Thursday, April 25, 2019

Always Consider Your Audience

Whether writing or speaking, always consider your audience. I'm so glad I did.

Publishing a book is so much more than writing words on a page. We must consider our audience. In formatting Praise the Lord and Pass the Chemo: A Hopeful Response to a Hard Reality, I pictured my audience. Writing for cancer patients, I realized some of them would be sick, possibly nauseated, very tired, unable to concentrate. I told my publisher this book needs to be easy to read, larger print, double spaced. A cancer patient myself I realized, cancer treatment is hard, and a cancer patient doesn't need a book that is hard to read.  

When the publisher and I settled on this size and font, I was pleased.



When this five-star review appeared on Amazon, I knew we had made the right decision.

5.0 out of 5 stars

January 29, 2019
I really appreciated the lyrics of old hymns. This book has larger print, wider spaces between the lines, 
reads in short stories like a devotional, and has clear headings. Also, each chapter follows a pattern; all of which 
I found helpful when reading what so difficult for me after brain radiation. It was one of the first books after a giant
 print Bible that i picked up when I began to attempt reading again. I kept a pen in it as a bookmark. 
So many quotable, encouraging lines! Very hopeful! So positive.

Always consider your audience. I purchased a devotional book for my early elementary age granddaughter. When the book arrived from Amazon, I was was not happy to open and find tiny, single-spaced print in long paragraphs. There was no way my learning-to-read grandgirl would enjoy the treasures in the words thoughtfully written but thoughtlessly formatted.

When speaking, also consider your audience. Preparing to speak at a retreat I asked the event coordinator the make-up of the audience. "Mostly young moms," she replied. A week before the event I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to call the event planner again. I'm glad I did. In the weeks of registration a group of 30 single women had decided to attend the retreat. Wow! I was thankful to have a week to tweak my talk geared to young moms to now ministering to the needs of all women.

Considering our audience also works for me when writing. I picture the faces, the hurts, the needs of those I am writing for and the words come easier from my heart to the page.

God has given us voices and pens that are influencing the world. Our ministries are not about us, but about those listening to us. May we do all for the glory of God.

"And whatever you do, 
whether in word or deed, 
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
 giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Colossians 3:17

Be a Splash of Serenity in someone's life today,

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2 comments:

  1. Elaine,

    You are correct, we need to take our audience into consideration from the "voice" used in the writing all the way down to the font, spacing, and amount of white space on each page. Thank you for the reminder!

    May God continue to use this book to bring hope and blessing to cancer patients and their families.

    Lisa Buske
    http://LisaMBuske.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Lisa. Our friendship is special because we learn from each other. Iron sharpens iron. Blessings on your ministries.

    ReplyDelete

I would love hearing from you! Thanks for sharing!