2015 Report Final



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2015

?HISTORICAL

?FICTION

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READER

?SURVEY

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¡­ conducted by M.K. Tod

author and blogger at

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M.K. Tod¡¯s 2015 Historical Fiction Survey

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From the World of Historical Fiction

Reader Opinions Revealed

June 2015

This report contains results from the third comprehensive historical fiction reader survey.

The survey occurred during April and May of 2015 and reached 2033 participants (84%

female, 16% male).

WHAT¡¯S NEW?

This year¡¯s survey explored new territories:

? unique questions for authors, bloggers and publishing industry professionals

? the use and value of social media in support of reading

? ingredients that make historical characters come alive for readers

? and for the first time, favourite historical fiction

Each chart that follows is presented with a few highlights.

Information and analysis from the 2012 and 2013 surveys are also available on A Writer

of History.

A NOTE OF THANKS

I am very grateful to all who took the time to participate in this year¡¯s survey and to Jenny

Quinlan of Historical Editorial and Beatriz Williams author of The Secret Life of Violet

Grant who made suggestions and road tested the survey.

LOOK FOR FURTHER RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ON A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of

History. Her latest novel, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE is set in WWI France and is available

from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes.

Mary can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

I am pleased to have others reference information from the survey and only ask that you

include my name, M.K. Tod, and blog .

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M.K. Tod¡¯s 2015 Historical Fiction Survey

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2015

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2015 SURVEY ATTRACTED SIGNIFICANT PARTICIPATION ¨C of 2033

responses 1264 are readers, 537 are authors, 92 are bloggers; 839 participants

read more than 50% historical fiction

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SURVEY ATTRACTED HIGH VOLUME READERS ¨C 69% of participants read

more than 20 books a year and 50% read more than 30

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MORE RECENT TIME PERIODS FASCINATE AUTHORS ¨C 423 of the authors

who participated (79%) enjoy writing stories set from the 19th century to today

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AUTHORS PREFER WRITING ABOUT FICTIONAL CHARACTERS ¨C 60% of

authors prefer to write about fictional characters against a backdrop of great

historical events; fortunately, readers have similar attitudes

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LACK OF TIME & POOR QUALITY BOOKS are the biggest frustrations for

those blogging about books

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TO BRING THE PAST TO LIFE is the dominant reason for reading historical

fiction

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TOP THREE PREFERRED HISTORICAL FICTION STORY TYPES are

STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER, ADVENTURE and A SERIES WITH

ONGOING CHARACTERS

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IMMERSED IN TIME & PLACE and SUPERB WRITING top the charts for

favourite historical fiction

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60% OF PARTICIPANTS USE SOCIAL MEDIA REGULARLY TO SUPPORT

THEIR READING

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GENDER MAKES A DIFFERENCE ¨C among the differences¡ªwomen read more

than men and use social media more regularly in support of reading; men and

women prefer different types of stories

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SOCIAL MEDIA ENHANCES THE READING EXPERIENCE and correlates with

high volume readers

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50% of participants agree with the statement: SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED

THE WAY I READ

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M.K. Tod¡¯s 2015 Historical Fiction Survey

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1. GENERAL QUESTIONS

WHO ARE YOU?

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Highlights:

? READERS DOMINATE ¨C this question asked participants to select a dominant

role which will allow for deeper analysis; a whopping 1264 or 64% are readers

? AS FOR BLOGGERS & AUTHORS ¨C 92 bloggers and 537 authors responded

? PUBLISHING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS ¨C sadly, only 26 responded

? 61 LIBRARIANS and 6 BOOK RETAILERS participated

Digging further:

? GENDER DIFFERENCES ¨C of participants, readers are 85% women, 15% men;

authors are 76% women, 24% men; bloggers are 95% women, 5% men

? AGE PERSPECTIVE ¨C 55% of those classified as readers are 50-69; 59% of

authors are between 50 and 69; 50% of bloggers are between 20 and 39

ON AVERAGE, HOW MANY BOOKS DO YOU READ EACH YEAR?

Highlights:

? SURVEY ATTRACTED HIGH VOLUME READERS ¨C 69% of participants read

more than 20 books a year and 50% read more than 30

? ROLE DIFFERENCES ¨C not surprisingly BLOGGERS and LIBRARIANS read

more on average than others

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M.K. Tod¡¯s 2015 Historical Fiction Survey

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Digging further:

? WOMEN READ MORE THAN MEN ¨C 55% of women and 28% of men read more

than 30 books a year

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? M.K. Tod 2015

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