Surveys Surveys Surveys

I’m turning in my copyedits today, and then I’m free as a bird! Look at me! Whee! (except for that proposal due next month. And that critique I owe my C.P. And those revisions on the other proposal. Sigh. Never done…) However, I am free to write things like “email” and “towards” and “missing person’s report” (apparently, it’s “missing persons report. Who knew?”) — at least, until the next round of copyedits.

In pertinent and less-punch-drunk news, Tobias Buckell has posted the results of the survey on how many novels authors wrote before getting published. Apparently, 35% of respondents sold their first. Huh. I thought it would be about half that. I know very few authors who sold their first book, even fewer who sold their first first. He’s kept the survey open, though, so I wonder how it will shake out as time passes. Anyway, a big thank you to Tobias for running his remarkable and useful polls! It’s an invaluable service to the industry.

In keeping with such good works for writers, and because I got a whole bunch of requests in the comments section and over email, here are links to new surveys on print run and sell through percentages. Totally anonymous, of course.

For Hardcover: http://s-r7juj-3243.sgizmo.com
For Trade Paperback: http://s-tto7k-3246.sgizmo.com
For Mass Market Paperback: http://s-soplb-3248.sgizmo.com

Please take a minute and fill it out, for one or more of your releases. Pass it on! Tell your friends. Post to your blog! Go wild! (Sorry, I warned you I was a bit punchy after turning in those edits.)

The surveys are designed with novel length fiction in mind — please do not respond with information on short story collections and anthologies unless they are single-author. Also, the surveys are about print run, which of course is not an applicable phrase to POD or e-books. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of that facet of the business will design a survey with sales statistics applicable to those kinds of publishing.

Thanks so much for participating, and special thanks to JA and SF for egging me on until I got off my duff.