L is for Learing

L is for learning. As a writer you must constantly be learning. You need to learn to write better, learn to edit, learn to revise, learn about marketing, learn about publishing, learn about formatting, learning about E-books and what it takes to write one.... the learning never stops. And you need to learn about topics that interest you but also those that you know nothing about. Learning is the key to writing information that others want to read.

The other part of learning outside of learning about writing and marketing is this. Learn about your audience. Learning about what your audience needs and wants is an important part of learning to be a successful writer.

Here are tips on learning about your audience:

•  Read the same kinds of things that you want to write about. This will show you how other writers reach this audience.
• Interact with the age group you want to write for, those that are your audience. If you write for parents of preschoolers, then interact with parents. If you write for the older generation, volunteer and work with the older generation so you hear, feel, and understand what they want and need from a writer or a topic.
• Visit the library and the book stores to keep up with the books and material in the arena or genre that you want to write. How can you address the topic and meet the need of the audience in a fresh new way?
• Write, query, and submit to the places that publish in your genre. They know the audience and have an established reader in mind when they publish. Tap into this by providing a fresh new product in that arena.

Learning never stops when you are a writer. And you can never stop honing your skills, increasing your understanding of your audience and networking with others within your genre. These are the tools it takes to meet the needs of the audience, and without an audience your words go unread.

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