Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Cool…I did your survey…hope the info I provided is helpful.

I filled it out best I could. There were a couple of times it would have been handy to have a N/A choice (e.g., Have you ever downloaded books without paying for them? I answered No. Another question: Which of the following would help you stop downloading books without paying for them?)

I probably don’t have the question absolutely right, but you get my drift.

Thanks for asking for our input.  :)

Survey crapped out in the middle of page one and now it won’t let me play! *grrrr*

Great survey.  I’ll be interested to hear the results and discuss.

Heh. “sexy mathematical things”

Want more of this!

I can’t help but wonder about going all digital all the time, given constraints on servers and the potential for ebook readers to be held hostage by corporations looking to squeeze maximum profit from every single bloody item—even to putting cheap (and deadly) stuff in baby formula because it means a bigger profit. My SF side says, Whoa! Haven’t I read this story? I can’t imagine a romantical hero coming to my rescue on this one…

I have taken the survey. I was even honest about DRM and piracy! (And there really should have been a real question in there about piracy and downloading, though I managed to sneak in something about that a couple of other places.)

Now, if the publishers will listen to whatever sensible things comes out of that survey… At a guess the areas where the publisher will be adviced to get sensible about will be DRM, prices, and hopefully geographical restrictions. And lo and behold! those are also the things that I am likely to get annoyed about when I go e-book shopping!

I do want an e-reader, but I want one that will work in my country, and so far I have no seen even a glimmer of a possibility of acquiring such a thing. Although it would make my shelves so much less cluttered.

Neat survey, though I found myself wanting “it depends” options on a lot of the questions.  (Like “are ebook prices too high, too low, or just right?”—I can point to examples of all the above.)

(And I’m amused that my Recaptcha was “to shaft”.)

I’ve actually just put down my very first drop of royalties (YAY, ROYALTIES! :) ) on a nook! So if I win the drawing, can I spend the $250 on ebooks instead? ;)

Regardless, excellent survey and I was happy to fill it out.

I had the same wish as Laura (in PA) for an N/A option on some of the questions.

Survey crapped out after page six and now won’t let me play!

This was a very good survey and I enjoyed filling it out. The only thing that I’d have liked to see, was an N/A option, as there were some questions that I felt didn’t have an answer for. Example, there was a question about downloading ebook files for free, that’s something I’ve never done, nor would I do so in the future because of piracy. The next question asked if I’d pay for an ebook downloaded for free if it was less expensive or able to be shared with a friend, I was a little confused and answered the most logical even though it really didn’t apply. Other than that, I hope many authors and readers will take time out to answer the questions, extremely interesting.

Do you want people who don’t read ebooks to answer the survey? It sort of seems like you do, or you wouldn’t be offering a discount on buying a reader, but perhaps you’re assuming that people want to upgrade, or that they already read on their desktops?

Seeing what other people have written about the question on downloading ebook files for free, are you asking if people have downloaded legitimate free ebooks (e.g. all the ebooks Harlequin gave away for free during its 60th anniversary celebrations) or are you asking if they’ve downloaded free pirated ebooks? Or when you asked that question are you not trying to distinguish between the two?

Can you delete my entry and let me start again?
I did the whole survey with java and active scripts turned off, because that’s how I surf (to avoid viruses and such). I got to the last page and realised I had to turn it on because of the captcha. I turned the captcha on, it reverted all my responses to the default and wouldn’t let me go again!

There was one question I angsted over. “Have you ever downloaded an ebook copy to replace a paper copy?” well, yes. I downloaded all of Dickens’ books but that’s perfectly legal because he’s out of copyright. It freed up a whole shelf on my bookshelf. I’ve got Jane Austen and a few others, too. But the question occurs in the middle of the pirate section, so it makes it look bad to answer it with a yes!

Would have been nice to have a “neither like nor dislike” option, a “meh” answer sometimes.

