The world has 6.9 billion people.  These United States, 311 million before the 2010 census results.

R. R. Bowker book industry report for 2009.

2009 more than 40% of Americans bought a book.  (2008 figure was over 50%).  Average age: 42.  With Fantasy (science fiction) being purchased (believe it or not) evenly by men and women (where women average 64% of all purchases in other genres of fiction and literature). 

From Literary insights:  Book industry Study Group

55% of (Hard) Science fiction is still bought by men, though 65% of all fiction purchases were made by women.  (We may assume (soft) Science fiction/fantasy tends toward more women purchasers).

Book editorial and marketing stats:

@7% of all fiction sales are in science fiction and fantasy (perhaps a bit more because this excludes occult and horror, all of those SF/F stories that get lumped in with mainstream or contemporary fiction and literature, and young adult.  I suppose a case could be made for 10%).

What does all this mean?

Well, sticking with just the U.S., we begin with 311 million people.

We first have to subtract the roughly 20% under 13 (the above statistics exclude them)

That leaves @ 250 million Americans.

40% of this is 100 million book purchasers.

53% of these peope read fiction. (Publisher’s Weekly)  That’s 53 million fiction readers.

7% of that number is roughly 3.5 million purchasers of science fiction and fantasy.

For me, that is a potential target audience of 3.5 million readers.  (A conservative estimate).  So all I have to do is figure out how to connect.  And the Author’s Guild suggests that 5,000 books is a good sell for fiction…  But how to connect?

Sure, there is the standard response found in the word of the decade: “Networking.”  Advertise your blog on forums, facebook, linked-in, twitter, winken, blinken and nod.  Give readers some samples to chew on. Etc. etc.  But I am not talking about simple advertising or even marketing.  I am talking about locating and connecting.  That is not quite the same thing… if you know what I mean…  So, any thoughts?