Women and Books 2007

Information Page


Project Director

If you have additional questions, please contact Holly McAllister.
Phone: 1-888-822-6419 (toll free)
Email: info@womenandbooks2007.com

Women & Books 2007 (Survey Logo)
Click on the logo to access
the results

Women and Books 2007 Press Room
 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who is conducting the book study?

The study is being conducted by Content Connections LLC, a privately held company that provides marketing research, audience analysis, and content review services to the book publishing industry. The company began operations in 2001 and has conducted literally thousands of online surveys, focus groups, and book or manuscript reviews for major American and Canadian publishing houses as well as smaller publishers and individual authors.

Who wrote the survey itself?

The initial draft of the survey was created by David Brake and Holly McAllister of Content Connections. After a test-run with approximately 50 female respondents followed by two focus groups to solicit feedback on the survey, the three authors developed a final draft of the survey that incorporated minor revisions to question order, wording, and tone. Every effort has been made to use language that is clear, precise, and appropriate for a diverse population of women.

How is the survey organized and who is its primary audience?

The survey is organized into four parts. Part One asks participants to look back at the last year and respond to questions on their non-fiction book buying, giving, and reading patterns. Part One also explores factors that influence the decision to purchase a book and favorite non-fiction categories. Part Two gathers basic demographic information such as work and educational background. Part Three asks women to highlight their areas of expertise and interest. Part Four asks participants, regardless of whether they have published a book or not, to share their experiences with and / or perceptions of the book- publishing process and industry. The survey does not require respondents to have a particular background or experience level; it has been designed for a diverse population of women with varied backgrounds and interests. The complete survey takes about 25 – 30 minutes to complete.

What is the purpose of the book study?

The purpose of the study is to explore the disparity between the powerful force women represent as buyers and readers of non-fiction books and their under representation as authors. The study focuses on the non-fiction books that female readers buy for themselves, give to others, and receive from family, friends and associates. It also explores the factors that influence women’s decisions to buy, give or read a book.  Lastly, it asks women if they envision themselves as authors and explores existing attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions about what it takes to become successfully published.

How is the study being conducted? (What’s the methodology?)

The study results will be based upon a non-probability sample of women in the U.S. and Canada who purchased and / or read non-fiction books in the previous year. This sample group will be invited to complete the online survey from March 8, 2007 through May 13, 2007, the duration that the survey will be open. We anticipate that a minimum of 5,000 women will complete the survey. In an effort to ensure that our non-probability sample is as representative as possible of the population of U.S. and Canadian women as a whole, and to minimize non-sampling error, we have taken the following precautions:
  1. The survey is being offered to over 750 women’s professional, social, networking, and service groups with members distributed across the U.S. and in many cases Canada. The goal here is to mitigate the effect of regionality.
  2. The survey is being publicized in the U.S. and Canada, and we are targeting a broad spectrum of socioeconomic groups to be as inclusive as possible.
  3. The survey was pre-tested with a group of 50 women who matched our target sample. Twelve of these women then participated in one of two focus groups to discuss the survey. Our goal was to make sure that the survey questions were as clear as possible.
Why should I (or my organization) participate?

Lending your voice to this study will help other women. We are earnestly seeking input from women with diverse backgrounds and experience, and you can make a difference. If you are curious about how and why women buy books and their influence on which books succeed, this study has you in mind. If you or women you know have a desire to publish a non-fiction book, your experiences, perceptions, and potential plans can be of value to other women. We intend to gather, correlate, and share our findings with every woman who completes our online survey. Shortly after the study concludes you will receive a copy of the Women and Books 2007 Study Report, and we believe you’ll find it very interesting.

How is my privacy ensured?

The survey does not require you to share your email address or other contact information if you prefer not to. Doing so is optional. If you do share your contact information we will be able to send you a copy of the Women and Books 2007 Study Report and enter you into our drawing for one of twenty $100 gift certificates. We WILL NOT, however, under any circumstances, sell, share, give, or distribute your contact information to a third party.

Who will have access to the study results?

Everyone who participates will receive a copy of the Women and Books 2007 Study Report. Members of the media will receive a special version of the study report and may be granted access to the raw aggregated data from the survey.

In what way do you anticipate the results will influence the book industry?

It would be presumptuous to state that our results will have a profound and lasting impact on book publishers and booksellers. At this point, we don’t know exactly what the results might yield, so any prediction of their impact would be irresponsible. That said, we know that the questions we are asking are those in which book publishers and booksellers have a profound interest. We intend to share our results with them in an effort to offer a timely and valuable perspective on women and books. The book industry knows that women are a powerful market force and buy the majority of trade books sold.  We hope that this study might help the industry create more books that appeal to women and carry more of the messages women want to hear. We also hope the study results will facilitate a starting point for more women authors to become successfully published.

Who is Content Connections? 

Content Connections LLC, is a privately held company, founded and run by publishing veterans, that provide marketing research, audience analysis, and content review services to the book publishing industry. The company began operations in 2001 and has conducted literally thousands of online surveys, focus groups, and book or manuscript reviews for major American and Canadian publishing houses as well as smaller publishers and individual authors. Since the company was founded, Content Connections’ primary business focus has been educational publishing (textbooks) and non-fiction titles (professional, trade, and reference). In 2006 the company created a new division, AuthorBound, whose mission is to bring our audience analysis, research, and review methodologies and tools to authors and aspiring authors. 
 

What are the different ways individuals or organizations can participate in the survey?

We are inviting the media to inform the public of the Women and Books 2007 Study and provide potential participants with a URL to the survey. You can visit our Online Press Room to view copies of press releases to the media, and are invited to send a press release to your local media and / or include an article in your organization’s newsletter.

If your organization would like to participate you can do so as follows:
  1. Send an email to your membership letting them know about the study Sample Email Invitation.
  2. Place our Women and Books 2007 graphic link on your website with a brief announcement about the study. (Html coding for our logo and link is available on our Logo/Link Page)
  3. Include the Women and Books 2007 graphic link or the survey URL in a newsletter or e-zine to your members. (Html coding for our logo and link is available on our Logo/Link Page)
Who is the media contact?

If you are a member of the media and would like to request an interview regarding the Women and Books 2007 National Study, you may contact:

Joanna Brody     (310) 582-0085     Joanna@brody-pr.com        
Jennifer Heinly     (949) 716-9829     jjconsultin@cox.net

Additional information for the media can be obtained at www.WomenAndBooks2007.com/pressroom or by calling the Women and Books 2007 Hotline at 888.822.6419.

Who can I contact if I have additional questions?

You can direct your additional questions to Holly McAllister at Content Connections. She can be reached via the Women and Books 2007 Hotline: 888.822.6419. 

Content Connections, LLC

Copyright © 2007 AuthorBound™, a division of Content Connections, LLC.

For more information contact us at 1-888-822-6419 or email info@womenandbooks.com