Just completed the survey. Made me think about my choices and some criteria I had not been considering (but probably should).

I realized after taking the survey that it would have been good to provide a space for explaining more of the rationale for choosing an ebook over a paper/HC book.  For instance, I still buy hardcover cookbooks; can’t imagine dragging the Kindle into the kitchen!  Also agree w/suggestion for more N/A options where appropriate.

Great idea, but I’m sorry to say I gave up on the survey—hit several questions where none of the answers applied. Any chance of a revised survey?

I didn’t get as far as the piracy questions people talk about above—stopped with the pricing questions. I hope there’s a distinction between piracy and legitimately free downloads; I have over 600 in my iPaq from places like Project Gutenberg, Blackmask, Baen’s Free Library. I don’t yet own one of the newer eReaders, so I may not be your target audience anyway.

It was a little tricky answering the questions about my reading and buying habits, because they have changed a lot in the last few months.

Since I started reading SBTB I have begun reading ebooks - I never did so before. In addition, my Romance intake has rocketed!

I began by downloading (legal) freebies and then tried out buying some on Books on Board. I’m now a little bit hooked, even though I have to read them on my laptop which is rather uncomfortable on the eyes (and also for reading in bed).

I think it unlikely that I will ever buy an e-reader unless they come down to about £20 (yes, twenty!).

I still buy relatively few ebooks (and they have to be cheap), and the vast majority of my purchases are second-hand (physical bookshop or Amazon sellers). But SBTB has changed my book-buying habits - for better or for worse.

spamword knew92: before I knew it, I found I’d bought 92 ebooks…

I had trouble with the survey, too. Got 3 pages in and was interrupted.  Now I can’t finish because it thinks I’ve already done one. I tried with a diff. email, and I even went in and tried erasing relevant cookies, but it still tells me:

There was a problem with your submission.
Sorry, but this form is limited to one submission per user.

Aargh.  Is there any help to be had?

I went on through and answered the best I can, though not all the questions applied to me—but enough of the ebook questions did, especially when it came to why I don’t have one (broke) and why I’m not actively seeking one (can’t share the books like I do normally, so…why should I pay for that if I can’t share it with friends and family if I can’t let them read it without them having to borrow the whole e-reader?)

Same as Lisa, the answers were pre-filled and then it died on section 3 and thinks i’ve already taken it.

But aside from that, the data on pricing will be skewed, because most survey takers will answer that in their top average price and pricing is so situational.

Not happy to see lots of people having problems, but I’ll admit I’m glad I’m not alone!

Thanks, Sarah, for offering such a wide-ranging survey. With your mega-readership, you should get a good cross-section of responses to inform the debate on ebooks and ereaders. Keep up the good work!
Cris

I’m really enjoying feeling like a frontrunner as a user of a new branch of technology for once. Is there any group of people percieved as un-tech-savy as the sterotypical romance-reading-old-maid-bookworm? :lol: So thanks for giving the opportunity to be heard in places where decisions about the future developments are made. Hopefully this will lead to more user-friendly solutions from the start in the next-generation of ebooks and ebookreaders.

I would’ve needed a n/a option on a few points too. And/or an “other"_______ option as well. Also agree with the pricing question being misleading: it all depends on what you’re getting for the money. A difficult to find or OOP non-fiction science dome would be worth paying much more than a category romance novel, for example.

It’ll be interesting to see the results, for sure!

Many of the aspects I most wish for in ebooks (flexibility! more options!) seem to require changes in the whole chain from devices to software to publishing and retail, tough.

I agree with other commenters about the lack of sufficient choices in answering some of the questions.  For example, since I don’t own an e-reader, how could I have either bought one for myself or received one as a gift?  Duh.  And the question about e-publishers caring about readers needed more answers than yes and no. 

It will be interesting to see how people respond to the piracy questions.  I just blogged about an aspect of this issue (i.e. whether or not authors and publishers should stop offering free promotional downloads, or offer backlist titles rather than new/recent releases).

