Into the Fire

IF we write it, will they come? IF we market it, will they buy? IF we blog about it, will they be intrigued? IF we offer a free copy, will they take it? IF they read it, will they like it?

And that’s where we are today. The reading of that novel you’ve invested maybe years in writing . . . The question remains: Who is your audience? An interesting thing about authors and novels is a reader might like one or more of their books but not like all of them. Those of us who are avid readers can attest to this fact. Now we might have read upward of four or five novels from a favorite author, but along comes number six and we’re disappointed. We don’t like it. It happens to the best in the business. No writers can please everyone all the time—even their devoted fans. Writers do evolve, and many writers try new things—their approaches, their styles, even their deliveries and topics.

Sometimes it’s intentional—they want to try a new angle to a story stirring in their heads. They write it. They pick up new readers as a result—those who’ve never read their previous works perhaps. They lose some old faithfuls because the new effort doesn’t resonate. The faithful most likely will stick around for the next book giving the author the benefit of their doubt, but some will simply move on to someone new. When authors change their work in significant ways, they do run the risk of losing some of their devoted customers.

Still, an author must move in the direction of his creativity. Certainly not smugly but with a heart for hearing from the Spirit in his/her life. The reasons for writing are multiple, and although sometimes definable, not always tangible. What inspires one writer bores another, and what blesses one reader will strike another as mundane.

So, back to “the audience”. As an author, do you really want just anyone picking up your work to read? After spending all that time, energy, hope, and effort, do you want someone who prefers chick lit reading your thriller? Unlikely to happen, but I once read a speculative faith novel (and the “faith” here is a loose application) because I misunderstood the premise, thinking it was more supernatural than speculative. Hear me when I say the author is a good writer, but I really didn’t like the novel. It was the first in a trilogy, and I won’t be reading the final two installments. I was not the intended audience. This is important. In so many ways.

If, as a reader, you enjoy the “way” a writer writes or the themes of a particular author, and the plots of the stories are somewhat secondary to those factors, chances are you will like whatever the author creates. If, as a reader, you want plausible action-packed plots and your favorite author writes a subdued story dealing with a romantic tragedy, chances are you either won’t pick up the book in the first place or you’ll try it out believing it couldn’t possibly be lacking in the trademark fast-paced storyline—and then be disappointed when it is.

This audience thing is a critical factor in marketing to those readers who will actually appreciate your book. Because you could have a glorious marketing scheme, a fantastic website or blog, be one of those lavish gift-givers to bookstore managers in a radius of three states, but if you’re not reaching those readers who will ultimately love your novel, look out.

I reluctantly gave my second novel to a woman who didn’t read fiction. After she’d heard several others talking up the story, she asked to read it. I asked her if she was sure about it because I knew of her non-fiction reading diet. Oh yes, she was sure. I gave her a copy of the manuscript and several months later, she’d read about 65 pages and “couldn’t get into it”. All the praise for the novel which I’d received vanished. The fear factor soared. She was not my intended audience, and I wished I’d never given it to her.

Probably more than anyone I know, I include a list of disclaimers for my work (not conducive to marketing, I might add). I write Christian fiction, non-traditional romance, focusing on relationship between man and woman and between God and people. Characters in my novels are saints and sinners, sometimes both at the same time. They’re real, and their inner conflicts are explored as their outer relationships are shaped by life’s circumstances. Not all Christians should read my work. There are those who will be offended by some of my characters at where they are or where they’ve come from in their lives. I cover love, sex, and romance from a secular viewpoint contrasting them to God’s views. This is what the Lord has given me to write about, and I do it honestly having come out of the world with firsthand knowledge of the subject.

My first novel (Hope Of Glory) has horse racing as its prominent backdrop, a novel borne out of a committed offering to God of any possible writing talent He might’ve given me. His succinct instruction to write a Christian novel about horse racing sent me on an 8 and ½ year writing journey. The second novel (The Famous One) was formed from a heavy burden for a particular actor’s soul and in some small ways is autobiographical. These two novels are completely different in size, subject, time frame, pacing, and some points of view. But the theme I mentioned above is there, interwoven through the stories along with the gospel. There are five more novels to follow them, all different yet similar.

So if you like books about the entertainment industry, it doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily like a story about horse racing or vice versa. And if you enjoy light fare and laughter, rip-snorting humor, or madcap adventure, you’re not my audience. If you need a thriller to stimulate your reading pleasure, you’re not my audience (although a personal friend of mine will make an exception to read my novel). If you desire to be transferred back in time to any part of history for a story, you’re not my audience. If dragons or faeries or shape-shifters or who knows what from the imagination rushes you to another place, planet, and time(s), you’re not my audience. But . . . if you want contemporary stories that deal directly with life-like characters, both in Christ and without Christ, in real circumstances facing temptations and the trials of this world, you might be my audience.

The big IF resides in will this audience like my voice, my style, my throwback structuring of the novels I write?

Father, you provide the words, the stories, and the audience. You know who that audience is—the one for whom these stories were designed. I’m trusting you to get them to those you’ve chosen to read them. Thank you for the pleasure and privilege of writing them. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

*Please don’t forget to pray for Kristy Dykes. She’s a real person battling for her life. She needs our prayers. Thank you.*