Discover the value of knowing your story's ideal reader and how it guides your writing. Explore real-life examples of writers modifying their characters to connect with their target audience. Learn how understanding your ideal reader enhances storytelling, editing, and book marketing strategies.
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Define One Perfect Reader First
An ideal reader is the one person who will love your book as much as you do.
Defining that person before you write helps ensure the story delivers the emotional experience they want, reducing the risk of writing for nobody.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Use Your Ideal Reader As An Editing Filter
Use your ideal reader to write with purpose and edit with focus.
Cut characters, subplots, or settings that won't appeal to that reader so revisions prioritize what matters to them.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Know Your Reader Before You Pitch Or Market
Identify your target audience early to ease pitching and marketing.
Agents expect you to know your audience; self-published authors can target specific communities instead of wasting effort on the wrong readers.
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In this episode, we're going to talk about your story's ideal reader -- or the one person who is going to love your book just as much as you do. Here's a quick overview of what we talk about in this episode:
[01:00] What is an ideal reader? And why does your ideal reader matter?
[02:20] How understanding your ideal reader can help you write with purpose and edit with focus.
[03:15] How understanding your ideal reader can help you when it comes time to pitch agents and market your book.
[04:45] Meet my ideal reader, Sage, and hear how she helps me cut through the noise and stay focused
[06:45] How one writer's ideal reader helped her get back on track after making big changes in her manuscript
[09:20] 10 questions to help you identify your story's ideal reader
[12:45] What about everyone else? What if I want my story to appeal to everyone?
[14:15] Should each of my stories have a different ideal reader? Or would all my stories share the same ideal reader?
[15:25] Key points and a recap of the episode.
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