Part Three: Finding Your Audience
Finding your audience and giving them what they want to read is a big part of becoming an author.
The most important member of your writing audience is you. Never forget that, because if you’ve enjoyed creating a piece and you’re happy with the result then you’ll have satisfied 100% of your audience. Your enthusiasm will shine through your work, too. As the old saying goes, if you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life—but if you want to get published, you’ll need to keep a wider target audience in mind.
Some authors create detailed profiles of their ideal reader, right down to their likely politics. Others write for themselves, then submit their work to publishers of the things they read for pleasure. That’s how I began my professional writing career. The first article I sold was to The Garden magazine, which is the monthly journal of the Royal Horticultural Society. I’d already been a member for long enough to absorb their house style, and had a detailed knowledge of the kind of article—its subject matter, length, and approach, for example—they would be likely to accept.
When I was making my living by writing articles for magazines, it helped that I could supply my own photographs. I could offer a complete package, the publication’s production team didn’t have to worry about sourcing illustrations and I was paid for each picture. That meant everyone was happy!
There aren’t as many opportunities to sell short stories to magazines as there used to be, but those which accept submissions offer detailed guidelines so make sure you follow them. You would be amazed how many people miss out this vital step. Do your research by reading plenty of back copies to get a taste of what the editor is looking for. Don’t send a story about a serial killer to The People’s Friend, for example.
Visit any publication’s webpage and you’ll find a link to their guidelines for submission. It’s usually right at the bottom of the page, close to “contact us”. Study them, and you’ll be able to make sure your work won’t be rejected because it’s unsuitable.
When it comes to non-fiction, there are more opportunities to see your name in print. Letters to the editor, or short, accurate articles written from personal experience make useful fillers for magazines and newspapers. This is where my memories of how things were done before the Internet Age will find a home. Again, study the publications which might accept your work for several weeks before submitting.
Editors love to see something similar to, but different from, the things they already publish. They’re looking for new angles and new voices on topics that are already popular with their readers, so give them what they want. Whatever you write, make sure it has a snappy title. Why did King George V Say ‘Bu**er Bognor’? is more likely to get a second glance than What I Did On My Holiday in West Sussex (I’ll leave you to argue what His Majesty did or didn’t say on his deathbed!).
If you want to write novellas, full-length novels, or non-fiction books, luck and fashion are almost as important as literary brilliance. You can improve your chance of acceptance by finding out exactly what type of book literary agents and publishers are looking for by studying a reference book such as the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2021.
If you haven’t found your writing tribe yet, you’ll find the Writers’ and Artists Yearbook invaluable. It’s packed full of information, with details of writing competitions, magazines, newspapers, literary agents, and publishers but make sure you use an up-to-date copy as contact details within the publishing industry change frequently.
Once you’ve made sure you aren’t sending your novel to a professional who doesn’t accept fiction, or your autobiography to a firm that only deals with poetry, whether your work is accepted doesn’t only depend on how well-written it is. An editor might enjoy your work without feeling the surge of endless enthusiasm needed to see your project through the months of editing and promotion needed to produce, and then sell, it.
Competition is so great for the limited number of publishing slots available, my advice is to write the book of your heart—a project that you would work on for free. Throw all your enthusiasm into it and that will show in the quality of your writing. If you are completely committed to your project, your conviction will see you through the submission process until you are successful, no matter how long it takes.
I’ll be covering book submissions in more detail in future parts of Writing for Pleasure, Profit and Posterity, so make sure you subscribe to my blog using the form below. That way, you won’t miss a thing!
Writing competitions give you an important incentive to get a piece written and polished before the closing date. Use an easily readable font and type-size—Times New Roman, 12-point is a good one if the competition doesn’t have a specific requirement.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com
Make sure you study the rules. You don’t want to be disqualified because your work is too long, or you’ve missed the closing date. When I became a mature student at the University of Gloucestershire, my daughter (an alumna of the University of Reading) gave me a handy tip regarding assignment deadlines which works well for writing competitions, too. Put a note on your phone or calendar for a week BEFORE the closing date. Finish your piece by then and you’ll still have a whole seven days to refine it, instead of cramming all your checks and edits into the last frantic hours before the deadline. During my recent university career I had reason to thank my daughter lots of times for that suggestion!
Comb through the small print before submitting anything to make sure that by entering, you aren’t signing away your rights to send the same piece to other competitions.
In Part Two of this series, I suggested that you should find a writing community to support you. Whether you belong to one of the big writing associations or a smaller local one, they will be able to give you lots of information about which publications are buying work, and news of competitions.
There are also lots of Facebook groups which can help. Just key “writing groups” into the search box. As with all online content it pays to be cautious, so make sure you’re a good fit with other members. There are always some people who like to take charge and they can be intimidating when you’re just starting out. Whether you join a virtual writing group or a real one, don’t be afraid to leave if you’re not finding the help and support you need.
Part Four will cover where to find inspiration for your writing, and how to capture it. To read the next episode of Writing for Pleasure, Profit, and Posterity as soon as it’s published, subscribe to my blog using the form below.