Discussing “Are you my reader?”

By Holly Lisle

She's SOMEbody's ideal reader...
She's SOMEbody's ideal reader…

It may seem strange to consider that writers don’t WANT everyone to read their books. That in fact we have specific readers we want our work to reach, and other folks we genuinely don’t want to have as readers.

I have a very clear and specific idea of the person I’m writing for when I’m planning and writing each novel.

Why?  Because I know what I write is not going to appeal to everyone.  It’s going to appeal to people who share certain core values that matter to me, and who love some elements of genre and content  I love.

I write what I love—my ideal readers will love what I love, and because of this, my fiction will fit them.

Here is my description of my ideal reader…

And, trust me—this is not everyone. This is, in fact, a pretty small subset of everyone.

So… Are you my reader? If not, whose reader are you, and what are YOU looking for in fiction.

If you’re a writer, who’s your ideal reader?

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