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Writing Practices

Writing Practices: What readers say they want

Published 4 months ago • 1 min read

Lessons from a nonfiction reading survey

Happy mid-November, Reader

In today’s Writing Practices:

  • Results from a nonfiction reading survey
  • Advice about writing for different formats
  • November's book give-away: Says Who

First, the survey data.

What 158 people told me about their reading habits

If you’ve heard me speak to authors or read Get the Word Out, you may have heard me discuss servant authorship—how our responsibility, as writers, includes serving the reader.

But to serve them, we must understand the reader’s needs and preferences. And that’s hard—unless you simply ask them. So I did.

This past summer, I conducted a survey of nonfiction readers about their preferences and reading habits. (I coach nonfiction authors and write nonfiction myself.) More than 150 people responded, with fascinating insights into why nonfiction fans read and what keeps them going.

​Find the survey results here.​

No matter what kind of writing (or reading) you do, you might find a useful insight here.

Writing for blogs vs. books

In today’s blog post, I dive into one of the questions from that survey— how our preferences shift with format. If you write online blog posts or articles, read on!

Here's the data it explores:

November Book Give-Away: Says Who?

Do you cringe when you see a grammar violation? Or perhaps you're insulted or mystified by the squiggly red lines that show up as grammar suggestions?

You'll want to read Says Who? by Anne Curzan. I simply loved it.

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​Read my review on Medium

​Watch a review on YouTube

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To enter the drawing, respond by Sunday, November 24 and let me know on our your grammar pet peeves (or a mistake you make all the time.) This book may help you feel better.

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I'll be back next week with a fun Black Friday deal, of course. Until then, please know that I appreciate you being here.

Anne

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  • Write a review. A short, honest review helps a book find its readers.

Your support enables me to continue helping writers like you find more joy and effectiveness in their craft. Thank you! 💕

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PO Box 66285 Scotts Valley, CA 95067

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Writing Practices

by Anne Janzer

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