As many of you know, I’ve been conducting research on non-fiction authors since March 2014. I had planned to run it for about 12 months, but extended it because I’ve been getting a great response lately. I’ve got a wide range of participants, from established authors to newbie self-published authors.

I am going to close down the survey this Friday, May 15.

If you want to take part, please do so now! You can take the survey here:

http://mboezi.com/research

Please share this link with any and all non-fiction writers that you know—I would really appreciate that.

Goals of the Research

My hypothesis is that non-fiction authors view their business differently than fiction authors. I tested the initial hypothesis with qualitative research (using the Lean Startup Method), and have been applying what I learned to this quantitative research. My goal is to get a better understanding of this particular segment, and to identify subsegments that are hard to see from the “industry’s” point of view.

My aim is to help authors and other entrepreneurs apply a content strategy to make better connections with their respective audiences. In my experience, authors need help thinking like entrepreneurs. Conversely, entrepreneurs need help thinking like an author (or a media producer, in reality).

My hope is that the survey itself provide some value to participants by framing the issues for authors.

Research Results

I plan to publish the results publicly, so everyone can benefit from the insight. I’ll do this in pieces, in individual blog posts that highlight interesting aspects of the results.  Of course, I will anonymize the data to protect the participants.

If you wish to see my complete report (with a summary of the data), then please subscribe to my mailing list, called Content Strategy for Authors and Other Entrepreneurs. When I’m finished analyzing the data, I will send out a private link for anyone who’s on my mailing list.

Can’t wait to share this with you—it has been a great project with really fascinating results!