During my social media lessons I often hear: “All this social media is great, but how do I find my readers” and one of the first things I say is “Find yourself and you will find your readers.” We write things that we like usually. So inside everyone of us lives our number one fan. If you write YA Urban Fantasy fiction, a part of you is that teenage reader who wants to read something that makes her feel like there is something special out there for her. If you write romance novels then somewhere deep down you feel the hunger that your readers feel, you smirk at the irony of your characters situations and your heart opens to the joy of love finally won.
The successful writer is the one who makes a connection with the reader, the one who speaks to them on their level. It is the author’s shared passion with the reader that makes a story captivating. You learned to use that to write a fantastic book, now you need to learn to use it to find the audience for that book.
Sadly, your audience isn’t all hanging out at some clubhouse waiting for you. They are out there, sometimes hidden, and often too diverse to really pin one label on. So I tell my clients, pick something that interests you, especially if it is the you that likes what you write, and join communities of people with a similar passion. It is within those communities that you will find your readers.
Then your only question will be: Once you find them what do you do with them?