Identifying your target audience

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war

#26: May 13th 2012 at 5:25:47 PM

No, it means it gets shoehorned into a false "demographic" of its own rather than being allowed to exist as just fiction.

I'm just going to go and quote JHM again, because I think he puts it better then I can:

May I add that I think that the entire notion of pigeonholed marketing demographics has been a massive detriment to the overall quality of "young adult" and children's literature as an art form? Look at all the trend-chasing! It's horrendous.

Here's another bone I have to pick about this whole demographic categorisation thing: By enforcing indirectly what sort of books children, adolescents and adults "should" be reading, you allow people to avoid running into works outside of the "target demographic' that they may very well enjoy by segregating it from other works. Worse, it can easily encourage certain people to write solely for a that age group when they could be writing for any range of people.

Actually, I don't like things marketed to specific groups, period.

edited 13th May '12 5:26:55 PM by nrjxll

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010

#27: May 13th 2012 at 5:30:24 PM

I asked Dad his opinion.

He said that there's so much stuff out there, that without genres and demographics, it makes it harder to find the stories that people enjoy.

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war

#28: May 13th 2012 at 5:32:08 PM

Genres, yes, at least partially. Demographics, hell no. There's a significant difference between them - the former are descriptive while the latter are proscriptive.

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010

#29: May 13th 2012 at 5:34:50 PM

...I should get back to that "YA Fiction" thread.

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war

#30: May 13th 2012 at 5:36:17 PM

Funny thing is, the more I think about it the more I think that the whole demographic genre-versus-true genre thing is the explanation behind all the problems you mentioned in that thread's opening post.

edited 13th May '12 5:36:33 PM by nrjxll

Voltech44 The Electric Eccentric from The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines Since: Jul, 2010 Relationship Status: Forming Voltron

The Electric Eccentric

#31: May 14th 2012 at 9:51:02 AM

I admit that I've been wondering what my "target audience" is as well. Even though it's not a game-changer in terms of my writing, I always thought it'd be nice and fun to know — like finding out what animal you are in a personality test. (I got wombat.)

I had a teacher a while back who suggested that with my writing, I should aim for the 20-30 year old demographic. Given that she knew her way in the publishing world (a hundred times more than me, at least), I'm inclined to trust her. That information's not important to me, but for better or worse it's important to someone out there.

Well, that's my take on it, at least.

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FallenLegend Lucha Libre goddess from Navel Of The Moon. Since: Oct, 2010