When writing my novel, the last thing I thought was who I should be writing this for. And, in my opinion, selling a novel so that many people read it is less important than writing a book that a few truly enjoy (quality > quantity argument). However, presuming I have the talent to write great prose, poetry, or storylines is ridiculous.
But I wrote anyway. I spent a good year writing it and currently now another two years editing. The hardest part is not finding typographical errors or grammatical mistakes, but in finding the subtle plot holes. There are, as far as I can tell, no major plot holes. But simple things such as leaving a sword behind and then drawing it later plague chapters. Even though I drew outlines, the outlines never specify such small details to cover.
My interests in books are primarily in classics, with Gene Wolfe being one of the few exceptions. And to limit it more, Chinese and Norse classics (such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chin Ping Mei, and Egil's Saga). So when writing my novel, the audience was minimized.
It has over 100 characters. Most of them are well-developed and I tried my best to keep the plot focusing on only a few at a time so that it was paced well. Of course, there are two main characters it primarily focuses on. However, the plot is very in-depth and it would easily take a second read-through to get some of the smaller plotpoints and connect them. On top of that, it has many allusions to other novels, poems, and myths.
So when it comes down to the final product, which is not watered-down one bit, it turned into a very lengthy (half a million words) novel that is marketed for a very few select people who enjoy the classics but also appreciate some contemporary literature, and especially storytelling. I'm more than happy to hopefully find those people who will praise the work I put into my novel, even if everybody else thinks it is too lengthy, poor developed, too confusing, or what have you.
What about you? Did you have a specific audience in mind when writing? How did the final product turn out if you did? If you did not, then just what kind of audience did you end up with?
But I wrote anyway. I spent a good year writing it and currently now another two years editing. The hardest part is not finding typographical errors or grammatical mistakes, but in finding the subtle plot holes. There are, as far as I can tell, no major plot holes. But simple things such as leaving a sword behind and then drawing it later plague chapters. Even though I drew outlines, the outlines never specify such small details to cover.
My interests in books are primarily in classics, with Gene Wolfe being one of the few exceptions. And to limit it more, Chinese and Norse classics (such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chin Ping Mei, and Egil's Saga). So when writing my novel, the audience was minimized.
It has over 100 characters. Most of them are well-developed and I tried my best to keep the plot focusing on only a few at a time so that it was paced well. Of course, there are two main characters it primarily focuses on. However, the plot is very in-depth and it would easily take a second read-through to get some of the smaller plotpoints and connect them. On top of that, it has many allusions to other novels, poems, and myths.
So when it comes down to the final product, which is not watered-down one bit, it turned into a very lengthy (half a million words) novel that is marketed for a very few select people who enjoy the classics but also appreciate some contemporary literature, and especially storytelling. I'm more than happy to hopefully find those people who will praise the work I put into my novel, even if everybody else thinks it is too lengthy, poor developed, too confusing, or what have you.
What about you? Did you have a specific audience in mind when writing? How did the final product turn out if you did? If you did not, then just what kind of audience did you end up with?
for many readers. I'm not exactly striving for literary writing, depending on how you define it.
