Time for a new #poll - this one for #readers and #books enthusiasts. Sending to @bookstodon -- please #boost to get more responses (which will hopefully be more useful).
Which reading tracking / collection site(s) do you use?
@RuchardXBrooks @jtmoriartywriter @ruthannereid @bookstodon Indeed, some of the most interesting and creative works wasn't profitable in the author's lifetime.
Think of "Confederacy of Dunces" for example. Or Dow Mossman's "Stones of Summer".
@jtmoriartywriter @ruthannereid @bookstodon You used a key word there: commercial. Not all things that are created have to have a commercial motive or even incentive. Look at Mastodon, Eugen didn't start it with the idea of it being a profitable business.
Similarly in writing, there are plenty of writers that don't look at it as a profitable endeavor. They look at it as something they feel strongly about doing, and hope there is an audience for their work.
@jtmoriartywriter @Unatributed @bookstodon I actually think it's crucial to create what you want/need to create without looking at market.
Market changes, for one thing - the stuff you created to sell sell sell will only sell for so long.
And for another, there is such JOY is making the thing that's in your heart to make. It's fulfilling - far more than just making a sale.
My two cents, obviously!
@ruthannereid @jtmoriartywriter @Unatributed @bookstodon
I think a writer needs to keep the market in mind.
I mean, sure, if you're doing it for the joy of writing, then lay on, MacDuff.
If, when it's done, you want to make it available to other people to read, there are a whole bunch of market factors to consider.
Knowing what they are helps manage your expectations about what might happen next.
@nlowell @jtmoriartywriter @Unatributed @bookstodon True! It really all depends on what you're trying to get out of it. Though I think part of that, crucially, is allowing others to get what they want out of it, and not hold all to the same standard.
It's all fascinating stuff, really. The advances of AI will change it all even further.
@ruthannereid @nlowell @jtmoriartywriter @Unatributed @bookstodon - I always knew what I wanted from a writing career, which was essentially everything. I wanted all the pleasures of writing for myself; I wanted the recognition of acceptances and publication; I wanted readers to value the work; I wanted to make a living all my life by that and no other; and, oh yeah, I wanted to be rich.
...Four out of five ain't bad...?
@nlowell @ruthannereid @jtmoriartywriter @bookstodon
I don't believe you can use Market and Audience interchangeably.
Markets are more "hard" definitions. Like children's books, adult books, teen books, etc.
Audience is more flexible. For example, I might be writing a SciFi novel, but if that novel doesn't use hard science, I might lose part of the audience. If it's a Speculative Sci-Fi work that's only going to get part of the Sci-Fi audience. Etc.
@nlowell @ruthannereid @jtmoriartywriter @bookstodon
but to the idea of whether you should have an audience or not depends on the result(s) you want...
You can target a specific audience, following the concepts that the audience recognizes in a work. Or, you can write to an audience that isn't well defined, but maybe within a specific genre.
I think we've seen enough genre-bending books that show that the audience isn't always defined, but can be found.
@Unatributed @nlowell @ruthannereid @jtmoriartywriter @bookstodon
I agree with Unattributed. I've been researching indie authoring and traditional authoring of late and what I've found is that a lot of indie authors and even bigger authors have a small little niche they fill rather than a big market appeal to everyone within a particular genre.
For example, take romance, the biggest indie book market, a lot of authors do not write all types of romance but will stick to one kind (1/2)
@Unatributed @nlowell @ruthannereid @jtmoriartywriter
@bookstodon
For example, some authors will write dark romance, fluffy contemporary. There's even a subgroup for monster romances. Each and every one of these subgroups have their audience and appeal, but are under the romance market.
At the same time the way they are written, the tropes, blurbs and covers are all different and dependent on the audience they are writing for, even if these are all essentially love stories.
@bloodymar @Unatributed @ruthannereid @jtmoriartywriter @bookstodon
Some good points here.
To me, a market is a universe of buyers. They can be large like romance or toothpaste users. They can be narrow like sweet, cozy, Western romance or Tom's of Maine.
Audience represents the amount of that market you serve.
The reason self-pubs show up in narrow niches is because we can publish more than a book a year. It gives us huge market leverage and it shows in those narrow niches.
@jtmoriartywriter @nlowell @bloodymar @ruthannereid @bookstodon
This is actually a good process when working on a piece. While I have only had a couple of short stories published (kinda), I definitely believe in the process of (a) work shopping your project, (b) getting beta readers, and (c) getting a proper editor.
This can make all the difference in producing a competent work that has a good chance of finding an audience, or not.
Unattributed 👤 ☑
Ruthanne
J T MORIARTY
Richard
Nathan Lowell (he/him) 📎
Chaz Brenchley
Mariam Al-Masri