Share-A-Brain

It seems like every time I have a concern or a conversation about that concern then someone in the blogosphere has blogged about it the very next time I log on.  Spooky share-a-brain I believe is the official term.  Last night I had a very long discussion about who, as writers, we are supposed to be writing for.  I've been haunting discussion boards on Amazon, free content places like Wattpad and just about anywhere I can get an opinion.  I see that so many people want a specific formula.  And so many people really do not want a specific formula.  And that's not even considering those looking for an agent or a traditional publisher.  That's a whole different ball game too.  When a group of people argue about whether a story is good, bad or just plain boring, who exactly should you listen to?

I log on this morning to see - lo and behold, on the Kidlit blog, the question is addressed - who am I writing for?  Of course, the advice is to write for the professionals which is one of the reasons why so many indies are in fact indies.  They want to write for readers not professionals and definitely not those involved in marketing or sales.  Finding the right audience is harder than it sounds and yet so important.  I think I've just written a book for people like me and I haven't as yet met anyone like me so I think that might count as an epic fail.  Seriously though, the right audience can change everything.

Which leads me to an interesting post by Zoe Winters entitled The New Patrons.  Loving this post because it is so true.  Those inner circle of fans who really care about the books (and sometimes the author too) are the ones who make the biggest difference in terms of its success and more.  I love to see people really investing a part of themselves in a book that they've loved.  It might not be perfect but they see something special and are willing to put themselves out to try and improve it, make it work and get it out there in the world.  True fans are the ones who make or break a story in my opinion.  The most successful books (depending what you deem as successful) are the ones that people really care about.  At the same time, they are usually the books that a large chunk of people despise but either way, they stir up strong feelings.  I don't get why some authors haven't embraced this fact but they are missing out if they underestimate these fans.

Tomorrow is Easter so I may be too busy cleaning up chocolate handprints to blog.  (Thanks, extended family, thanks a whole bunch).  Have a good one, whatever you do.