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
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:
