Results of the A to Z Challenge 2017 Reflection Survey #AtoZChallenge

An amazing 231 of you filled out the survey. Your feedback matters to the team. Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions. Here are the results:

39% of the respondents filled out the survey on May 1, 2017.


... 7% filled it out on May 20, the last day the survey was open.

91% of the respondents earned an #AtoZChallenge 2017 SURVIVOR badge for completing the challenge.

I pre-scheduled some of my posts before April and wrote others as the month went on. That was the most popular answer by slightly more than half.
I wrote my posts on the day they posted. 27% of the respondents checked this box, making it the second most popular.
I wrote and pre-scheduled all of my posts before April. 19% of the respondents got proactive in anticipation of the challenge!
Two people had an epic fail, and two people commented on challenge blogs but did not create blog posts for A to Z.

Of the wonderful survey takers:

45 were first timers to the challenge.
71 were doing the challenge for the second time.
113 have three or more survivor badges!
2 have been at this since 2010.




I left comments on several blogs of other participants every day. (Over 100 comments in April.) 41%

I made some effort. (51 to 100 comments left for others in April.) 21%

I tried or planned to, but I was not a very active comment maker. (26 to 50 comments left for others in April.) 19%

Only 7 people said No, I did not leave comments for any of the A to Z participants on their blogs.


Yes! I had over 100 comments on my blog in April, and I believe the A to Z challenge is to thank for that. 71 respondents made my heart swell when I read that answer.

Yes. I received 51 to 100 comments on my blog in April, and I suspect it's thanks to the A to Z challenge. 64 of you also had a lot of love.

Yes. I had 26 to 50 comments on my A to Z posts. 54 of the respondents got at least one or two comments a day.
Unfortunatly:
Somewhat. I had one comment on some posts, but no comments on others. Under 26 comments in April. That was the answer for 37 people.

And this answer is heart-breaking:
No. No one left me any comments at all. I had someone test my comment box, I've checked spam, etc. Nothing. The answer of 3 people.

• Of those, two posted on Twitter and Facebook.
• All three said they did NOT visit or comment on other blogs.

On to what you've been dying to know!

2017 went without a linky list.

Honestly, I don't care. List or no list, I love this challenge. I'll just roll with whatever the co-hosts pick. 45%

I was happy about it before, and I'm still happy about it now! 20%
I was leery, but I've been won over. Commenting with my daily link RULES! Woot woot! 9%

I was happy about it before, but now I miss the old way. 17%
I was against it and, dag nabbit, I was right, because it was terrible. 15%

This is my first year, so I have no basis of comparison. 18%


It's a dead heat when it comes to social media!
I have the hashtag on all of my blog post titles, and I cross-posted to Twitter. 38%
I pasted my link on the A to Z Facebook group. 39%

15 people do NOT want to spend 5 minutes a day to promote their own blog.

65 people were perhaps reached by Arlee's post, as they checked off: I thought about my blog in terms of marketing.

91% had a theme!

32% ended posts with simple, open-ended questions.
48% of the respondents MASTERED HYPERLINKING.
(Only 10 people said they've given up on trying to learn it.)

I am proud of what I accomplished during the challenge.
81%!

41% said they shared the post of others!

69% followed blogs they found because of the A to Z Challenge!

Only 3% say they feel like they failed.

27% follow A to Z participants on Twitter.
13% like or friend fellow A to Z people on Facebook.
Goodreads only drew the attention of 3 survey respondents.
Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, G+, and other social media of participants were followed by 13% of respondents.

28% of the respondents
formed friendships because
of the A to Z challenge.

And 53% of you feel a
sense of community
created by the challenge!

69% learned something from a post in the A to Z Challenge.
66% achieved a goal they set for themselves.

83% reply to comments left on their blog.

9 people said they bought something that exists because of the challenge. (A to Z books, pics, crafts, etc.)
And, as a result of participating in the challenge, 13 people created something that is now for sale.
13 respondents tried a food, a drink, or a recipe I found during the challenge.
32 people added something to their Wishlist or TBR list.

Only 4% of the respondents reached out to Arlee, Alex, Jeremy, Heather, Zalka, John, or J (me) for help.

33% reported interaction with a co-host.

There were 33 people who said they want to be more involved next year.
(None of which used the comment box to leave contact information.)

33% also said they read the posts on this blog during the other 11 months of the year.
And 27 people have an idea for a blog post to be used on this blog over the next 10 months.
(The only idea left in the comment box was: I'd love to see a blog post about how to make your Letter-of-the-Day comment more interesting.)
(I'm not sure if this helps, but here's some commenting information.)