As with most discussion of ebooks around here, I found that the survey was heavily biased towards the concept that ebooks = Kindle/nook/some other dedicated reader, which made it difficult to answer your questions.  Multi-use devices are the wave of the future, the future, I say ... a future that I’ve been inhabiting for over a decade now.  (And if I win the drawing, could I just get a gift certificate at Fictionwise instead?  Because I don’t want an ereader.)

I don’t know how interested you guys are in scientific answers - particularly about the thinking processes of intransigent, dead-tree-diehards, like myself - but I’d like to suggest you rethink the wording of a great many questions.

For instance, “When you have the option of buying either a print book or an ebook”, there is no option to say “I don’t purchase e-books”; nor the option to simply avoid selecting one of the affirmative choices. How can someone like me give you a truthful response?

I found so many instances like this, where the survey actually pushes the reader to the assumption of e-book adoption, I had to quit it, rather than influence your data.

So if you only want to hear from the people on the fence, or those who have already embraced e-books, carry on. Just understand you’ll be missing information on a good section of your readers.

Hope,
Luddite, paper-book lover, and all-round grouch

Done!

Looking forward to learning about the results.

Survey is done! :)

Lisa

Survey Done…I hope, my script blocker might have messed it up but I don’t think so. Good Survey! and I am interested to hear the results

I did the survey and hope I win. However, wireless connectivity is a concern. We don’t have AT&T access here in rural wherever so no Kindle and would have to go wireless which means close to someone’s base station. Also some of the ereaders only let you buy books from their own stores. It would be nice to have a range of stores to choose from.

I hope you’ll publish the results—will be interesting to see what you find!

There is a question missing on your survey.  The one about when do we choose digital vs paper books.  I generally prefer paper books, but I like the wider variety of books available on digital format.  Plus, since digital is more anonymous, I can get away with reading more erotic content/MM books without anyone being the wiser.  There is also the whole traveling thing too.

Good survey, and good job.

Perhaps it doesn’t apply to the survey, since none of the questions asked, but I get most of my ebooks from the library. I only buy ebooks if I’m desperate to read it or the library doesn’t offer it.

For instance, “When you have the option of buying either a print book or an ebook”, there is no option to say “I don’t purchase e-books”; nor the option to simply avoid selecting one of the affirmative choices. How can someone like me give you a truthful response?

I found so many instances like this, where the survey actually pushes the reader to the assumption of e-book adoption, I had to quit it, rather than influence your data.

I had the same issue as you did, hope101.  I bailed on p. 3 because the questions from that point forward seemed to assume one read e-books.

I would have liked to see libraries included in the survey, too—my local library is my primary source for paper books, and that probably skewed my data to make it seem as though I only buy/read ebooks.

That said, I was happy to participate.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment on ebooks!

I have to agree on wanting a N/A option or maybe a little box to explain things.  I just downloaded ‘The Virginian’ and some books I read as a kid, but they were all out of copyright, which is a very different thing from stealing a e-copy of the latest Nora Roberts.

I have never pirated an e-book in my life, or bought one, either, but still a couple of the questions ended up making it sounds like I had!

On the other hand, I do read a ton of *fiction* on my computer, but it’s all fanfic or freely available original stories.  And I have some .txt files of books from Project Gutenberg, all out of copyright and therefore free.

Sarah, you know I love you but you’ve got a hell of a lot to learn about designing a survey! (I used to be a telephone interviewer before they started using machines, so I know how surveys are supposed to work.)  It assumed I read eBooks even though I never have, and when I tried to go back to get it into a different skip pattern, it crapped out on me.  I would be happy to take the survey again, I was hoping our input would lead to a better eReader coming onto the market.  I’m just waiting for THE ONE.

catchpa : matter 75 - why, yes, it does matter.  Maybe just 50, not the whole 75.

