Software developers frequently use personas when building apps. Think of them as archetypes—and many programmers assign them names and other valuable details.

Harry is the head of HR for a midsized healthcare organization. He’s heard about X but hasn’t noodled with it yet.

More concretely, consider three personas for the embattled social network Twitter:

• Advertisers want to know that their ads don’t appear next to objectionable content. That’s why so many are leaving.
• Users want the ability to share content.
• Authors—who also happen to be users—want the ability to quickly flag intellectual property violations and issue take-down requests.

Personas allow developers to build features for specific groups of people. In effect, personas remind us of the fact that one size doesn’t fit all.

Authors should conduct the same exercise.

Why All Authors Should Conduct AI Experiments

Your Book Is Not for Everyone

Far too many think that their potential books are “for everyone.”

Big mistake. The book for everyone is the book for no one. Sharply defining your target audience helps guide the title, subtitle, synopsis, outline, writing, and editing. You know, little things.

If you’re targeting the C-suite, then dispense with the advice for entry-level readers. Ditto for arcane technical details if you’re targeting marketers or HR folks. At a high level, personas help answer the fundamental question, “Do they need to know this?”

Identifying personas is far from the only task you’ll have to complete but it’s certainly one of the most important.

Go Deeper

Check out this excerpt from the first Racket title, Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace,if you want to see detailed personas.