Do you read mostly full-length books? novellas? novelettes? short stories? short or long nonfiction books?
The first 4 questions are for fiction; the last 2 are for nonfiction.
The 2 questions about short stories and novelettes exclude children’s, so that we don’t get illustrated children’s picture books mixed up with short stories, for examples. (See my other surveys—there is a link below the surveys—if you’re curious about children’s books.)
View the results after you take the survey.
You can take each survey more than once, if, for example, you have multiple family members using the same computer.
I will leave these polls open indefinitely. The more people who take the survey, the more meaningful the statistics become.
If you missed my other reading surveys, you can check them out here:
Our survey on how people read books have received much attention. We’ve had over 100 referrals today from Facebook and LinkedIn, and it’s been a week since the survey started.
I’ve also received some valuable feedback on how the survey could be improved.
My plan is to create a new and better survey, while continuing to let the original run, too. This way, we won’t lose the original data. It won’t be consolidated either. The new survey will start over. I’ll go into the original survey and add the new survey to it, so anyone finding the original can also take the new one.
The purpose of this post is to give you a chance to provide helpful feedback, comments, and suggestions before the new survey goes live. (Doh! Why didn’t I do that the first time?)
I will consider all feedback, but may not be able to accommodate all requests (especially on occasions where two people offer contradictory suggestions), though I will try in most cases.
Multiple Answers
One suggestion was that some questions should allow for multiple answers.
Here’s a sample poll. You should be able to select two or more answers. I’ll make the new survey questions work like this, where relevant.
Cookies
I set up the poll to block by cookies. It’s not perfect, but helps to prevent multiple voting by the same person that might skew the results. Do you have any strong opinions on this?
1. Which of the following methods do you use to read Kindle e-books?
Kindle Fire
Kindle Paperwhite
Other Kindle device
iPhone
iPad
Kindle for PC reading app
Kindle for Mac reading app
Android device
Other option not listed above
I don’t read Kindle e-books
Would you like to see additional options? If so, which ones?
Suggestions so far include Kindle app for iPhone, Kindle app for Android, and Kindle Keyboard.
Maybe it’s worth knowing both the main preference and seeing all devices used, but that would take two separate questions.
I’ll change this to allow for multiple selections (with no limit).
2. Which of the following methods do you prefer for reading?
E-book (any type of digital book)
Paperback (any type of softcover)
Hardbound (any kind of hard cover)
Audio book
The questions asks which you prefer. But I could change the question to ask which of these you read, allowing for multiple answers. If I leave the question unchanged, I think it should only allow for one answer. Maybe it’s worth knowing both the preference and seeing all that are used, though that would take two questions. Another idea is asking which methods would you not use.
Would you prefer the original question, or to change it?
3. Where do you prefer to buy your e-books?
Amazon’s Kindle
Barnes & Noble’s Nook
Apple
Kobo
Google
I don’t read e-books
Would you like to see additional options? If so, which ones?
Suggestions so far include Smashwords, Google, and Gutenberg.
I’ll change this to allow for multiple selections (with no limit).
4. How many e-books do you let your kids read per month (on average)?
0
1-2
3-4
5+
I can add an option for, “I don’t have kids.”
One issue is that it may depend on age… Another issue is that you might babysit or otherwise have an opportunity to let kids read e-books even if you’re not a parent… And what if the kids are grown up?
Would you like me to change the question, add more choices, refine the answers, or anything else?
5. How many books do you read per month (on average)?
0
1
2
3
4
5+
Would you like me to change the question or add more answer choices?
6. Do you have Kindle Unlimited?
yes
no
Any suggestions here, like adding a Scribd option?
7. Do you read books by indie authors or small publishers?
Always
More often than not
About half the time
Fewer than half the books
Never
I’m not sure
Any suggestions?
Offline Feedback
One criticism was that this survey only reaches people who go online. This might be quite relevant for the questions regarding print books.
That’s a tough one. If you have any ideas regarding this challenge, please share them.
Other Questions?
Are there other questions that you’d like to see on the survey?
I tried to restrict the number of questions. My feeling was that if I asked too many questions, it may deter participation. I can include more questions, though. If you have suggestions, please share them.
One possibility is where to shop for print books: chain bookstore, indie bookstore, Amazon, BN.com, The Book Depository, the library, etc. If you like this question or have suggestions for more answers, please let me know.
Here is a survey page on my blog. You’ll be able to find both the new and original questions here at any time (well, obviously, not until I add the new ones):
It would help to have more data. Much more data. But we have a start.
The more people who take the survey, the more meaningful the data will become.
WHICH BOOK FORMAT DO READERS PREFER?
Interestingly, there was almost an even split between e-books and paperbacks:
E-book 46%
Paperback 40%
Hardbound 12%
Audio 2%
This split can vary significantly by genre, but I think it shows that if you only sell your book in one format, you’re really limiting your potential customer base.
The audio book market might look like a slim slice of the pie, but there is also less competition within that market.
WHERE DO READERS BUY E-BOOKS?
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the majority vote went to Kindle:
Amazon’s Kindle 81%
I don’t read e-books 7%
Barnes & Noble’s Nook 4%
Kobo 4%
Apple 3%
Google 1%
These numbers may change somewhat with greater participation, but I think we can expect Kindle to remain the popular favorite.
