Part Two in a four-part series leading up to the April launch of Kaylene’s first novel!

 

Today, I take a moment to honor readers. We, the writers, craft our work for you, and simply by being, you help to shape it.

But my recent journey into the deeper grooves of the publishing world – where the heavier discussions about marketing start to take place – have left me scratching my head. Yes, it’s true that many books will appeal to people with certain interests, those who have read work by writers with a similar voice, or those of a particular generation or gender. And I understand the need to focus advertising on one or two groups of people more than others so the writer or publishing team can try to sell as many copies as possible. Finally, I recognize that there are people out there who will only ever enjoy reading one type of book; anything outside of that and they say, “Thanks but no thanks!”

Yet, I believe no one really likes to be pigeon-holed. I think that every reader has a right to say, “I am open to reading a variety of things as long as they are _____ (well-written, intriguing, informative, entertaining, light-hearted, realistic, etc.).” Or “I think it’s okay to mix genres, and I like a good story that integrates a variety (adventure, mystery, romance, sci-fi, historical, fantasy, poetry, etc.) simply because it is a good story.” Or “Just because I usually read fiction, why can’t I also read some good non-fiction every now and then (or the other way around)?” Or “Isn’t it okay for me to read a certain book even though no one in marketing (or the general public) would think of me as the ‘typical’ reader for that kind of book?”

For the sake of business, my marketing plan includes a list of targeted types of readers and my novel has a sort of genre-based label (i.e. historical fiction with a literary, autobiographical flare). But I don’t want to pigeon-hole any of my potential readers. I already have great respect for each person who will read my book – both those who start it but decide to move on to read something else and those who read all the way to the end. And I know ultimately that my work will appeal to any given reader not based solely on what demographic they fit into but because it is a beautiful story about people navigating the journey of the human condition – a journey we can all relate to in one way or another.