Finding an Audience

Since I haven't had an opportunity to write for a while, I've begun delving into some vexing questions, such as who comprises my potential readership? Interestingly, it's impossible to find any articles listing the demographics of women's fiction readers. Sure, I can make assumptions, but some hard data would be helpful. 

I've long known that the women's fiction label is mostly counterproductive, because few people seem to understand what it is. I'm quite close to abandoning that classification all together. It's limiting. Plus, when readers are expecting a romance, and thus they choose a women's fiction novel, they're ticked off. And that's what all authors want, right? To tick off their readers? Fighting against misconceptions is a losing battle.

In my search to locate my niche, I've come up empty-handed. I never actually knew what "upmarket" meant, but it's apparently a writing style that's more literary*:

*it combines the commercial appeal (faster pacing, plot development, high-concept hooks) with Literary intentionality of writing and attention to craft. (source)

Well, my novels contain none of those elements. They're not fast-paced, unless one counts my novellas, which are fast-paced by design. As for "high concept"*, my novels are the opposite of that.

*A high concept story is one with a clear, easily-communicable premise. It typically involves a premise that is easy to pitch and driven by a straightforward plot. This is in contrast to low concept stories, which tend to be more character-driven with less of an obvious narrative hook. (source)

And literary? Hardly. All my books are just stories. They're straight-forward. I'm not writing to dazzle anyone with my flowery prose. Couldn't do it if I tried. 

So, by process of elimination, my books are "commercial". Though in the overall sales picture, they're more like "not very commercial". 

I think, bottom line, that I'm the only reader my books appeal to. That does not bode well for someone who wants to call herself an author. Searching for my market? There isn't one.

I've done little in the way of advertising ~ $10.00 here, $20.00 there ~ and I've never tried Facebook ads, which everyone seems to swear by, but my single Amazon ad was a complete bust; it never even managed to elicit one click. So, there's not a bit of curiosity out there for what I'm selling. 

It's hard to reconcile that fact. I'm trying, but I still have a longing to be read. Yes, the writing process is fun, mostly, but lots of things can be fun and just as unproductive as this. And I'm a goal oriented person. If there's no point to what I'm doing, why am I doing it? 

All the articles I've read have only disheartened me. I'm not an upmarket writer, because I use everyday words; I'm little better than a high school sophomore-level writer. And as far as I can tell, there is no market for my work. I could choose to ignore all the signs, but that would be delusional. 

I've endeavored to change my writing style, which has only succeeded in turning it another kind of "bad". 

Things are not looking up.