This page seems like the easiest way to share survey results. First, a HUGE thank-you to every single person who participated! Thank you for entrusting me with your opinion, and I really am hoping to take this information to heart moving forward.
Question 1: How old are you?
I am pleased to report we have a wide range of ages, from the 18-29 range and up to 70-79!
Question 2: Where do you get your books?
125 responses, and multiple options could be selected and written in:
- 115 Amazon
- 43 used bookstore
- 35 library
- 31 B&N
- 25 Kobo
- 24 Apple
- 8 Local indie store
- 7 Prolific Works / BookFunnel
- 5 Google Play
- 4 Smashwords
- 3 Walmart
- 3 Garage/Yard sales
- 2 Thrift stores
- 2 Supermarket
- 1 Friends & Family
- 1 Kroger
- 1 Powells
- 1 Audio
- 1 Direct from Publisher
Question 3: Do you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited?
Nearly 75% said no, 23% said yes, and the remaining 2% said off & on. After Amazon took a bunch of my earnings and temporarily suspended my account last spring due to what they thought were faulty page reads (were they faulty, Amazon? REALLY???), I have no plans of returning to the KU program, but I do like to know what you all are doing.
Question 4: How do you feel about universal book links?
Overwhelmingly, people are okay with these. 78% say they’re totally fine, and 14% say they don’t have them set to their favorite store, but they don’t mind the extra click. 2% don’t trust them and search for the book on their own…I can relate, because that used to be me! 1.6% don’t have it set up to their favorite store and the extra click bugs them.
Question 5: How do you feel about the “Books from Friends” section of the newsletter?
There was a wide range here! For the most part, people want it to stay as is–that’s 70%. 10% would like more books shared, and 14% would prefer fewer books shared. For now, we’ll stick with 3-4 per newsletter and I’ll be mindful of how many images I share so that people with slower internet aren’t stuck with a slowly-loading newsletter. I’m currently brainstorming how I might get more book recommendations into the hands of those who want more without overloading people who are happy with the status quo…perhaps a second newsletter for those who want it! 🙂
There is one misconception I would like to address, and I’ll probably include this in my newsletter at some point, as well: I do not accept money to share my friends’ books. What authors usually do (not always, but usually in my experience), is we find each other on Facebook and start chatting about writing and publishing. We check out each other’s books, and we think, “Hey, I think her readers would like my book, and I bet my readers would like hers! We should share each other’s books and reach new readers.” When authors approach me asking to share their books, I am actually pretty picky and I’ve turned authors down if I don’t think we’d be a match. I only want to share books that I am fairly certain you’d be interested in–which means paranormal romance (shifters especially), and reverse harem with paranormal elements. (If you want some sports or hockey romance recommendations, let me know! I have some favorites!)
Question 6: Do you like it when I share links to my blog posts?
This was mostly a mix of “yes” and “indifferent.” I’ll probably continue as I’ve done and share a post if I think you’ll really be into it. If you want to see all of my blog posts, there’s a subscribe button somewhere in the sidebar or at the bottom…I think?
Again, thank you for taking the time to fill out the survey!
Winners of the giveaway have been contacted via email–congratulations to Gay, Trish, and Jackie! <3