Volume 8 | subscribers | 1 different countries | 28 September 2008
Part 1 - Welcome!
Dear %$firstname$%,
I have just returned from a trip to the lovely city of San
Francisco. It was heartening to see the number of thriving independent
booksellers. Naturally I considered it my duty to contribute
to their upkeep, to the subsequent detriment of my baggage allowance!
I found it to be a very friendly city with people always ready
and willing to help with directions and more. Whilst waiting
one morning for a cable car, I was advised by two policemen
to make sure I wore sunscreen (I arrived to find the city experiencing
a heat wave and got noticeably burnt)!
One of the joys of travel is the opportunity to interact with
and observe different types of people and to experience new
things. In many ways, San Francisco is a place where anything
goes. Ultimately though, these apparent differences simply highlight
just how connected we all are.
Part
2 - Feature Article
Sometimes, when I ask a client who their book is
aimed at, they say “It’s for everybody” or cite
several groups of people. Now whilst this can sometimes be due
to altruism, you do need to be crystal clear about who your book
is for, otherwise it will appeal to no-one in particular and more
importantly will alienate your target reader.
Non-fiction is one of the genres where it is easier
to map your readership and here are some ways to do it.
First of all think about why you want to write the
book. It is likely that you are a providing a solution to a particular
problem or want to raise awareness of an issue about which you
feel passionate. Perhaps your clients have even been urging you
to write a book.
You then need to describe your target reader in
as much detail as you can (mind mapping is one way to do this).
Here are just some of the questions you should ask yourself:
Building up a clear picture of your reader in your
head will help you to stay focused and relevant in terms of style
and subject matter.
Writing is a partnership between you and your reader.
It is about maintaining your integrity as an author and what you
have to say, whilst acknowledging and respecting your reader and
what they are looking for.
If you are guiding your reader through a process
that you have experienced, such as learning to meditate, remind
yourself that you were a beginner once. This will help to ensure
that you don’t take things for granted and include all necessary
information however trivial it may seem. Adopting an understanding
tone will also help to keep the reader engaged. They need to feel
as though you are addressing them personally and that they are
not alone.
Tis the good reader who makes the good book; a good head
cannot read amiss:
in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides
hidden from all else and unmistakably meant for his ear.
Ralph Waldo Emerson