or anything like that. But having a target audience in mind, and designing the book for them, certainly has its charm$. Makes it easier to sell the book. On the other hand, books like Gone With The Wind certainly did all right, and it had quite a range of characters. So, IMO, go with what's in your heart. That has worked for a lot of authors.

Whortleberry

Sure. But it will probably make it harder to sell. Publishers like to pigeon hole things to they can market them effectively.

Well, it's not illegal, or anything like that. But having a target audience in mind, and designing the book for them, certainly has its charm$. Makes it easier to sell the book. On the other hand, books like Gone With The Wind certainly did all right, and it had quite a range of characters. So, IMO, go with what's in your heart. That has worked for a lot of authors.

Whortleberry

"Do i need to haveca specific age group in mind as a target audience" To sell your book to a publisher? Yes, you do. You can't expect adults to be interested in parts of your story aimed at kids, or for a book to be sold as suitable for kids if it's full of mature content. But it's normal for teens to read books aimed at adults, if that's what you'rereally asking.

cathrl69

Sure. But it will probably make it harder to sell. Publishers like to pigeon hole things to they can market them effectively.

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