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Hi all!

I know that my book is not going to be loved by ALL YA readers as it is a bit slow-paced and lacks what can be considered a super-strong plot. (This sounds a bit worrying but some of my favorite books have "weak" plots but scenes that just keep you turning the page. That's what my book is -- well, I hope it is.) So, today I've spent a few hours trying to get a sense of my "ideal" reader.

She's an older teen, 16-18, probably listens to boy-bands, is not into more adventure YA and instead looks for sweet, romance and book boyfriends and spends her time on Instagram. When I wrote that down, I was like, my readers are so not going to be hanging around on Facebook and scratched FB from my list of places to advertise on immediately.

Who's your ideal reader?
And how do you go about reachin them?

A lot of it comes just from reading the reviews about your book. When we started writing, my son and I looked for places to sell the book. We thought his audience would be adults and straight-up horror. As reviews came in, he was able to find out who actually read his books. Reviews tell you a lot of who likes your stories. Many times they identify the genre. Turns out, most reviewers find him to be YA or NA.
The same happened to me. Books I thought would appeal to one audience, actually found another. A good way to gauge this is by using Net Galley.
When you put a book on Net Galley, you get a wide variety of librarians, teachers and avid readers (many of them superstars on Goodreads) who will read your book and give it an almost professional review. You will see who it appeals to and get a good idea of where to target your marketing.
One of Michael's books which we thought was traditional horror, I learned from the sometimes caustic reviews of Net Galley is really a cozy romance. Had we known that we probably would have gone for a different cover. Many complained that the cover was misleading to the content.
You'd be surprised at the amount of YA romance books out there. Nicola Yoon, Jenny Han, and John Green come to mind. I'm so happy for you, Alexis!

Carole wrote: "A lot of it comes just from reading the reviews about your book. When we started writing, my son and I looked for places to sell the book. We thought his audience would be adults and straight-up ho..."

Hey Carole!

I've heard about Net Galley but if I'm not mistaken it's really expensive to get a book on there, isn't it?

There are so MANY YA romance books out there but I think mine might be just silly enough to stand out.

I stayed up until 4 AM last night writing and guess what? I only have four chapters left to complete the first draft! I plan to leave the book alone for a few weeks after that before picking it up again for a second draft. *crosses fingers, knocks on wood, etc. etc. lol*

As a writer of YA romance myself (as well as romance for adults too), I've found the readers aren't always who you think they are. Actually, I should've known anyway given that I'm in my 30s and love to read a good YA romance myself (because who wants to be a grown up all the time, am I right?). It seems to me that lots of people have pretty eclectic taste when it comes to books and sometimes the most unlikely people will read the most unlikely books. Yes, it makes marketing in the right way and in the right place difficult sometimes, but it also means if you advertise in enough places, you're almost guaranteed to get a few bites in each! :)

Valerie wrote: "As a writer of YA romance myself (as well as romance for adults too), I've found the readers aren't always who you think they are. Actually, I should've known anyway given that I'm in my 30s and lo..."

Hi Valerie! That's true. I am really focused on advertising where I will get the most bang for my buck but I think you are right. I will need to figure it by trial and error lol.

You're right, Net Galley can be very expensive, but there are ways to get your book on for a shorter time that is affordable. Brittney, my assistant has done projects with me like that. I'd have to look it up, but there are ways to do it for a short burst at a fraction of the price.
Valerie is totally correct. Sometimes I read a book and I'm midway before I realize it's a genre I don't usually like.
Many of the Millenials who are well into their thirties and forties in my office prefer YA. I test my books on them, and when I gave them Dayna Dalton's story (which had more - what I thought was adult content) I was surprised by their reaction. I realized they prefer romance with a little steamy stuff more than anything. I think you're going to do very well, Alexis!

You'd think after 6 books I know who my ideal readers are but to be honest, based on the scattered analytics of social media, the various reviews I do have and the cricket sounds in my email list I don't really have any idea.

My latest book is a gothic horror and I've been told it could be considered young adult but not really sure where to go from there.

Glad you have an idea Alexis, capitalize on it.