Who Is Your Ideal Reader?

When you are writing a novel, there is power in imaging your ideal reader as a nuanced and very real person. Who are you writing for?

The Power of Imagining Your Ideal Reader

After you complete your book, you will likely be thinking a lot about who your readers are and what they will have to say about your book. But it’s important to begin imagining who your Ideal Reader is while you write your book so they can help guide you on your writing journey.

In each of their memoir/craft books, both Stephen King and Anne Lamott talk about imagining your Ideal Reader, and they aren’t the only ones who do this. Jennie Nash, author of Blueprint for a Book, also discusses the importance of using this tool as a way to boost your writing journey, and countless other authors do this as well.

With someone specific in mind, you can imagine what your Ideal Reader might say to a plot twist or how they could relate to your protagonist. You can envision if they will feel the proper emotion during a particularly joyous or heartbreaking scene. You can even picture whether they will like your book or not and what they would write in their review.

Imagining your Ideal Reader as a nuanced and very real person will help you write the right book.

Mutual Benefit

We’ve established how your Ideal Reader can help you as you write, but you can also help your Ideal Reader through your story.

There are countless ways in which people experience pain and hurt, and while some may turn to nonfiction self-help books to solve their problems, many more turn to fiction. Fiction provides an escape from reality when you need it most, while granting access to characters and problems you can relate to. Besides entertainment, fiction can also supply you with much-needed companionship and potential solutions to your real-life struggles.

And as Jennie Nash puts it, “By imagining a specific reader engaging with your book, you are envisioning the outcome of a project that is going to take a long time to complete. You are giving yourself a target to aim for that doesn’t just have to do with hitting word-count goals or establishing good writing habits but has to do with the actual impact your book will make. You are painting yourself a picture of success and holding that in your mind, and that can make all the difference.”

So while your Ideal Reader can really help you write the right book, that same book you write could have the power to impact someone’s life for the better. Try that on for size!

Your ideal reader is the person you envision when writing your book, the person who you imagine picking your book up off the shelf and purchasing at their local bookstore, the person who you hope will love your book the most. Imagining your Ideal Reader as a tangible individual with their own unique life, problems, hobbies, and curiosities provides you with both a guideline to write your book and the potential to impact your Ideal Reader in a very real way.

So, who is your Ideal Reader?

Download My Idea Reader Worksheet!