5 Tips for Finding Your Market {a writer’s guide}

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As writers, whether we’re independent or working towards being published traditionally, we’re often given a piece of advice: know your market.

This basically means “know who you’re selling books to.” Don’t be a person who says, “Oh, yeah, everyone will like my book.” Instead, focus in on the best readers for your novel—and sell to them.

This is an excellent piece of advice which every writer needs to hear. However, it can be hard to determine exactly who would want to buy your books. Here are a few tips for figuring that out!

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5 Tips for Finding Your Market
1: Know your niche—and then start reading books from that niche.

Do you write fantasy? Romance? Fantasy with romantic elements? Fantasy with romantic elements which mainly focuses on the heroine’s journey? Fantasy with romantic elements which mainly focuses on the heroine’s journey to learn how to be a professional dragon-trainer?

Though genre can sometimes be a broad term—for instance, speculative fiction can encompass dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal—make it more specific. Find your niche, and then find books that are like your book and read them.

Now, you won’t always be able to. But creating a new niche is going to be pretty impossible, both from an independent and traditionally published standpoint.

Now, here’s an example. For years I thought The Dressmaker’s Secret was uncategorizable, but then I realized I could and should do it.

TDS is a Christian historical women’s fiction novel. Though it has romantic elements, I wouldn’t categorize it as a straight romance novel. It’s a family saga which might remind readers of a BBC period drama.

Already I’ve got a bit of a niche to squeeze into!

2: Find out who is reading those other books in your niche—and why!

If you’re one of the readers of your genre, you’ve got something to work with, at least.