Do you know the market for your book? Now’s the time to start.

So often general fiction writers cop out with: “my market is the general public and everyone that buys books!”

Unfortunately, that does not work in 2012.

Every work of fiction has a market and it’s unfair to yourself to think that yours eludes all need for market research. How are you going to market your book if you don’t know who is actually going to do the buying?

The best use of your time is doing research and targeting those who purchase books similar to yours, rather than blasting the internet with information that does not pertain to the majority.

Do you want to sell copies? Find your market and pitch them.

How to find and learn about your market:

• Start a newsletter subscription on your blog or website so people interested in your material can sign up to learn more. Develop content they care about and they’ll look forward to buying your book.
• Acquire blogger lists featuring blogs and sites that attract the most visitors and spread the word through reviews and interviews. Bloggers get tons of requests so play nice and be generous.
• Use social media to find communities that revolve around books in your space. Be an active member of that community and they’ll be happy to support and tout your book to others.
• Build your own community through Twitter, Good Reads and Pinterest.
• Pick 5 themes or topics that relate to your book and write articles for those readers. Pitch the respective blogs, websites, magazines and newspapers. (This is a great tip from book marketing guru Dan Blank)
• Get early reviews and endorsements from those well-known in your genre

Spending time, money and energy finding these pockets of people is a greater return on your investment.

And remember: You are the best advocate of your book, you know it inside out.

Even novels have themes and built in marketing opportunities.

Novel about the immigrant experience? There are many people out there with the same experiences and those that want to learn more. Find out where they learn this online and be there.

Novel with local atmospheric appeal? Do a book launch or blog tour there bringing in members of the community and celebrating.

Novel with a loveable dog as a major part of the book? The dog lover community is massive! How can you tie an event into book sale opportunity?

Grow your market awareness by creating meaningful experiences with those in the communities that will be interested in your book.