2017 Reader Survey Results 2

THE 2017 READER SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN, and here’s what you told me.

Who you are —

No real surprise here. The vast majority (95%) of you who completed the survey are women, age 55+ (82%), are retired or work part-time, and have incomes of less than 100k per year. The rest of you include men and women, ages 26-55, who are students, work full-time or are retired.

73% read WritingThroughLife articles often or always, and 27% read them sometimes. You gave WritingThroughLife an average rating of 4.46. That tells me you are getting value from the site overall, and there is always room for improvement.

Here’s where the surprises began: 65% of you described yourselves as advanced or expert writers (having written a long time or published), 23% as intermediate writers, and only 12% as beginning writers or journalers. When I first began blogging in 2008, my audience was primarily beginning journal writers. This year’s survey results show me that we have all grown together, as has your need for fresh and high-quality content to benefit writers at all skill levels.

How you ranked article topics —

This tells me that while you are still interested in journaling tips and prompts, you would like more articles on writing craft and memoir, as well as practical tips and methods for maintaining your writing life.

Which series you’d like me to continue writing —

Weekly Journaling Prompts was at the top of the list, followed closely by Journaling for Memoir and From Memories to Memoir. In 2017, I provided fewer journaling prompts and tips and added the Read Like a Writer and Microsoft Word for Writers. While those last two series have had positive responses, it appears you would like to receive more tips and ideas that provide inspiration as well as help you write your personal stories. 

Other ideas for series included Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding Memoir, Exposing Family Dysfunction, and a Tools and Tips series on Scrivener.

The ONE writing goal you’d like to accomplish in 2018

• 30% of you want to complete your first memoir or novel
• 23% of you want to write more consistently and/or more often
• The rest have more specific projects, such as completing a series of memoir vignettes, publish more short pieces, improve in writing craft, or earn an MFA in creative writing.

Your biggest writing frustrations

Hands down, for 58% of you it’s making enough time to write while avoiding procrastination and distractions or interruptions. Simply getting started or continuing to work consistently on a big project can be challenging. Others of you struggle with knowing what to write about, expressing feelings on the page, or finding quality feedback for your work.

I also asked what you’d like to read more about, and you were very generous with your ideas — too many to list here, but all valuable and will definitely give me food for thought as I plan my schedule for 2018.

At the moment, I’m considering the following series —

• Journaling Prompts & Tips
• On the Writing Life — including articles on how to make writing a priority, avoid procrastination, be more productive, and interviews with authors.
• Reader’s Stories — would you like your story to be published or critiqued on WritingThroughLife?
• The Craft of Memoir — though geared for memoir, this series would include articles about writing craft that would be helpful for other genres as well)
• Scrivener Tips and Tricks OR How to Self-Publish
• Read Like a Writer — skinny version. Maybe, instead of going so deeply into each memoir, one article for each book discussing one or two aspects of the author’s techniques. Or maybe exploring less well-known memoirs.

So there you have it. You have spoken, and I want you to know that I am listening. My goal is to support you in all your writing endeavors, from start to finish. From journaling and research to writing and publication. That’s a big goal, but together we can accomplish anything!

I look forward to the opportunity to bring you even better articles and content in 2018. 

What are your thoughts about all of the above?

Note: the winner of a free 30-minute consultation with me will be announced on December 11th.