Willows at Mt. Auburn CemeteryI hope you all received your free Tip Sheet—the gift for filling out my survey of those who write memoir, stories from their lives, or family history. And I hope you found the advice contained in the tips useful enough to put into practice.
Here’s Who Took The Survey
The overwhelming number of respondents were women. The age of ninety-five percent of all those who responded was 50 or over.
Most are currently writing:
- Short sketches: 70%
- Book-length memoir: 30%
- Family history: only 10%
Key Survey Results
Here, without further ado, are the results of the survey—and my interpretation of those results.
Resources
More than 60% of you look to online and paper resources to aid your writing. Most of you use as writing resources this site (Tools and Tactics for Writers—thank you!); books and journals; explanations (when available) from publishers on why a particular work was published or won a contest.
The Biggest Writing Problems
- Making writing a priority (and finding time to write).
- Making the writing artistic, rather than just factual and straightforward (like a report).
- Suppressing the inner critical voice.
Other problems cited were trouble developing writing snippets into publishable work. Getting started on a project, outlining, and choosing an appropriate structure if you are writing a book.
Sources of Feedback on Your Writing
You get feedback from instructors and classmates in your courses; from friends, relatives, writing group members, and experts at conferences.
One Finding Stood Out
Probably the most important (and among the most surprising) finding: The majority of respondents prefer to get writing guidance through classes (nearly 75%), individual coaching (48%), and paid professionals (probably editors). In other words, not through online info contained in a blog, but through interactions with a person, whether classmates, instructors, or those who coach and edit writers’ work one-on-one. (That’s what I do. Some of you have already worked individually with me. The rest of you should try it!) Don’t be alarmed: Yes, I know who took the survey, but I don’t know what your individual answers were.
Conclusion
I’ll need to digest these findings to determine what they mean for this website as well as for the services I offer. I’ll keep you posted.
And thanks again for participating in the survey!
Hi Lynette, I didn’t receive the gift–the tip sheet.
Me, too, Lynette. No gifted tip sheet.
I should have answered you here, Nancy, but I know you’ve received the tip sheet by now. Thanks for your patience.
Interesting result. I also did not receive the gifted tip sheet!
So sorry about that, Ineke. I know you’ve received it by now.
Hi Lynette, I honestly don’t recall if I filled out this survey or not! That’s why we have to write things down! ;-) If I did, I didn’t get the tip sheet – but I want to thank you for doing the survey. What a great way to get an overview of how most of us are approaching our memoirs/family stories. I’m in the last stages. Goal is to publish next April.
You know I have my fingers crossed for you, Linda. From what I know about your memoir, it will be both enjoyable and very educational for readers! Keep me posted.