Survey

As a reader of historical fiction, you might be interested in taking a survey conducted by A. K. Todd, blogger of “A Writer of History.”  Here are the blogger’s comments about the survey, which takes no more than 10 minutes to complete. 

Yes, I know some of you will think I'm crazy!

However, the topic of reading is always on my mind and this time, with advice from historical fiction editor and blogger Jenny Quinlan and New York Time best-selling author Beatriz Williams, fellow panel members at the upcoming Historical Novel Society's Denver conference, I'm releasing a 3rd reader survey.

Topics include:

·              preferences regarding famous or fictional characters

·              what makes characters come alive

·              favourite historical novels (yes, this will be complicated)

·              favourite historical fiction authors (let's see how the rankings change this year)

·              effects of social media on the reading experience

Please take the survey and share the link with friends, family, and on as many social media venues as you can - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GXRD9B7. The survey will be open until May 14. Many thanks for your help.

A few highlights from prior surveys:

·              HISTORICAL FICTION IS MAINSTREAM: Less than 2% of participants said they rarely or never read historical fiction.

·              GENDER MAKES A DIFFERENCE: Women and men differ significantly in their reading habits and preferences and their views of historical fiction.

·              AGE MAKES A DIFFERENCE: Those under 30 have different preferences for genre and time period 
and have different patterns of consumption and acquisition.

·              SOCIAL MEDIA IS HAVING AN IMPACT ON READING: Social media and online sites play an increasingly significant role for those choosing, purchasing, and talking about fiction.

·              BOOK BLOGS ARE VERY POPULAR: 1,473 participants listed one, two or three favourite blogs.

·              GEOGRAPHY: Responses to questions such as the use of online tools for recommendations and purchasing and preferred setting for historical fiction varied by geography.

·              PRICING: Sadly, readers are pushing for low prices. For example, 60% want e-books at $5.99 or less and 66% want paperbacks at $10.99 or less.

·              ONLINE BOOK CLUBS ARE GAINING POPULARITY: 21% belong to online clubs while 15% belong to clubs meeting in a physical location

·              VOLUME OF BOOKS READ MAKES A DIFFERENCE: for example, high volume readers have different expectations for book reviews, a higher interest in tracking their books, and higher usage of online tools and social media to augment their reading experience.

A Writer of History has many posts on survey results and insights and you can find summary reports and other popular articles here.

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION follow A WRITER OF HISTORY (using the widget on the left sidebar)

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History.

Click this link to take the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GXRD9B7