Yes Kiya, but you are already thinking towards solution - but how do you become aware of the problem? Your point of other cultural backgrounds is valid, and in addition to the general problem.
My consideration is, writers will (hopefully) have thought about their context, and be knowledgeable to an extent that could well exceed general knowledge. And this is where I see the danger lie.
You will find your answers in the demographics of your specific genre. And, if you want to learn how to find the demographics of your genre or what you think the genre of your story fits into, check into publishers websites. I use Writer's Market to find this information. Or, you could use a search engine. I typed in "demographics+readers+mysteries" into Google and found this particular site:
BookBrowse You might want to check out Publisher's Weekly. They have a section called "Industry Resources" that I've found quite useful. And other places you can find information on demographics is, of course, market research firms like
Gallup The best place to start hunting down this information (from my experience) is at
Writer's Digest. They have a whole site devoted to this type of information. You have to pay for it - minimum amount is $2.99 a month:
Writer's Market.com If you're not sure what genre your story falls into, you might want to join an online writer's group, post a portion of it and ask for feedback. I've done that before with great success.
I hope some of this is helpful!
Faralas <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mage.gif" alt="" />
