Writing tips (6 of 20). Audience

Who's your audience?
Your 'audience' is who you're writing for, who you want to or hope will read your work, and, in this context, it's perfectly OK for you to write for yourself! As long as you're not aiming to publish.
What I mean here is that, assuming that you're not a published author and are uncertain about the worth of your work, it makes a lot of sense to begin the journey by putting it down - to be a writer you have to write! This process, and how long you stay with it, will tell you whether you should become serious, or get a ghost writer!
So, you're serious, and you've subjected your work to the opinions of others (who've been encouraging), who are you writing for? Who do you hope will buy it?
I must confess, here, that I've never asked myself these questions when I've sat down to write a book or for the stage! So, am I a naughty boy?! Yes, and no.
A normal professional writer will have asked these questions and have a pretty good idea of the answer(s), as will the publisher. On the other hand, as I've said elsewhere, it's a good idea to write for yourself. If you do it this way, the questions - which have to be answered - can perhaps be best done by 'road testing'. A terrific way to do this, for children's books, is to find a friendly school teacher who will allow you into their class, and/or encourage individuals to read your manuscript. The feedback is gold, enabling you to clarify or explain, delete, expand, create new material, and even collect valuable comments to include in your pitch to publishers. The experience will, at the least, confirm or eliminate one possible audience! And, perhaps, give you a better idea of who the work really is for.
An example of this, from my own writing, is Ranga Plays Australia, a story that I thought would appeal to boys around upper primary or lower secondary school, but it's turning out that adults enjoy it, too. See http://www.lulu.com/content/1855128.