I am participating in “Women in Publishing School,” a 4-month workshop. We were asked to create our Ideal Reader “avatar.” Here is mine:
I visualize my readers in a rally-like crowd, for some reason, women aged 30-75, all sizes, all colors, with 5 things in common:
- They love to travel and adore all things Britain
- They dig a good female survivor story, especially one told with humor.
- They are inquisitive, lifelong learners but fun-loving—or want to be.
- They are women adjusting to The Invisibility Club, anywhere along its spectrum, from disbelief to thriving acceptance.
I’ll call my ideal reader Genevieve, French meaning ‘tribe woman.’
Genevieve’s idea of a good time is curling up with a good book that gambols through the Cotswold’s or wanders the streets of London. She longs to live in Great Britain for an extended period, so she relishes adventuring England’s back roads—anywhere in Europe for that matter—through the eyes of solo women travelers: Books give her the encouragement that she, too, could do it alone. As a lifelong learner, Genevieve devours women’s history and learning about female British royalty. She wants to understand more about the journey of Woman’s fight for intellectual equality. Genevieve is either too young to remember what it was like for women before the modern-day women’s movement, or she is old enough but wasn’t paying close attention. She wants to pay attention now. She is still figuring how she feels about The Invisibility Club. Her daughters get the attention now.
Genevieve appreciates a writer’s voice with humor and irreverence, even in the depths of misfortune. A trauma survivor, Genevieve has had setbacks in her life, so she enjoys reading about women who have found their way after trauma. She relates to life’s arduous, non-linear journey, steps forward, steps back, therefore, Genevieve soaks up story arcs where fortitude trumps chaos. A free spirit, Genevieve is open-minded when it comes to sex and relationships, so probably not “Church of Christ!” Though she keeps current politically and may have a history of social activism, Genevieve doesn’t want to read about real-world politics in her downtime. Give her a woman’s travel odyssey, and she is content.
When Genevieve visits a bookstore, she is looking for a strong—must be likable—female subject, but G’s book interests are eclectic. She wants to be enlightened. She wants to be entertained. Unforgettable nonfiction? Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family, by Robert Kolker. Genevieve loves words and the way they play with one another. In her opinion, author Pat Conroy was the contemporary master of words. Genevieve teared up when Anne Rivers Siddons died, but she also appreciates the irreverence of Susan Isaacs or the nonconformity of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone. Genevieve is addicted to travel shows Rick Steves’ Europe, Dream Cruises, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, and she laps up shows about female British monarchs and their palace grounds. G shops in small boutiques as opposed to box stores, and she prefers restaurants that are intimate. Genevieve walks, bicycles, and kayaks. Her women friends mean the world to her, but she is just as happy in solitude, reading books!
IF this sounds like you in any way, you may want to consider signing up for my email list.