I agree that on some questions more options would have been nice. Many years ago I downloaded OCRed versions of all 12 History of Middle Earth volumes from some site in Russia.  I also have the paper copies of all of them, many in hardcover - bought full price as they were released - but they are so much more useful in a searchable format where I can copy and paste quotes when I need them.  I would buy real e-books of those, if I could, but they are not available. Does that make me a pirate or not?

I’ve never downloaded an e-book that I should have paid for, even though about half of my small e-library was free.  Like others, there were a couple of questions where I really wanted a “none of the above” answer. Especially on piracy (it wouldn’t “take” anything to keep me from pirating, because I don’t!).  Also, I found the questions about price to be oversimplified—how much I would pay for an e-book, and whether I buy e- or paper, is all quite situational.  What I might pay once in a while for a book I really covet is not what I’m willing to pay under normal circumstances, but then MMP is still my format of choice when I get a choice.

And I do want a reader, but not really a dedicated device—I’d rather have something like an iPad or netbook that has a decent size screen but will also do things other than display books.

Yep, I sorry, but you should take a crash course in making good questions to avoid biases.

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1271

Did the survey but there were a lot of places where my answers weren’t part of the choices. IMHO, this survey seems skewed to the recent MacMillan-Amazon uproar and doesn’t address the publishers whose main focus is e-books.

Hello… long-time lurker, first-time commenter here.
As someone who’s not from the States, I found that some of the questions in the poll did not offer the “right” answers for me, either. For instance, many of my choices between paper and e-books are influenced by availability for my country. OTOH, I must admit I just assumed that, when you asked about free book downloads, you were talking about legal freebies, of which there are a lot, especially if, like me, you read a lot of speculative fiction.
Just thought I’d let you know.

I took the survey.  I found many of the questions to be loaded in one direction or other.  I do not think that the writer(s) of the survey thought very hard about the questions unless they specifically wanted to slant them in the directions they did.

I filled it out successfully, but I agree it needs “n/a”. Also I was trouble by its assumption that I currently use an ereader and I could not leave some answers blank. I probably threw off your survey but I wanted to explain my thinking (and did in one of the comments.)

spamword - looked89 = I hope not!

Ebook survey. Of course it’s going to be geared to people who read ebooks. What are they teaching in these schools?

It seemed to work pretty well. There were some questions that could use an explanatory box.  As in yes, I have copied ebooks for a friend (my mom). They were my author trib copies in most cases (most of them out of circulation) and Project Gutenburg downloads in the rest.

And yes, it needed a “library” option for the paper books. I mostly buy ebooks from the publishers’ sites ebcause I know the authors get more of the money.

Angelia Sparrow said on…
02.05.10 at 12:58 PM
Ebook survey. Of course it’s going to be geared to people who read ebooks. What are they teaching in these schools?

Reading comprehension and how to spot a flawed survey?  Either or I completed it and I look forward to seeing the results.

I’m hoping that you have a spare 10 minutes or so to complete a survey about your reading habits, your buying habits, and, if you’re a digital reader, some of your pet peeves about that subject.

I agree that the section on Unauthorized Use and Piracy should have included Other or a way to explain my answer.

I havent downloaded from torrent sites. I would do it if I wasnt afraid of a virus etc crashing my computer. The were lots of questions I answered “No” to but it was a qualified one. A missed opportunity. I know you were just trying to prove that ebook readers arent a bunch of no good poachers- but you missed a chance for getting a little more nuance.

Stats person ahoy!

I can’t think of a nice way to say this, so I’ll just be frank: this survey is terrible.  It’s obvious that you have a set of detailed questions that you would like to ask, but the way you’ve written the questions and answers has gotten in the way of that.  I’ve gone through the entire thing (without submitting) and I strongly suggest that you revamp it.  First I have some general suggestions, and secondly I’ve pasted a list of suggestions for each question below.

