Unless You're an Apple Pie, Not Everyone Is Going to Love You

Who is your audience? Do you write to please everyone?

Genre writers have a pretty good handle on who their readers are, but those of us who write in the more nebulous categories of general or literary fiction don't always have a good grasp of our audience. Since our work transcends literary boundaries we sometimes make the mistake of thinking it transcends demographic boundaries, too. We want our book to be the one that everyone is reading in the subway car, on the beach, in the airport. We want our book to be the one that cuts across all audiences, that appeals to grandmas, hipsters, and middle-aged men alike. We secretly hope that our book will be the one that will unite the world and usher in a period of world peace--or at the very least, be at the top of the bestseller list for an obscene length of time.

I'm a firm believer in dreaming big, but there's no point in shooting for the unattainable. You can't be everything to everyone. There's almost nothing you can create that will hold universal appeal. Take the demographic groups I cited above--grandmas, hipsters, and middle-aged men--what common interests could these three diverse groups possibly share?

Universal appeal is rare and usually contains sugar.

Stereotypes aside, the point I'm trying to make is that unless you're a homemade apple pie, odds are you're not going to be able to make everyone love you or your work. And that's okay.

In a recent interview with America's Test Kitchen, celebrity chef Mario Batali discussed his process for designing a restaurant. His advice to budding restauranteurs? Articulate your concept in two or three sentences so that potential customers can decide if they want to be part of that experience or not.

Likewise, the very successful big box store, Target, designs their stores to appeal to college-educated, female consumers aged 30-50, many with children still living at home. What do Mario Batali and Target have in common? They are not trying to be everything to everybody. 

This is not to say that you should pick a demographic and then write toward that particular group. As writers, our audience tends to pick us--not the other way around. When I was working on a publicity strategy for THE GREATEST MAN IN CEDAR HOLE, I imagined my audience would be made up of middle-aged ladies who were avid readers. When I attended a few book groups, however, the older ladies had a tepid response compared to the younger members of the group. Now, several years removed from the release of that book I have a much clearer (and surprising) idea of who made up the core audience--95% of my fan mail, positive reviews, and mentions in favorite book lists has come from men, ages 25-35. Not that I Google my book or anything...

The take away here is obvious, but worth remembering: You should always write for yourself first, but when your work reaches the wider world don't feel slighted if it doesn't suit some people's tastes. Having a narrow audience can be a good thing. In the words of author Paul Coehlo, "If you try to please everyone, you will be respected by no one."

Stories Are Fragile--Handle With Care

So, I've finally finished the first draft of my next novel. I call it a first draft because it's finally a complete piece, but the reality is that I revise many times as I go along so this is probably my tenth, twentieth, thirtieth draft--who knows? I've lost count. For publishing purposes, though, this is called the first draft. And there will be many, many more to come. 

Still, there is much reason to celebrate. After nine years of trying to write this book while raising twins, I've finally manage to finish it. As a reward I gave myself a week off from writing and turned my attention to friends and household projects I've been neglecting. Now my break is over and it's time to start writing something new while I wait to hear back from my agent. 

Waiting is so painful, but it's a fact of life in the publishing business. Publishing is one of the slowest, most archaic industries around. It takes a lot of time for an agent or an editor read a 400+ page manuscript while handling all the other urgent business that's always cropping up--phone calls, deadlines, meetings. If only agents and editors had USB ports connected to their heads, we could download our manuscripts directly to their brains and the whole process would move along a lot faster. Until that day comes, we writers will just have to learn to have a little patience. 

One of the reasons I find it so hard to wait is that basically my agent is my first reader. I've shared a few scenes here and there when I needed a little boost, but basically no one has seen it or heard much about it for nearly ten years. I feel like I've been holding a burning secret and finally, finally, I can tell someone. 

During my little celebratory vacation, I had a few lunches with fellow writing friends and the topic of sharing vs. not sharing came up. Writers, I think, are given mixed-messages regarding sharing. We often encourage writers to join writers' groups and workshops to get feedback. On the whole, it's pretty good advice. Appreciating and critiquing the work of others strengthens our own work; receiving criticism opens our minds and prepares us for working with editors and handling reviews. There is a point, however, when sharing becomes counter-productive. 

For example, one of my friends joined a writers' group and found that the group wasn't a good fit for her. The members of the group seemed to be on one wavelength and she on another. Thankfully, she had enough belief in herself and her work to recognize that it was best to leave the group instead of becoming discouraged and giving up writing altogether.

Another friend is in the early stages of a novel and has been tempted to show her pages to her spouse. Alarm bells rang in my head when I heard this for two reasons: 1) The most dangerous time to share your work is early on. You're excited about your idea and it's so tempting to tell someone, but in doing so you lose steam. Even simply talking about it relieves some of that built-up urgency that compels us to write, and  2) Sharing a story with a loved one (especially a spouse) is a recipe for hurt feelings. Think about it--who in our lives is capable of hurting us the most? The ones we love. Asking for their approval puts them in a bind. What if they don't react exactly the way you want them to? Even an enthusiastic response might have you questioning their sincerity. Spare yourself the trauma and wait until you're finished the piece and a more objective third party has given you the thumbs-up first. 

Even seasoned writers fall into the "show too soon" trap. A friend of mine who is a published author warned me against the need for early approval from one's agent and editor. He sent a few early drafts to them thinking they would share in his excitement--only to find out they weren't enthusiastic at all. How could they be, when all he showed them was a partial rough draft? Unfortunately, early sharing is often the start of a downward spiral--what you want is encouragement, but what you end up with is indifference. Or worse, disapproval. What a confidence killer. It's hard to finish a piece when you've been crushed by an unfavorable response. 

Do yourself a favor--protect your work at least until the first draft is finished. Avoid even talking about your work if you can bear it. Treat your stories like the fragile things they are. Wait until they're polished and complete and beautiful and then--and only then--show them to the world.