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Messy, tasty, and fun! That’s how I often relate to my readers.
Before Christmas I invited neighborhood children over to make
chocolates. I also made candies with grandchildren and a church youth
group. I do this and other activities every year—and not as
self-inflicted punishment.
I write for children, and my books usually include crafts and
hands-on activities. Doing projects with kids is part of staying
engaged with my readers. I love my readers and enjoy getting involved
with them, even if it means getting sticky fingers. I make such
activities easier by preparing ahead for each group. For candy making,
I covered surfaces with plastic to make cleanup easier. I saved small
disposable containers to hold the melted chocolate so everyone had
their own dish to use. I mixed the ages and encouraged older girls and
boys to help the younger ones. We all had a great time, and I enlisted
the kids’ help in the cleanup too.
Since I am currently writing a book for boys, I took the opportunity
to really listen to the boys and see their reactions so I can write
what will engage my audience. Writing for your audience means getting
to know them—and not just with a passing hello or sitting in a mall to
spy or listen to snatches of conversations.
Working side-by-side with people, the kids tended to open up and be
themselves. It’s provides opportunities to notice emotions and
reactions. I noticed kids who withdrew because of teasing and watched
to see how other kids reacted.
We also made cookies. One youth dropped a knife with frosting and
wanted to continue using it to ice a cookie, saying, “It fell on a
clean part of the floor.” Another yelled that was gross. The
knife-dropper cringed and drooped her head. I responded, “People walked
on that floor, so that’s like letting someone lick the bottom of a
shoe.” That sparked some “yuks” and chat about germs and where their
shoes had traveled. Everyone started laughing at places shoes go and
what might be on the soles. The attention went from the one girl to
shoes. I handed the offender a clean knife and smiled. She smiled back
and started icing again. The conversation will wiggle its way into the
book I’m writing.
Experiences give us the reality for our writing and connect with
readers in both fiction and nonfiction. That’s why editors at
conferences always stress that writers need to know their audiences. We
connect when readers sense we understand them and like them. For this
New Year, be sure to add activities in your calendar to connect with
readers and be creative in how to interact.
One writer who has a full-time job in marketing met with me recently
for ideas on selling books. I asked how she interacted with her sci-fi
readers. She replied that mainly she gets together with other writers,
but as we talked she realized that she needed to find her readers. She
had participated in an author scavenger hunt with 56,000 contestants
but mainly developed relationships with the other authors. I suggested
that she should contact the readers who posted on her blog to win a
book and connect more with those contestants. She also decided to check
with her local library to hold a sci-fi event and invite the audience
to dress as a sci-fi character or invent a gadget for a character to
use. This goes deeper than simply speaking to the readers. The
show-and-tell time allows her to engage them in creativity and learn
what types of gadgets fascinate them. She might use a few ideas in her
next book.
I also try to connect with secondary readers or other buyers and
influencers. I have taught craft workshops at senior centers to show
how grandparents can use my books with their grandchildren. Adults
often buy books for kids. I’ll be speaking at a children’s ministry
conference soon to reach out to youth directors who can use my books at
their churches. With the launch of a book in the spring, I will be
signing books at a library convention. I like to do more than sign
books, so I’m preparing craft bags with materials from a project in the
book to hand out as I sign copies. That gives people an immediate
opportunity to try something from the book. In the past I’ve handed out
quizzes and tip sheets to audiences. Quizzes that include humor can be
fun and memorable for readers. Handouts allow the author to give
readers a personal message and invite them to engage with them in
social networks.
Watching how successful authors connect to readers can inspire new ideas. Sandra Felton (The Messies Manual)
held an online party with incentives for readers who took photos and
posted them of parties at their locations. Tricia Goyer invited readers
on her blog to take part in her twelve days of Christmas giveaway, in
which she shared family traditions and memories. Last year I had fun
with readers when I wrote the twelve crafting tips of Christmas. These
types of activities can get lots of responses and generate fun while
connecting with readers. I’ve also followed up with readers, and
developed some good friends, who won books from me in contests.
It takes time, as all relationships do. Planning also helps. At CAN
we are planning an author scavenger hunt. We’ll be talking about
maximizing these opportunities and ways to engage the readers on our
various blog-post stops during the hunt. We want to make the posts
short and fun to grab attention and get readers to respond. We hope the
readers will want to stay in touch with each author and also the
organization to continue relationships started with the hunt. They may
go after the treasure we offer, but we’ll treasure each one of them.
Becoming friends with readers is the best connection that will grow
your readership.
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