There’s an old story about a man who invented a new product. Someone asked him, “who is your product for?” “It’s for everybody!” he replied.

It wasn’t, because no product, no matter how vital it may seem, will appeal to every person on the planet.

The same concept applies to your story or book. Who are you writing for? That’s easy, right? Everybody! “Everybody should buy my book.” But that’s not how it works. Before you write, and as you write, you must know who you’re trying to reach. You must pinpoint your potential audience by breaking the potential audience down into its demographics. Here are some ways to do that:

Gender

When I wrote “How to Start and Run Your Own Computer Repair Business,” I wrote with the knowledge that most computer repair people are men. That’s not discrimination; it’s reality. (I think it’s wonderful that more women are getting into the business, but still, most of my audience consists of men.) There’s a chance that your story or book will appeal more to one gender than the other. That’s fine. Just know that as you write and tailor your words appropriately.

Socioeconomic class.

It’s been said that class is “the last taboo” in our society, the last topic that people are comfortable discussing. That may be true, and indeed, I’m not comfortable writing about it. But you must know if you’re writing for, for example, lower-middle-class readers or upper-middle-class readers. Your word choice depends on it.

Age group

The obvious choices are children, teens, young adults, adults, or seniors, but within those groups there are sub-groups. Some of the writers in critique groups I participate in write children’s books. I often ask, “What age are you targeting? Sometimes the answer is “I don’t know.” They need to know. Decide if you’re writing for first graders or fourth graders because there’s a big difference in their reading level. The same goes for 65-year-olds and 80-year-olds. Their interests and concerns are different.

Current life situation

Are your readers currently unemployed? Or perhaps underemployed? Do they have children? Disposal income?

Price point

Do you expect your readers to be those who happily shell out $30 for a book? Or maybe only $2.99? Your expectation affects your book length because you can’t sell a 500-page book for $2.99 and make a profit. Nor can you expect readers to pay $30 for a 50-page book. Or to look at it inversely, your price point affects how much time and effort you can put into writing your book. You don’t want to spend three years writing a book that will sell for $1.99.

So, before you write think carefully about who your target audience is. Here’s one example: “I’m writing for middle-aged, middle-class women who are facing empty nest syndrome.” You assume that most of these women work, so your book’s cost isn’t of paramount importance for them.

That’s fine. Now that you know who you’re writing for never forget it. Make sure that every sentence in your story or book addresses that demographic.