It makes you wonder how much you stand to gain by opting out of KDP Select. However, there is also less competition outside of Select, which helps authors who publish elsewhere.
Also, I must apologize for leaving out an option for Other. Smashwords, for example, generates some indie sales.
Some customers buy books in multiple formats, and unfortunately the survey didn’t allow readers to select two or more answers.
Another notable statistic is that 7% don’t read e-books. But remember, 54% of readers prefer a different format over the e-book. The print market is quite significant.
HOW DO PEOPLE READ KINDLE E-BOOKS?
It’s all over the place! There is no clear favorite.
In addition, many customers read Kindle e-books more than one way, but the survey only allowed for one answer.
Kindle Fire 15%
Kindle Paperwhite 15%
iPad 14%
I don’t read Kindle e-books 14%
Other Kindle device 12%
Android device 13%
Kindle for PC reading app 9%
Other option not listed 4%
iPhone 3%
Kindle for Mac reading app 1%
This shows that it’s worth making sure that your book formats well across all devices. If you only format a Kindle e-book with one device in mind, it probably won’t be a good fit for most readers.
Note that 14% of those polled don’t read Kindle e-books.
HOW MANY BOOKS DO PEOPLE READ?
The people who participated in the survey are readers. None selected zero.
Of course, that’s not typical of the population as a whole.
5+ books per month 45%
3 books per month 20%
2 books per month 14%
1 book per month 11%
4 books per month 10%
More than half of those surveyed read 4 or more books per month.
Remember, though, most of the people who have taken the survey already like to read. If we can get more exposure for this survey, this may change significantly.
HOW MANY READERS HAVE KINDLE UNLIMITED?
At this stage, 91% of those surveyed do not subscribe to Kindle Unlimited.
What surprises me is that 45% of those surveyed read 5 or more books per month.
There are a few ways to interpret this:
Some avid readers are buying 99-cent books, so even though they read 5+ books per month, it doesn’t make sense for most of them to spend $9.99.
Some avid readers would love to sign up for Kindle Unlimited, but the books they really want to read aren’t in the program.
Some avid readers prefer to purchase their e-books, to keep them forever, rather than borrow up to 10 books at a time through a library.
Some avid readers prefer another subscription service, like Scribd.
Some avid readers aren’t eligible for the available payment options.
Some avid readers are upset about some aspect of Kindle Unlimited.
Some avid readers haven’t made up their mind about Kindle Unlimited yet.
Some avid readers haven’t heard of Kindle Unlimited.
Some avid readers don’t want to make the commitment needed to joint Kindle Unlimited.
A combination of the above.
We need more people to take the survey to get a better indication of the stats.
It seems that there are a lot of excuses one could have to not to sign up. So maybe 9% isn’t as small compared to 45% who read 5+ books per month as it first seems.
HOW MANY READERS SUPPORT INDIE BOOKS?
This includes indie authors and indie publishers.
Read indie books less than half the time 33%
Read indie books about half the time 31%
Read indie books more than half the time 23%
Always read indie books 7%
Not sure 6%
Never read indie books 0%
There are people who never read indie books. They just hadn’t taken this survey yet.
Overall, there appears to be good support for indie books.
The leading answer (narrowly leading) reads indie books less than half the time, yet still does read indie books.
Nearly one-third of those surveyed read indie books about half the time.
61% read indie books about half the time or more than half.
We can see that some people aren’t sure if they’re reading indie books. Partly, it might not be easy to recognize all the major imprints, or it might not be well-known where the small publisher versus indie publisher line crosses. Or some customers just might not pay attention to how the book is published (maybe they don’t really care).
DO PARENTS LET THEIR KIDS READ E-BOOKS?
How many e-books do parents let their kids read per month?
The two main answers are “not at all” and “frequently”:
0 per month 48%
5+ per month 32%
1-2 per month 15%
3-4 per month 5%
The predominant answer is a resounding NO! Some people feel strongly about not letting their kids spend too much time in the digital world (on top of video games, televisions, apps…).
It seems that children’s authors definitely need to make print editions available.
However, nearly one-third let their kids read 5+ books per month via Kindle. So there is a significant Kindle children’s market, too.
Obviously, things may vary somewhat depending on the kind of book.
Again, 32% seem to be a good fit for Kindle Unlimited, yet only 9% of those surveyed subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. If parents read a few books per month themselves and their kids read 5+ books, then wow, it seems like Kindle Unlimited would be a bargain. But maybe parents aren’t finding the books they’d like their kids to read in Kindle Unlimited; and we have that list of factors that I gave previously.
(At least one person answered zero because she didn’t have kids presently, but someone else may have answered based on hypothetical kids.)
WRITTEN FEEDBACK
Several readers described their personal reading habits in the comments section of my survey post.
If you’d like to read some of those comments, you can find that post here:
Authors, would you like to know your readers’ habits?
Readers, would you please participate in a quick survey?
I’ll leave the survey up indefinitely, so anyone who finds it can take it. Just look at the top of my blog anytime you wish to find it (look for the Surveys button).
Here are the original survey questions:
You’ll see the results after you answer each question. Select the best answer.
Please take the survey.
And tell your friends.
And spread the word.
Authors everywhere will LOVE you for it. 🙂
After you vote, you can even share a specific question with Facebook and Twitter. Or you can share the post itself (with all questions included).
chrismcmullen 