Readership: Male vs Female

By default, you should always know your reader base. Who is most likely to buy your books, who are your target audience etc. I know for a fact that my books are for ages 14+, I thought I knew for a fact they aren't gender specific, though women do tend to like that the hero is female.

The other day whilst featuring as a guest on OmegaFM, the majority of callers were male and the majority of those who have entered into discussions with me about my work have come from male readers. Yet I overheard the proprietor of a bookstore, promoting my books to a distributor as being 'a bestseller with the women'. Interesting!

Before buying my book, a woman will talk long and hard, then promise to get her hands on a copy soon. On the other hand, men say nothing, buy the book, then come tell me later about what they thought. Every man has had wonderful praise and commended me for how accurately I nail certain concepts or the portrayal of the male characters. Overall, my reader base seems evenly distributed across the genders, but women first talk the talk, they want to be enticed, coaxed and made to feel special. Men walk the walk, buy the book and surprise me later by telling me just how much they are into the series. I've sat across tables from men who I had no clue had bought the book, until some how the issue of my being an author is raised.

My assessment of who my readers are, has been correct, but it would seem my advertising efforts have less effect on women who are more likely to purchase the book after having some kind of personal interaction with me. Time to put up a new vlog me thinks!