I woke up on Friday to the link to a review of my book Every Journalist Should Write a Book, by Rebecca Ejifoma of THISDAY Newspapers. Olukorede Yishau, author of In the Name of Our Father and a very good friend shared this lovely review, which I hadn’t seen until that moment even though Becca wrote it one year ago. I thank Becca for this inspiring piece and Korede for sharing it with me. I suggest that you look at the review from here and understand that it does not only speak to journalists regardless of the title. I promise that you will gain insights that will sure help your journey.

This week, I want to discuss one of the common reasons why writers get stuck midway into a manuscript despite their obvious talent, discipline and commitment to the project.

Many writers begin with a strong idea; they have a powerful story and burning message to share. They start out with all the enthusiasm you can imagine, but suddenly slow down, start to second-guess themselves and eventually abandon the dream. I know this because I have stories, I mean personal stories on this front and I can tell that often when this happens, the problem is more about defining who you are writing for rather than what you are writing.  Every writer of non-fiction must realise that finding their target should not be a marketing afterthought but a writing decision; one that they should make before starting to write.

Why Writers Avoid Defining a Target Reader

I have however discovered that this is not one of the things that writers want to deal with at the outset. Sometimes, we fear that defining our readers would put us in a box or limit our options, some people avoid the question because they feel that a good book should speak to everyone, while some other assume that the target audience will evolve organically in the writing process.  

Unfortunately, none of this helps. For instance, thinking you are writing for everyone means you may not be writing for anyone! There will be too much uncertainty in your communication in the book, your voice willbe tentative, your examples will be formless and your tone will shift from one chapter to the other. You are then most likely to get to a juncture where you begin to wonder whether you are not being too basic, too complex or entirely vague. This uncertainty and confusion signal your failure to clearly define your reader.

Who Exactly is Your Target Reader?

You target reader is someone in a specific situation that your book addresses. In this regard, loose definitions such as demographic labels like men aged 30 ‒ 40, or your professionals does not adequately describe your target audience.  

These are three questions I suggest you answer while trying to define your target reader:

1. What problem is this reader trying to solve?
2. What do they already know, and what don’t they know yet?
3. What change do they hope this book will help them achieve?

For example, describing your target reader as “anyone interested in leadership” is fundamentally inadequate. Almost everyone, at some point in life, wants to lead at work, in family, in community, or in public life. But they are at very different stages of understanding and experience, therefore they have very different needs. This broad definition gives you no guidance on what to explain, what to challenge, or what to assume. It will ultimately leave your writing unfocused and your reader indistinct. You could however say your reader is “the mid-career professional transitioning into public leadership and is in need of ethical guidance.” This gives you a clearer picture of what you want to achieve and how best to communicate to your reader.

How Knowing Your Reader Helps

Three important things happen when you know your reader ab initio

• Your voice settles. You know when to explain, when to challenge, and when to be confident that you have shared knowledge and impacted your reader. You start peaking instead of just performing.
• Your select your content more easily. You now longer feel pressured to include every information at your disposition in the book. You know the exact thing your readers need and can cut out every unnecessary word and information.
• Your confidence increases. You can picture the exact person you are addressing and pick the right words to address them without having to rewrite countless times. Your writing becomes more like a conversation rather than a preachment.

Apart from helping you write the book, defining your target reader also helps you to position it.

A clearly defined reader makes it easier to: describe your book in a sentence, speak confidently about your work, and attract the right audience after publication. It is a winning strategy for the entire value chain; especially for non-fiction writers who want their books to open doors to speaking opportunities, consulting, teaching, or thought-leadership.

The truth is that many unfinished manuscripts get abandoned because the writer did not see the target reader as the compass for their book, and so, they lost direction. I suggest that every writer should find their target reader early and write to them consistently. Whenever doubts or discouragements creep up  as it always happens, return to your target reader and find out what would serve their best interest at that stage. The answer you get is what will keep you writing.

I wish you the best as always.

To buy my book, Every Journalist Should Write a Book, click here

Have a great week ahead.

Niran Adedokun,

Writer | Communications Strategist | Book Strategist | Author of “Every Journalist Should Write a Book