More than once I have been asked this question:

Who is your book’s target audience?

And so many times I have sat at the desk in the shed and bellowed out loud: I’m a writer not a marketer!

Truth is, I’m both. In the modern literary world, and in fact in any era of literary life, marketing and promoting one’s work has been part of the process. From Dickens to Dostoevsky it has been what writers have had to do. I’ll admit, it’s not my favorite part, but it is a necessity.

So, back to the original question: Who is your book’s target audience? A question asked by bookstore owners, reviewers, bloggers, radio interviews, and on and on. Today in the shed I read a post on the blog, Brevity. The writer was pondering the same question and decided to face that inquiry with hard, simple truths, the truths of a writer not a marketer. What a brilliant way to face that sometimes less-than-literary question. So, with that, how might I answer that question with the same sensitivity?

I thought I would give it a try. My new memoir is THE CONSEQUENCE OF STARS. Here are twenty answers to the question:

Who is your book’s target audience?

1. Anyone who has a heart that occasionally beats passionately.
2. Anyone who has fondly reminisced about their childhood  home.
3. People who have left a beautiful place.
4. People who have returned to a beautiful place.
5. Anyone who has loved anyone.
6. Those who occasionally love solitude.
7. Anyone who believes there is something, anything in the universe bigger than they are.
8. People who see nature as a place of solace.
9. Anyone who at any time has considered that maybe, just maybe, ghosts are real.
10. Anyone who believes that the places you’ve been are infinitely enhanced by the people you are with.
11. Mothers and fathers.
12. Sons and daughters.
13. Anyone who defines”adventure”as an inward journey.
14. Anyone who has cried watching the sunrise over a vast ocean.
15. Anyone who  has cried watching the sunset over vast open land.
16. Anyone who has taken a long road trip alone.
17. Anyone who has done something they were afraid to do.
18. People who believe music can elevate a life.
19. Anyone who has taken a chance.
20. Anyone who believes home is not a place but a state of mind.

I’m feeling pretty good today about my marketing plan.

Opening Photo by Ben White on Unsplash