In general: You have a tendency to ask leading questions.  This means that you have phrased the questions in such a way that it’s clear to the respondent what your ideas are on the subject matter.  It is very important not to do this when writing a survey.  I have put specific comments for the questions which do this below.

There are so many questions that are missing necessary answers that I wouldn’t trust the results of this survey.  You have far too many questions that are missing “other” or “NA” as options, and too many questions that have such vague answers that they don’t mean anything.  It is honestly so bad that this entire survey is basically unusable.

Why can I move onto the next page in the survey when I haven’t answered all of the questions on the current page?  Having “other” or “NA” as a response is not the same thing as having missing data.  This should be fixed.

Everything below this line are comments on the individual questions
———————————————————————————————————————————————-

Q1 age: 18 or younger, not whatever it says right now
Q2 occupation: are you going to sort these into categories?  if so, give the categories instead of a text box.  This will make the analysis easier.
Q3 I have been reading for: what exactly do you mean?  I assume that this not the length of time since you learned to read.  If so, then say that.  Otherwise ask the specific question you want answered.  Also, why is “other” an option?  Do you mean that somebody is taking this quiz who can’t read?
Q4 I read the following genres: you need an “other” option here.
Q5 Time spent reading: the “other” option should say “longer than 1 month” unless you want very broad answers.
Q6 Number of NEW books purchased: is the pop-up necessary?
Q7 Number of USED books purchased: pop-up says “this is for new books”.  Get rid of the pop-ups.  If you’re worried about confusion b/t used and new books, change the responses on this and Q6 to explicitly say “less than one used/new book a month”.
Q8 When I purchase books, I buy them from: you need an “other” option here.
Q9 On average, what is your division between print and digital book purchases?:  This is NOT the question you want an answer to!  Q9 should say something like “When buying books, do you buy more print books than ebooks, more ebooks than print books, roughly the same proportion, or other?”  Then have the answers.
Q10 I read ebooks:  AND Q11 I know what DRM means:  Why are there little stars by these questions?  Just like the pop-ups, remove any extraneous characters to reduce confusion for the survey respondents.
Q12 When you have the option of buying either a print book or an ebook, I prefer buying the ebook: 1) fix the language.  It should either refer to “I” or to “you”.  2) You need to have an option for “never”.
Q13 Pricing: Ebooks are priced ...: again, get rid of extra characters.  Why the ellipses?  And you should put more detailed answers here.  The three (too low, too high, just right) don’t give you the information you want.  You need to quantify these types of answers, e.g. “on average, ebooks are priced about $2 to $5 too high.”, etc.
Q14 Complaints I have about ebooks: same thing here.  The answers are much too vague and don’t give you any useful information.  One person’s problem with cost is not the same as another person’s problem with cost.  Each of these answers should be split into more specific sub-answers.
Q15 Other thoughts about what I don’t like about ebooks.: rephrase this.  It is a leading question, and you never want to write a survey question that feeds opinions to the respondents.
Q16 The most I would pay for an ebook is: you are missing the “higher” option.
Q17 I would pay more for an ebook if I could share it with several friends.: you should have “No—other reason” as an option, and “other” as an option.
Q18 I would pay more for an ebook if I could resell it.: you need to have a “not applicable” answer here.
Q19-27 eBook Readers: you must have an option for those respondents who don’t have an ebook reader!!!  this is a huge problem with the survey.
Q20 Did you buy your ebook reader yourself or was it given as a gift?: you need an “other” option here.  Maybe somebody inherited it, etc.
Q21 Are you interested in buying an ebook reader?: Q20 and Q21 are out of order.  This should go first, and add in the missing answers to Q20.
Q22 Would you be more apt to try ebooks if you were gifted an ebook reader?: you need to add in the answers “maybe” and “other”, along with any other answers you’re interested in.
Q23-27: these answers are too vague and generic to be useful.  Rewrite.

