My Reader Soulmate

What exactly is a reader soulmate? That was the question poised to us in Colleen Riordan’s Wild Ink Marketing beta course. To put it simply, it's that person who will fall in love with your book. Or purchase it for a child, grandchild, local library or classroom.

Colleen challenged us to answer three questions our reader soulmate would ask if she were perusing the shelves in a bookstore, and happened to lay eyes on our book:

1. Does this book contain the types of characters, plots and themes I enjoy? (Is it my favorite genre?)
2. Can I afford this right now? (Will it be worth my time and money?)
3. Do I need this? (Can I walk out of the store without it, or must it become my next read?

I attempted to answer those questions in my video - take a listen!

Do you think I answered those questions?

Here is another I could ask The Heart Changer's reader soulmate: What are your favorite topics or genres?

Since my MG historical fiction is for kids from 8 to 11, they probably like these:

- school stories
- adventure
- fantasy
- historical fiction
- biography
​- sports

And what about themes?

- family and friends
- horses
- heroism
- hope
- emotional wounds
- diversity

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Where does my soulmate hang out?

Since most middle-grade readers (8 to 11 years) are not on social media, I need to find their parents, teachers and librarians. So, where do they hang out? Colleen also gave us those statistics:

Moms and Grandmas spend their time on Facebook and Instagram, and purchase books from Amazon, Christian Books, homeschool conferences and by word of mouth. Teachers and librarians find their books on Publisher's Weekly, Hornbook, School Library Journal and Booklist - which is why all authors value a stellar endorsement from one of those sources. I can only hope and pray . . .

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Are you a parent, grandparent, teacher or librarian? If so, where do you find your books? What genre do your readers enjoy? Let me know below!