Know Thy Reader: Target Audiences for Fantasy

When writing, you don’t want to be focused on how it will be received—that would only increase stress or perfectionist tendencies. Typically, this messes up the writing process and can negatively impact your story. However, sometimes it’s important to know who you’re writing for in order to better focus your story.

So why are target markets important?

Target markets can help guide your writing in a specific direction. They can give you themes to work with or help you craft your story to be more authentic. People like to read about realistic characters, meaning characters with traits they’re familiar with. So, depending on who your target audience is, your protagonists may need similar characteristics. While this is not always the case, it can help, especially if you're struggling to find direction in your story. Chances are, the better you know your target market, the easier it can be to adapt to it and design a story that appeals. 

Not all protagonists fit into every genre. For example, younger readers tend to prefer protagonists close to their own age. Child protagonists are going to have different rules than adult protagonists. Hopefully, children aren’t the main characters of romance stories and the lessons adult protagonists learn should be more advanced than those suited for children. If your target audience happens to be on the younger side, you may have to organize your information in a different manner. Some kids aren’t going to get pop culture references from the 80s or understand more intellectually advanced concepts quickly like adults would. 

Aside from age, there are plenty of target demographics that stories can work with. For another example, on average, female protagonists written by men are less popular with women than female protagonists written by women. One of the key writing tips is ‘write what you know’—this isn’t a mandatory rule, but authenticity often yields better results. Looking at it another way, if you have a unique experience or perspective, that’s great! However, you need to make sure that the experience is explained thoroughly to an audience that may not be familiar with where you’re coming from. There are many different factors that influence how real characters feel to your audience and this is important to consider when preparing your story for publication. 

Let’s talk basic fantasy…

So if authenticity is so important in attracting your target audience, how do you achieve this in fantasy, where realism and authenticity are harder to come by?

Well, there are several factors to include when writing out-of-this-world stories that can help target your audience and attract more readers. But it’s tricky because even within fantasy, audiences differ. So let’s start with the general sub-genres of fantasy.

High Fantasy: stories set in another world with different physical law, typically with dramatic themes and complex magic/political systems. Examples include: Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Low Fantasy: stories where magical elements intrude on the real world. Examples include: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Interview with the Vampire.

Low fantasy is a little more popular within young adult and children’s fiction, primarily because high fantasy tends to be more complicated and has more moving parts. But even within these two sections of fantasy, there are more sub-genres that can target different audiences. 

Other fantasy sub-genres:

Dark fantasy was popularized by H.P. Lovecraft, meant to unnerve and frighten—this means it can be popular with teenagers but is more favored among adults. Since it’s meant to unnerve and frighten, if you want to write within the dark fantasy sub-genre, you have to be an expert in building tension and suspense. This genre is enjoyed by people who may not enjoy other sub-genres of fantasy, but they do enjoy complex narratives and plots and are usually looking for morally grey figures or monsters that scare in extreme, experimental, or profound ways. 

‘Romantasy’, or romance fantasy, is definitely more popular with women on the whole. To be more specific, it’s especially popular with women ages 16-24. Certain factors of ‘romantasy’ make the books more popular. Good character development is incredibly important and a key characteristic of ‘romantasy’ that separates it from normal romance is the worldbuilding. Good ‘romantasy’ books are fantasy books first then romances second though these books undeniably fit into both categories. The most popular ‘romantasy’ books include strong female protagonists and love-interests that challenge them to become better and/or stronger people because their target audience is young women who identify with the protagonists. 

Portal fantasy is a very popular children’s fantasy sub-genre. Portal fantasy stories are  usually thinly veiled worlds to our own and meant for teaching basic lessons to children. These stories are categorized by main characters stepping from the real world into a fictional one—examples of portal fantasy include Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. These are not as common in adult fantasy, so the protagonists are typically children. 

If you are writing fantasy, no matter the sub-genre, there are also factors to consider including depending on what kind of story you’re writing and who you’re writing to. High fantasy can be more engaging with a map or glossaries, this can allow the story to be a little simpler without diluting the quality. The more intricate your magic system is without being overly complicated, the more engaging and memorable your stories can be. There are many, many mythologies, superstitions, and stories from cultures all around the world, just as there are many, many fictional magic systems and worlds based on European culture. In my experience, stories that draw on newer inspirations can make bigger impacts. Drawing inspiration from historical events and real world themes also attracts more adults to your stories. However, at the end of the day, everything comes down to the Core Concepts and how well you, as the author, construct your story. 

To Conclude...

There are many, many, many different sub-genres of fantasy; not to mention the many sub-genres of science fiction. For fantasy, it’s important to remember that as the world becomes more global, inclusive, and creative, the more fantasy appeals to all kinds of people, regardless of their age, gender, race, nationality, sexuality, and more. These target audiences are speaking generally, and there are many books that are beloved and incredibly well-crafted that don’t fit these rules. However, these can be solid guidelines to follow if needed.

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About the author: Kate Schuyler is currently a rising junior at Brown University studying Literary Arts, among other things. She writes in a wide mix of genres, ranging from contemporary fiction to fantasy to thriller. When she's not writing or studying, she's traveling (or trying to), watching old movies, or catching up on much-needed sleep. She is a first time judge with the Writer's Games this year, but very excited to try and learn new things.