I recently attended a webinar on “How & Where to Find Your Readers,” presented to Authors Guild members by Andrea Guevara of Author Brand Strength. Participants were tasked with creating a profile of their Ideal Reader.
I drew a blank. Every novel I’ve written, I wrote for myself. For my four early books of nonfiction, I had my target audiences firmly in mind. I knew what kind of reader each book might appeal to.
But when I gave myself permission to write what I really wanted to write—fantasy—I wrote solely for myself. The books reflect my interests, my influences and motivations, and my literary tastes.
My Ideal Readers
As I continued to ponder the question of “Who is my ideal reader?” my thoughts turned to some of the astonishingly insightful reviews that readers have given my novels. The readers who truly get it, who understand my characters, their flaws, emotions and relationships, are not easily labeled or categorized. They do not fall neatly into standard groups such as “fantasy readers,” “romance readers,” or fans of dystopian fiction.
In an effort to discover what my best readers have in common, I’ve created brief profiles for six who gave my books outstanding reviews:
1. Feifei Le (Lady Vigilante) of Austin, Texas, was among my earliest readers and most enthusiastic reviewers. Her Goodreads profile lists her favorite books as: “Any book as long as there’s romance in it, but I do gravitate towards dark romance and romantic suspense. I will occasionally read a YA paranormal/fantasy book that tickles my fancy.”
2. Ariel The Tempest of Greece describes herself as “an avid reader with a strong passion for engaging storytelling, particularly in the genres of fantasy, romance, science fiction, novellas, short stories, YA, and new adult fiction.” She recently posted glowing reviews of my Waterspell novels (links below).
3. Nancy M. Heinzel of California is an eclectic mystery. This reader is a frequent reviewer, on Amazon, of everything from horror and thrillers to literary fiction and turkey-hunting stories. I do detect a preference, perhaps, for dystopian fantasy among the many reviews showing on their Amazon profile.
4. Dalton S., a reviewer at NetGalley, is a great reviewer but stingy with stars. After declaring that “Waterspell (Books 1-4) is a must-read for fantasy enthusiasts who enjoy immersive world-building, well-developed characters, and a storyline that seamlessly blends magic and human emotion” (hooray!), he gave the boxed set only three stars (boo-hoo).
5. Unlike Dalton at NetGalley, Robin at Audible is a generous reviewer. She gives five stars to pretty much everything she listens to. Her tastes seem to range from self-help and memoir, to thrillers and fantasy.
6. Malibu Moon (of California, I’m guessing) reads Apple Books, not Amazon. I know nothing of this person but love her for writing a rare Apple review (Apple customers are not as prone to reviewing as are readers on Kindle): “Thank you for writing this wonderfully imaginative series. I loved every minute of it!!!” And I love you, my dear.
What Have I Learned?
What am I to make of this sampling? I have readers in California and Texas, and also Oregon, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and New Mexico that I know of. I assume I have readers in other states as well. (Comment below, please, if you’re among them!) Beyond the U.S., I know I have readers in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany, and I recently saw sales in Japan.
What do these readers want, besides good writing? Many of them gravitate toward fantasy, but then there’s Lynda Key, who wrote on Amazon: “I rarely read fantasy anymore preferring historical fiction of the Roman kind. The last fantasy I read that was memorable was by Tolkien. That was until I found the first Waterspell book in my large ‘to be read’ pile.” Lynda gave the series five stars and says: “I couldn’t help myself. I kept buying and immediately reading each consecutive book.”
An ideal reader, indeed!
After spending three hours trying to profile my ideal readers, I’m no wiser than I was. They’re all over the place, not only geographically but in their reading habits.
At this point in my writing life (I’ve been publishing under my Deborah J. Lightfoot byline since my first newspaper story was printed in 1977) I believe there’s only one thing to do:
I’ll keep writing for myself. I’ll write the kinds of books I want to read.
One actionable thing I did get from the “Find Your Readers” webinar, however, was a reminder to research comp titles. I’d undoubtedly do a better job of describing my books, and thus reaching more of my ideal readers, if I had a better grasp of the currently popular books that are somewhat comparable to mine.
Like every writer, though (well, those writers who pride themselves on not “writing to a trend” or writing “more of the same, just different”), I do like to think that my series is unique and not easily lumped in with other books in the fantasy genre. That’s what I like to think, anyway.
Ariel The Tempest’s Reviews
Now for the links to Ariel The Tempest’s recent reviews of my books on Goodreads. She made my YEAR with her kind, understanding, well-thought-out words. If you’re on Goodreads, please give these reviews a Like to help boost their visibility:
Waterspell Book 1: The Warlock
Waterspell Book 2: The Wysard
Waterspell Book 3: The Wisewoman
Waterspell Book 4: The Witch
The Karenina Chronicles: A Waterspell Novel
The print edition of my latest book is now available at all of the booksellers. 
