Today's photo is from the 2003 Midwest Writers Workshop in Muncie, Ind. There I met George Plimpton (pictured), who was the keynote speaker, and I wrote a personal essay about the experience that was published here.

What I've learned #4:

It's all about target audience.

Lots of writers/authors say their audience is everyone—and life forms yet to be discovered. But you can succeed far more effectively and quickly, at least in the beginning of your career, by identifying and marketing to a target audience. Plus, if you have any knowledge of the Long Tail phenomenon, then you know that the media world is becoming more vertical (specialized information, niche audience) and less horizontal (general information, broad audience).

Bo Sacks frames it perfectly in his piece for Publishing Executive magazine, "5 Easy Steps to Publishing Nirvana."

1. Who is my target audience?
2. Where is my targeted audience?
3. What is the real value of my edit (information) to that audience?
4. What is the most efficient method to reach the maximum targeted audience?
5. How do I keep my information valuable and fresh for my targeted audience?

He says, "These may seem like simple concepts on the surface, but they are not. They constitute a complex, Zen-like formula. Success is measured by the antique term called profit. And to achieve the Zen-like state of profit, you must follow the Bo-formula to publishing nirvana (in the box above). On the atomic level, it can all be distilled down to the simple equation of RV = RP or, for the laymen, real value equals real profit."

One of the biggest problems I encounter—both internally at F+W, as well as externally with authors—is a lack of research into the audience or market for a book or product. The focus is all too often on what the author wants to achieve or express—rather than focusing on what benefit they bring to a readership. If an author can make this fundamental paradigm shift in his/her approach, that author becomes instantly more attractive to editors and agents.