How Write What You Know Helps You Find a Target Market

How Write What You Know Helps You Find a Target Market How "Write What You Know" Helps You Find a Target Market When she was 26, Fiona MacBain  moved to Tunisia and  ran a watersports base near Sousse with her local husband (more about that at fionamacbain.com). She returned to the UK with her 6-month old daughter in 1999 and eventually settled in Inverness, where she lives with her husband and children. In this article, she talks about  turning her memoir into fiction and how "write what you know" can be a sales tool  when marketing your book.When I was twenty-nine I wrote a memoir. It was about the events that led to me returning to the UK a penniless single mother after spending two years running a watersports base on a beach in Tunisia.I sent it to agents and although a couple showed initial interest, nothing came of it; they did not think there was a sufficient market for the book or enough popular interest in Tunisia. It was my first taste of literary agent rejection.The other Facebook ad was targeted at women across the UK with an interest in Tunisia. The results were phenomenal ; I was astonished at how Facebook managed to track people so specifically. I was inundated with comments and messages from women who, like me, had been married to Tunisian partners, and many other regular holiday makers with a love of the country. Several people commented that they had been drawn to the book because of their experiences of Tunisia - and in this respect, having a blog which covered my own personal experiences of the country was helpful. It gave readers an insight into my life, which generated a personal connection and added interest in my book. It also enabled to me to sell my novel on the back of articles that chronicled my life in Tunisia.The importance of connecting with readers as an indie authorA word of caution is that managing the ads was time-consuming. I replied to every comment, every message,   and managing the ads became a full-time job for the two months they ran. My phone was permanently a few inches from my face; I was walking into lamp-posts, burn ing dinner, and neglecting my children as I replied and chatted with readers. I also didn’t do a shred of writing during that period.Still, the boosted Facebook posts highlight one of the advantages for an indie author: with the help of specific targeting on social media you can connect with readers who have a specific interest that your book meets - books that people wouldn’t typically find in a bookshop. Through Facebook, niche markets are directly available and many readers seem to enjoy the personal contact with the author that social media can provide.Writing fiction based on the old â€Å"write what you know† adage has been a successful and enjoyable experience. My time living in Tunisia gave me first-hand knowledge with which to create setting, places, and characters in a way that was unique and authentic. Most of the research for my novel came from trips down memory lane - and using Facebook, I managed to find a host of readers who seemed to enjoy take that trip with me.Fiona will be doing a reading of "Daughter, Disappeared" on February 3rd at Waterstones, Covent Garden as part of their "Novel London: An Evening of Contemporary Fiction Event"! More information here."Daughter, Disappeared" is available on Amazon in paperback and on Amazon Kindle!Have you lived an experience that made you uniquely qualified to write a book? Have you gone through the process of turning a memoir into a work of fiction? Share any thoughts or questions for Fiona in the comments below!