How to Find and Connect with Your Readers
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My question when I first became published, and probably every author’s question, was how do I connect with my readers? How will readers learn about my book? Even Medium bloggers might have the same question. In the massive ocean of people, how do we hook the right readers who will love what we write?
The good news is that readers want to connect with you and your stories. They actively look for new and interesting stories to consume. For non-fiction writers and memoirist, you wrote your books for a specific audience and they are waiting for your book to be released so they can learn from your experience.
Organically and over time, you will find each other. The most important way to connect with readers is to write the book they want. When they do find you, they should be enchanted and fall in love. Just like in a relationship, you want to make the best impression possible, so that they will want to stay and get to know you. So, really the first step before we worry about finding the right readers is to understand who the readers are and what they are looking for.
Also, part of writing the best book is to show that you’ve done your research. Show them that you know what you’re talking about. Your historical data is accurate. Your medical lingo is correct. Your setting is authentic. Your advice if you are writing non-fiction is based on research.
And your story should answer the significant story question. This is the burning question in your reader’s mind as he or she is reading your story. This is something I created for myself years ago and wrote about it a few months ago. When I finish writing my novels, I ask myself if I answered the significant story question and if I didn’t. I’m not finished.
Assuming that your book has all of this, the question remains, how do you find the readers.
The bad news is that you actively have to work to let them know you exist. This is the hard part, but just like when you are looking for the love of your life, it can be fun too! So, let’s take a look at how to increase your chances of finding each other.
1. Do the prep-work before your book is released.
Do not wait until your book is released by the publisher or until you upload your finished…