ACW Birthday Survey results.

By Jenny Blake

Thanks to all who filled in the ACW Birthday Survey. Below are some of the results from the survey. The winner of our ACW Birthday Survey contest will be announced tomorrow in the new releases.

We asked in the survey what category the respondents identified with and they could put multiple answers of the 29 responses the following were recorded.

Reader  21 

Unpublished author  10 

Indie author  5 

Traditional author 9 

Hybrid author  6 

Of the 29 who replied 27 come from Australia, one from New Zealand and one from Texas (thanks for replying).

27 of our respondents are writers of many different genres.

There as many different fiction genres including, romance, mystery, contemporary and historical Christian romance and general market romance, YA Christian fiction, fantasy/sci fi, Speculative, thriller, cosy mystery, short stories. Also children fiction and Bible reading helps for children. The only Christian category not mentioned was Amish.

Non-fiction genres include, Memoir, Christian non-fiction, poetry, Editing missionary biographies, Non-fiction family history but fleshed out to read like fiction, Short prose and occasional poems, biographies, used to write film scripts. Creative-nonfiction, devotions, Christian living. Television and movies, Memoir Short stories.

28 respondents are also readers and read a large variety. Both fiction to non-fiction. About the only genre not mentioned again was Amish Fiction.

We asked how often people visit the blog with the following answers which shows most visit either several times a week or a month and the one who never visit reads it via email.

Several times a week  41.38% 12 

Several times a month  44.83% 13 

Once a month or less  10.34% 3 

Never  3.45% 1 

What blog posts do you find most helpful?

Of the several mentioned many mentioned the same things, Marketing, social media and publishing. Craft posts are also popular as are new releases, reviews, conference information and the latest news about the writing world.

Iola's posts on the craft of writing and links to articles regarding writing and publishing. I also love the blog posts from different members. It's also good to hear what other writers are up to and what new releases they have coming out.

Posts that help with grammar, style and editing.

Any posts that reveal the heart of its author are good to read, irrespective of their topic.

People sharing insights as to what has helped them along the road

Encouraging people to keep on writing. Dealing with life issues.

Encouragement posts for authors, especially posts that are a kick in the pants.

I more often visit to support authors and find out what they're up to but occasionally I'll see something on craft or business that interests me. Often these will be links to other blogs or websites.

Articles about writing Interviews with our authors about reality of writing;

Blogs that encourage me in some way to keep writing Blogs that are shared from the heart of another author about their writing or book promotion experiences so I can relate to them as a person. Posts that give good information on current trends in writing/the Christian market etc, particularly in Australia Blogs that deal clearly with the 'how to's' of writing and being published Blogs that lead to good discussions and input from other authors.

If you don't visit the ACW Blog what would you like to see to entice you to visit?

We asked this question to get some new ideas and found most who answer already read the blog either at the blogsite, on facebook or via email.The only suggestion was book giveaways for new release books.

Are there any subjects you would like ACW to cover on the blog? I have enclosed the answers here and they will give us some food for thought.

Perhaps reviews of literary works in general as well as Christian writing.

I would enjoy a balance of subjects for both writers and readers.

Should we do a series where we discover a little more about ourselves? This will also get the many members who don't write posts to contribute.

More about poetry.

More book writing craft (for the author part of me) or more recent release book giveaway (for the reader part of me). Along with ones asking for more on 'good' writing, please.

Any information about publishing and marketing is greatly appreciated.

Information on upcoming competitions and opportunities.

This probably has been covered already, but perhaps more on how to promote our books as Australian authors here in Australia in ways that are reasonably accessible and achievable for most people.