Who Do I Write For?

A writing colleague from this website whom I greatly admire said something in a reply to a comment I had posted on one of her stories recently that got me thinking very deeply about many things. In addition to being a good reminder of why I admire this person, it challenged me in ways I had not expected. Ultimately what she said boiled down to a question. Who exactly do you write for? Many people say that knowing the answer is one of the things that separates “successful” writers from those who are not. They argue that knowing who your readers are and tailoring what you write to meet the needs and wants of that group is the only way to build an audience and the key to selling your work. I do not think that argument is completely incorrect, however, it is for sure very wrong in one key aspect. It is not the ‘only’ path to success in writing, however one defines that loaded term. For purposes of this discussion, I will define it as the ability to make money from one’s writing (i.e. the ability to sell the things one writes to other people we call readers.) It might be the easiest way, it might be the fastest way, but it is definitely not the only way, and, one could argue it is to the detriment of any writer in the long term because it greatly limits the scope of what they may potentially write about, possibly causing them to lose out on much larger opportunities in other areas where their skills and knowledge may actually be a better fit. It certainly does not limit their ability to write run on sentences as shown by the example of the previous sentence. Moreover, it is almost impossible to know what any given person wants to read and many people, me included, take great offense if they feel they are being pandered to or targeted in a naked attempt to profit.

Bottom line for me is that I don’t know who my readers are, and, I have not tried to tailor my writings towards any audience or group, or hypothetical person and it never crossed my mind to do so. That said, since I have had almost zero financial success with writing over the seven or so years, I have been doing it semi-regularly, that would seem to provide support to the argument I just tried to convince you was wrong. The off-the-cuff answer I gave to my writing colleague basically aligned with what I just described. I told her that I didn’t really know. Further that I didn’t really care, and it didn’t really matter. However, upon much further reflection I realized that it was only partly right. In fact, it was mostly wrong because while I do think it doesn’t really matter, I do know, and I do care. The answer to the question who do I write for is as obvious as it is complicated, and it is you. I am writing for you. The person reading these words at this very moment in time. If you are reading this, then I am writing it for you. If you have ever or will ever read anything I have ever written or will ever write, then you can know with absolute certainty that I wrote it or will write it for you. The implications of that are profound. Firstly, it means that you are a very special person. There are very, very few of you and I am not exaggerating when I say that. Almost nobody reads anything that I write, and there is a very high probability that almost nobody ever will. However, you have, and you currently are, and you might even read more in the future. Because of this, in addition to being very special, you are also unique. It also creates a bond between us that you probably did not want to create though it is too late now to take back. I am sorry about that, but you are one of my readers, just as I am one of your writers, unless you only read the things that I write, in which case, you are for sure disturbed and may want to consider seeking professional help. If you do seek professional help and happen to find it can you send it my way when you are done because I probably could use it too. In addition to being special and unique you can be sure that I care about you. And I do not mean that in any weird or sexual or homo or heteronormative way, I mean I care about you in a perfectly acceptable-to-society and non-threatening way. Think of it like how you care who wins the (insert name of sporting event or sports league or game) this (insert specific time) and then subtract the face painting and the deep dark depressions after your (insert name of sporting team or person or thing) loses. I care about you because you have taken time out of your busy life to read something I have written. Of all the things you could choose to spend your time on, and I know there are many, you have selected spending a few minutes reading something written by some random idiot as one of them. When I put it that way and think about it for only a moment I am blown away and humbled in the extreme. The fact that you would do that means that you are finding some value in the things you are reading that I write. It is doing something positive for you in some manner, even if that positive thing is mostly just pissing you off or annoying you. That is fucking awesome. Thank you so much for reading and I will do my best not to let you down though I am 100% sure I will at some point. And thank you anonymous writing colleague for the question. You know who you are…