John Helps You Write Better

With all this talk about ideal readers, it's important to take a second and make a point of highlighting the most critical part of developing a relationship with those readers once you find them - patience.

They're not all going to show up at once, and they're not going to come in huge droves all the time. Resist the urge to micro-manage and aim for consistency.

Once you start figuring out who your ideal reader is, someone always says "Yeah yeah, I get it" and then starts complaining that they're problem isn't the WHO it's the WHERE, as in "Where is my reader?"

They're all over the place, but you're going to have to consistently, intentionally, and regularly go outside your comfort zone or usual "marketing" habits to find them.

Things like a landing page. Or a promotional podcast. Or a newsletter. Or some graphics. Go just outside what you're used to and you'll find new readers.

Your ideal reader wants some bridge built between their reality and your created world. They don't necessarily only want token representation of a job or a goal, but more than that. They want to see a view of their world shown through how you've put your characters through their arcs, and how the character changes in relation to those arcs and the world.

If you're trying to make the sale, aim to build a relationship with your ideal reader based on a worldview or an expression of reality (through the unreality of what you're writing) that they can say speaks to them.

On the portable headset today while waiting for a cat food delivery, I thought it would a be good time to talk to you about your ideal reader.

So today, let's imagine this reader

• Who are they?
• How do they identify?
• What are you offering them - what's your plot? what are your themes?

And then tomorrow, we'll add characters and arcs to what you're offering and talk more about the sort of person they are.

Your book, whatever it is, isn't going to be for everyone. And you don't need to try and make it for everyone. There's going to be a set of people (I don't know how large a number) that just won't ever be interested in what you're writing - and that doesn't even have anything to do with you.

They won't like it because of the genre or the cover or the title or any number of other reasons that have nothing to do with who you are as a person or author and nothing to do with what you've written.

These are people you don't have to try and persuade to read your book. They're not your people. Your people are out there, and they're going to like your book (and you) for what you provide. Focus on them.

A conversation with a woman who was overwhelmed by all the not-writing things a writer "has" to do leads me to take a few minutes and explain to you that you don't need to do all that much every day.

If you're not published:

1. Produce your art
2. Track what you've done for the day
3. Tell someone about what you've done

If you are published, add the following:

• Tell people where they can buy what you've made