What Race Do They Belong To? Representation matters to most people – especially to racial minorities. If you want to write a novel that appeals to Asian teens living in the US, you should make sure that your protagonist is an Asian person. Small steps like this will help in increasing the readership for your book. What Gender Do They Identify As? Gender is an important form of identification. It affects how people think and what they’re interested in. If you are writing a book about dating tips for men in their 20s, make sure that you include material that will appeal to young men. You also have to make sure that your book’s content addresses dating life problems that are common exclusively to men. What Kind of Values Do They Have? It’s also important to get a feel for your audience’s psychological attributes. One of these attributes is its values. Values are whatever ideals they believe in and what qualities or ideas they value in life. Once you have an idea of what your audience’s values are, you will be able to tailor your book to fit with their values. For example, if you are writing about the history of feminism, you will know that your target audience should consist mostly of people from the political left. What Interests Do They Have? This question is more relevant when writing a non-fiction book. This is because a non-fiction book is focused on a particular subject in most cases (for example, woodworking). If you’re writing a book on woodworking, your book should target woodworking enthusiasts. People tend to read about subjects that they are interested in or participate in as a hobby. Therefore, it is important for you as a writer to be aware of this fact. Consider Using a Pen Name A pen name is an alternate and fictitious name that writers (authors) use to identify their work. The pen name is usually not the writer’s real name and is the only name the author uses to identify their work. Therefore, on the cover of the book and throughout the book, only the author’s pen name will be present.
56
