Finding An Audience

[claire_58]

A few years ago I began the process of writing a book proposal. When I got to the part about marketing and developing an audience I found myself stymied and I abandoned the project. Recently I have been re-visiting the project and re-evaluating it's potential.

This is what I wrote about it 3 years ago:

If you’ve every wondered if humans are a hopelessly destructive force that the planet would be better off without this book is a resounding ‘NO’. 

This book looks at our unique human traits and abilities, reexamines our place in the world, and turns everything we "know" about how to save the world on it’s head. It's about using our strengths as a species to create lives for ourselves that contribute to healing our ecosystems. It’s about meeting our needs in ways that support biodiversity, reduce toxic waste, sequester carbon, and create stable economic systems. It's about learning to thrive in a world of change and confusion.

 

The project has come up in my meditation once again. It seems like The Powers think I have something to say that might be worthwhile to those that are more likely to inhabit this changing world than oldies like me. The challenge is 1) I have no externally recognized expertise. 2) I have deliberately withdrawn from most social media and avoided adding my voice to the cacophony of competing noise that is the blogosphere. 3) It seems like listening to anything anyone from the older generation has to say is just not a thing anymore. I maybe judging too harshly but it seems like it is rare for anyone from the millennials on down to think that oldies have anything relevant to contribute. 

Since I'm still reluctant to join the battle for time and attention and equally reluctant to just send it all off into the void with my fingers crossed I have a dilemma. Is there a third option I can't see? Any suggestions are gratefully appreciated.

Comments

[k_a_nitz]

1. Most human activity seems pointless when looked at rationally. Just do it for yourself, and take anyone else's interest as a bonus.

2. Forget about a proposal. Write it first. The process of writing it will no doubt change your thinking about the topic (or even point you away to another topic) in ways you can't anticipate.

3. Overtly listening to anything anyone from the older generation has to say has never been a thing (speaking here as a Gen Xer). But things still get through. Are you setting too high a bar as a way to avoid starting? How many people would need to read it and act on it for you to feel it was worthwhile? If you could influence ten people would you regret having made the attempt? (Note I said "ten people", not "only ten people" - stop and look at the language you are using, and meditate on why).

4. "externally recognised expertise" - think about those three words and what they are saying about your mindset. What do you mean by external? What do you mean by recognised? And what do you mean by expertise? To a millennial this will be meaningless - credentialism is dead, all that matters is what you deliver (so start writing).

I personally have translated a lot of old largely forgotten works and gotten them out there (and continue to do so), not because I expect a lot of people to buy them and be grateful for my work (both of which are things outside of my control), but rather because I think they are valuable and should be available in English (which is something within my control).

History is replete with instance of manuscripts being found after people have died and subsequently being published and becoming widely beloved (Dickinson's poetry is one American example). Were they thinking of a future audience after they were dead or were they just writing because they felt compelled to write?

yes

[kallianeira]

I am with The Powers on this.

You may find the self-publishing / print-on-demand route congenial. I believe you can even set up such a thing on the River at no cost.