Publishers have a lot of information about what their readership is looking for. This information is used by publishing companies, Hollywood studios, and just about anyone who is in the business of delivering entertainment to consumers. For this reason alone, it is important for writers to have a basic idea about what audiences look for.
Note, I’m not suggesting that writers chase the latest trends in the best-sellers list. By the time most writers complete a new work, what’s exciting and hot will have become yesterday’s forgotten idea.
Instead, I’m suggesting that understanding the basic demographic data around people’s consumption of stories can be helpful in defining who the audience we are writing for is.
Every writer should hold an ideal audience member in their minds eye as they write and write to please that person. If the audience we want to write for is children, then we should have a child in mind as we write. If we write for a teen or young adult audience, we should keep a specific teen in mind. To do this, it is helpful to know what different audiences are looking for.
Children Under 5 – 7
Children under five look for wonder (100%), humor (96%), and mild horror (92%). They respond almost universally to fantasy and science fiction and want to be amazed by fairies and gnomes and intelligent talking fungi and rocket ships. They want to laugh (often in fairly unsophisticated ways) and will chuckly at anything surprising. And, they also enjoy scary stories – if the scares are very mild.
Older Children under 12
Older kids look for adventure. By the time they are five, boys are looking for adventure and by seven, girls are also. Stories of exploration, competition, survival, etc. are sought out. The setting can be any place or any time, but adventure is requisite.
Teens
At about age 12, boys and girls seem to differentiate in their tastes. Boys remain focused on adventure (96%) and wonder (96%) – in roughly equal amounts – enjoying fantasy and action stories. Somewhere between the age of 12 and 16 many girls move away from adventure stories and develop a taste for romance (without losing their taste for wonder). Material that has the broadest appeal tends to include fantasy and romance.
Twenty-Somethings
By their twenties, women are primarily interested in romance and consume romance novels, films, etc. almost exclusively. Men focus their attention on thrillers, primarily, enjoying suspense, tension, and action.
Midlife and Up
Women primarily seek out drama and mystery in their forties. Men still enjoy thrillers, but by their fifties are almost indistinguishable from female consumers in their taste for drama and mystery.
A note on Settings
Audiences desire an experience that takes them far away from their day to day lives. As a result, authors face a key choice when picking the setting. Audiences want a uniquely interesting setting to explore. Pick a setting, even one that is familiar, that will reveal something unique to the audience. Try to avoid clichés.
Conclusion
When we know who our target audience is (who we wish to attract to our stories) we need to write the kind of story that audience is looking for. Publishers will also tell you that it’s a good idea to make your protagonist match your audience. If you are writing for a female teenage market, then you are likely to attract a larger audience by writing a female teenage protagonist in a fantasy or romance story. If you are writing a story that is meant to appeal to an older demographic (in their fifties) you would be well advised to write both a male and female protagonist of middle age engaged in a drama or mystery. While girls will engage with a story that has a male protagonist, boys are far less likely to engage with a story that has a female protagonist.
Alternatively, write the story you want to write, but be aware of the audience to whom it might appeal. Some early thought about who the audience for your work is, will save much time in helping you find and connect to that audience efficiently in your marketing efforts.
Copyright Philip Craig Robotham © 2022
