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Jun. 30th, 2010 01:41 pmI have useful information for today. Readers of my writing (both fiction and non-fiction) have roughly the same profile. They're 75% more likely to be female than male (only 66% more likely with the articles) and they're about 85% more likely to be over 35.
This wonderful data doesn't take into account what you're reading now, because I don't have numbers to crunch for LJ. It doesn't take into account my book reviews, either. Or most of my articles. Or 2/3 of my short stories. Or the readers of Steam Engine Time. Or anything I published under someone else's name when I was a well-paid public servant. In fact, there are lots and lots of things not accounted for.
This means that the profile of my readers is reliably inaccurate. Maybe they average out as over 35 and female and maybe they don't. I shall explain this carefully to the next publisher that asks. They can have a readership profile, but they can't rely on it.
Mind you, of the 40% of readers (which is, oddly, a reasonably precise number) who have talked to me about Life through Cellophane, most of them think it's a novel for women, even the men who admitted to enjoying it. Only one reader felt it needed a more exotic setting and far more action.
Now I wonder how other writers answer the question of who their readers are. I do know that someone was once asked about my readers and they instantly responded "If you like food, you'll like Gillian's writing." This just shows which bits of my writing they read, but it's tempting to use that line anyhow. Especially as I have not yet given a moment's thought to what food time-travellers would eat. It can wait. My maps came in today's post and I have terrain to survey.
This wonderful data doesn't take into account what you're reading now, because I don't have numbers to crunch for LJ. It doesn't take into account my book reviews, either. Or most of my articles. Or 2/3 of my short stories. Or the readers of Steam Engine Time. Or anything I published under someone else's name when I was a well-paid public servant. In fact, there are lots and lots of things not accounted for.
This means that the profile of my readers is reliably inaccurate. Maybe they average out as over 35 and female and maybe they don't. I shall explain this carefully to the next publisher that asks. They can have a readership profile, but they can't rely on it.
Mind you, of the 40% of readers (which is, oddly, a reasonably precise number) who have talked to me about Life through Cellophane, most of them think it's a novel for women, even the men who admitted to enjoying it. Only one reader felt it needed a more exotic setting and far more action.
Now I wonder how other writers answer the question of who their readers are. I do know that someone was once asked about my readers and they instantly responded "If you like food, you'll like Gillian's writing." This just shows which bits of my writing they read, but it's tempting to use that line anyhow. Especially as I have not yet given a moment's thought to what food time-travellers would eat. It can wait. My maps came in today's post and I have terrain to survey.