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2018 Readers’ Group Survey

Andrew Barrett – Readers Group Survey 2018

  1. Are you male or female

Female                                    69%

Male                                        30%

  1. What is your age?

25 – 40                                   18%

41 – 65                                   56%

65+                                         37%

  1. Where do you live?

United States                          47%

United Kingdom                    30%

Canada                                   8%

Australia                                 6%

Other                                      8%

  1. How did you discover Andrew Barrett?

Instafreebie                           46%

Bookfunnel                            21%

Amazon email                        7%

Facebook                               12%

Amazon                                  9%

Recommended by a friend   3%

  1. Do you actively search for free books?

Yes                                          81%

No                                           19%

  1. If so, where do you get your free books?

Instafreebie                           68%

Bookfunnel                            64%

Get them from the author    33%

Amazon                                  76%

Bookbub                                5%

  1. What first attracted you to Andrew Barrett’s books?

Cover                                      22%

Blurb                                      53%

‘Look Inside’                          17%

Reviews                                  25%

  1. What is your favourite Andrew Barrett book?

A Long Time Dead                30%

Stealing Elgar                         5%

No More Tears                      6%

The Third Rule                      21%

Black by Rose                        14%

Sword of Damocles               7%

Ledston Luck                          15%

The Lift                                   8%

The Note                                9%

The End of Lies                     27%

  1. How many of Andrew Barrett’s books have you read?

None                                       12%

All                                            11%

Roger Conniston books only 3%

Eddie Collins books only      11%

Less than 3                            39%

4 or more                               29%

  1. Do you enjoy reading short stories featuring your favourite characters?

I love short stories                65%

I hate short stories               35%

  1. Would you like to see another SOCO Roger Conniston book?

Yes                                          52%

No                                           1%

Maybe                                     46%

  1. Would you like to see another CSI Eddie Collins book?

Yes                                          80%

No                                           1%

Maybe                                     19%

  1. Would you like to see more stand-alone thrillers?

Yes                                          80%

No                                           2%

Maybe                                     18%

  1. What do you think an Andrew Barrett novel-length book is worth?

0.99                                         9%

1.99                                         16%

2.99                                         23%

3.99                                         22%

4.99                                         13%

5.99                                         8%

5.99+                                      15%

Andrew’s comment: I asked this question to gauge what people thought of the overall package of my books, including the cover design, the blurb, the story, etc. I am not about to raise my prices; I respect my readers very much, and know many of them are on fixed incomes or disability and enjoy buying quality books cheaply.

  1. How do you prefer to read your books?

Print                                        25%

Amazon Kindle                      78%

Barnes & Noble                     3%

Apple device                          14%

Android device                      13%

Kobo                                       5%

Audiobook                             5%

Other                                      2%

  1. Are you in Kindle Unlimited?

Yes                                          20%

No                                           80%

  1. Do you buy your books exclusively from Amazon?

Yes                                          43%

No                                           57%

  1. How frequently would you like to hear from Andrew?

Only when there’s a new book coming out                        15%

Once a week                                                               15%

Once a month                                                                        49%

Twice a month                                                           15%

Other: “whenever he has news to share”               6%

  1. Do you enjoy receiving emails from Andrew that feature other authors?

Don’t mind                             58%

Yes                                          38%

No                                           4%

  1. Do you take part in Andrew’s competitions?

Yes                                          42%

No                                           58%

  1. What social media do you use?

None                                       18%

Facebook                               75%

Twitter                                   28%

Instagram                               22%

Pinterest                                 27%

YouTube                                28%

Linkedin                                 19%

  1. How often do you visit Andrew’s website?

Never                                                              30%

Each time I receive an email from him       35%

Once a week                                                   2%

Once a month                                                            20%

Occasionally                                                   10%

  1. Would you like to know more about Andrew’s writing history and future plans?

Yes                                          54%

No                                           3%

Maybe                                     43%

What would you like to see more or less of in your readers group newsletter?

148 responses.

The overwhelming majority reported it was great as it is (or similar).

Other responses included:

More about story, character, and location background, and their development;

More Leeds background

The photos and stories behind them

More about CSI work

Insight into writing process

Personal life

Reviews from other members

Publish snippets of unreleased material

Photos of locations used; free print books

Competition to win character names

Free books

On a fixed income vs cost of books* (please see above)

The survey went on to ask for comments.

I had 73 responses, but I won’t post them here since I believe them to be private. The only thing I am prepared to say about them is thank you; I am gobsmacked by your kind comments and I truly am grateful for all of them. You have humbled me.

Andrew’s comments.

Firstly I would like to thank every single one of you who took the time to complete this survey. In all, nearly 400 people did, down on last year, but important to me just the same.

Some of the questions might have sounded oblique, but each one had its purpose.

To reiterate to those people who are afraid that my prices are going to go up, and who were afraid to mark it on the question – I’m not putting up the prices. Many people think my books are worth more than I charge for them (thank you!), but I’m not a money-grabber (oh boy, is this the wrong business to be in if you are!), I get only a few cents/pence for each sale, but I write because I love writing. So rest assured the prices of those books I have control over will not go up in the foreseeable future.

It’s very interesting to learn what extras you’d like in your newsletter. I’ve made notes of all the comments you’ve left for me, and I will try to accommodate them.

2 Comments

  1. skd

    The recap of your survey – good job. It is a gracious way to thank the participants. Carry on! -guyr8s

    Reply
    • Andy

      Thanks for your kind words.

      Reply

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