The entire “eBook Features” page: you have no middle ground option as an answer.  You MUST give a neutral option between “agree” and “diagree”.  You also need to explain any unusual terms you are using.  I think it’s clear that you had something specific in mind with the “Searchability of ebooks” and “Customizable look and feel” options, but you haven’t explained exactly what you mean by those.  Everybody’s answers in this section are going to be about what they think you’re asking, not what you meant to ask.

Page 6 is titled “eBookstore Features” and then it is not entirely about ebookstores.  You need to be consistent or the respondents will be confused.

Q30 When I shop online, I shop with a specific book in mind or I browse: this question is awkward.
Q31 When I shop online, the ability to buy a book for a friend is: you need to have the option of “don’t buy books for friends” to make the data from this question be useful.
Q32 When I shop online the ability to use Paypal is: you need to have the option of “don’t have paypal” to make the data from this question be useful.

Page 7 needs to either have an option to skip it for those people who don’t read ebooks, or to have “NA” as an answer for every question.  Right now this entire page of questions is useless because you have no way of determining who has answered “no” because they really should answer “no” or because they don’t read ebooks so that was the best answer.  Frankly, the results from this page aren’t going to answer the questions you were interested in.  It probably isn’t worth the time to analyze the data.

Q33 Have you removed the DRM of one or more of your ebooks?: you have never defined what DRM is.
Q34 Why have you or why have you not removed DRM from one or more of your ebooks?:  This should read, “If you have removed DRM from one or more of you ebooks, please explain why.  If you are not comfortable answering this questions, please skip it.”
Q38 I’ve downloaded an ebook file I have not paid for to take the place of (or in addition to) paper book that I already own: this is a good question.
Q39 I’ve created an ebook from a paper book: you might want to consider adding in “I don’t know how to do this” as one of the options.
Q40 I would reduce or eliminate my downloading of ebook files I have not paid for if one or more of the following events would take place:  Your answers are too narrow.  You need to add more options.
Q41 Do you pay attention to the publisher imprint?: Should have “never” and “always” as options.
Q42 Would you shop at a publisher’s website for ebooks?:  The answers “Yes, if the price was lower” doesn’t compare the price to anything.  Lower than what?  I assume you mean lower than the physical book but you could also mean “lower than the Amazon price”.  The responses to this question are useless.  Dump it or rewrite it completely.
Q43 Have you downloaded a free book to read?: awkward question.  rewrite.
Q44 Have you made a purchase that was prompted by the free book you downloaded to read?: same.  Should say something like “Did you decide to make a purchase due to the free ebook experience?”

Tabetha, the title of the post is “Ebook Survey Ahoy.” I went in figuring it would a survey about ebooks. In all honesty, I skimmed the post here.

If you coulda just waited a couple months…I was planning on buying an ereader out of my share of the tax refund “splurge money” this year, but I’m undecided as yet….

it wouldn’t let me finish…it crashed in the middle, but wouldn’t let me start again :-(

I tend to agree with Jae’s concerns about the questions and how some of the answers were cast. Also, if there were pop-ups, I didn’t get them, because my browser disables pop-ups (I do permit scripts). Pop-ups are the curse of the devil (unless you click on them deliberately). The ebook Features page was particularly difficult to answer - there should be ranking like “not desirable, somewhat desirable, very desirable, I don’t care”.

I think it’s a great thing to have a survey about, but I don’t think you’ll get very useful results. Obviously this is not an academic survey, but I think a bit more precision would have been do-able without getting into big knots of statistics+++. More copious use of N/A or “I don’t care/doesn’t apply to me” would have been a simple improvement.

On another note, for people talking about downloading out-of-copyright books from places like Gutenberg, I just interpreted that as being part of a “free offer”. But that should have been described as books that are “legitimately obtained for free” (or “non-pirated”, whatever).

apparently my internet does not like your survey, period. it won’t let me get past page 4 before it crashes and starts over when i refresh. oh well.