Who’s reading your book?

This is one of those tricky questions — the answer seems SO obvious, but the answer may be more elusive than you think.

Books enter the market in a unique and largely untested way. There are generally no focus groups or beta testers. And while no one would dream of launching a computer game, a new line of low-fat snacks or a snazzy new sneaker without extensive market research, every year 6,000 business books hit the shelves exactly that way — based on one author’s vision, one editor’s belief and one publishing company’s faith that they will find a market.

Sometimes it seems a wonder that books EVER work.

But, they do …sometimes magically by word of mouth alone, more often with a long, hard, concerted effort by author, publisher, lecture agent, publicist and every other advocate of the written word working together.

Authors have an impressive sense of mission and perseverance. They are so compelled to share an idea, a message, a theory or an opinion, that they are willing to commit untold hours to putting that message on paper in the form of a book. But somewhere during the deep drive required to churn out 60,000 words on a subject, many authors lose sight of their core audience.

Without truly knowing the core audience for the book, it is impossible to reach them. That spells missed opportunity across the board.

Within the business genre where our firm works lies a raft of categories– leadership, management, branding, personal finance, economics, and so on. It’s unlikely that someone trying to shore up their bank statement will go shopping for “Finance 101” and end up buying “101 Ways to Lead Your Company” instead. And herein lies the danger.

If everyone who dabbles in the stock market is a target market, you should be reaching out to CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox News Channel, “Marketplace,” Investor’s Business Daily, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and dozens of other media outlets designed to appeal to just that group. A management theory book is more likely to score ink in Chief Executive, strategy+business and Carol Hymowitz’s column in the Wall Street Journal than on “The Today Show.”

This may all seem elementary, but I consider it the biggest blind spot in publishing. And while I am a paid champion of the written word, I dismiss many a project when an author has a distinct disconnect between a book’s intended audience and his media goals.

When you write your media wish list, ask yourself these questions

What daily newspapers do I read every day and what sections in those newspapers pertain to my industry?

Where do I see books reviewed or covered that influence me to buy them?

What are the top 5 websites bookmarked on my computer that have any coverage of books whatsoever?

What does my book add to the discussion of this subject?

These questions will give you a realistic hit list for your book, if you can keep it honest. Oh, and discard any of the guilty pleasures on your reading list too. People.com is loads of fun during conference calls but unless Katie or Tom or Paris is cited clutching a copy of your book, the chances are weak that your business book will rate coverage here.