100 people said the co-hosts did an amazing job.

18% miss the Twitter chats.
Only 2% played #AtoZBingo.

16% discovered other blog hops, read-a-thons, flash fiction prompts, or ways to connect with fellow bloggers.
79 people checked I discovered a place I want to travel to or learned something new about a place.
A post improved my health or connected me to people of health similar to my own. That answer was marked by 6% of you.

40% of the respondents learned a new word!

185 people thought the new timezone was fine, or they really don't care.

Age 50 to 70 makes up 46%, age 30 to 49 is 44%.
No one who took the survey reported being under age 18.
Only 5 people said they are over 70 years old.

Age of the ten people who have given up on learning hyperlinking:
1 18-29 year old
2 30 to 49 year olds
6 aged 50 to 70
1 (of the five people) over 70

66% are PC users. 21% use Apple/ Mac. 4% are using another operating system.
Android is on the rise with 13% saying it was what they primarily used when visiting during the challenge. Ipads and Iphones were used by 10%.
29% used an equal mix of computers and mobile devices to visit other blogs during the challenge.

Wordpress is the most popular blogging platform, followed closely by Blogger.

53% made the A to Z Challenge a priority in their life.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer the survey, and thank you for reading these results.

How's Your To-Read List?

To-Read, TBR, the pile of books in the corner... whatever you call it, is it under control, or eating you alive?

About three years ago, I went to a conference on becoming a published children's author.  One piece of advice was to read great children's books.  They mentioned some books and authors, so I scribbled them down: Skellig, the Tiger Who Came For Tea, Liz Kessler, The White Giraffe Series, Eva Ibbotson, Laura Marker series, David Almond, Marcus Sedgwick, Sally Gardner, Meg Roscoff, Anabelle Pilcher, Jonathan Gould, Pongwiffy, Boy in Striped Pyjamas....   These have a UK bias, but the ones I've read are great books. 

First I put them on a reading list on my blog.  Then I found Goodreads and put them on there - other book sites are available: I also belong to Librarything, for example.

So about twenty books found a home on my reading list.  Then I got my kindle app on my laptop, and discovered free books...  you know the story. I had 100 books very quickly.  Then I started getting books I wanted to read, as opposed to those that looked good.  Last November I went into a bookstore with a £25 ($40) book token.  I spent over £35 (nearly $60), and have only just started on those.  I listed ten more I'd like to read but didn't buy.

I am trying to read a book a week.  But I make the error of entering blog review tours, and get advance or free copies to review for the tour.  I have read some wonderful books that way, but my plan to read 60 books from my TBR list this year is under severe strain.  The book that was number 4 at the start of the year is now number 1.  And I am skipping down a way because I really want to read and review the books I won in Giveaways last year.

I'm beginning to feel anxious about all these books I have to read.  And my list isn't even that big.  Go on, guess how many it is.  I'll tell you at the end.

I saw a lovely short post from The Story Reading Ape at the end of April:  What’s YOUR TBR pile like?

Click the link and it'll open in another tab or window.

Feel familiar?  I bet!

What's even funnier is reading the comments - I'm sure they'll resonate with you, too.

I'm looking for the person with the longest current TBR list on Goodreads (or any other list, but it needs to be verifiable).  Just flicking through people who have my first book The Princelings of the East on their Goodreads TBR list, they seem to range from less than 8 books to over 29,000! (Authors, you can find this by looking at your Author Dashboard and the TBR listing for your book).

Can you beat that?

Mine's currently 270.  I have copies, print or ebook, of around 90 of them.  You can add another to yours if you want to download my latest book, Bravo Victor, which is free today on Amazon.

How many books do you currently want to read?  What's your strategy for getting through them?  I'd love to know.

J.C Martin blog tour: Oracle

Please give a warm A-Z welcome to our guest author today, J.C Martin! Her name probably sounds familiar because her book, Oracle, was listed in the post Damyanti did of her book recommendations by our friends atgoodreads. I promised you she'd be here, and tada! She is. Let's show her our love and attention with lots of comments like we always do our special friends who visit.

With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn't need a serial killer stalking the streets, but they've got one anyway.

Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police force is no closer to finding the latest psychopath than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter's disability.

Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential victims.

One of whom could be his own daughter.

Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer's only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene.

Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

J.C. Martin is a butt-kicking bookworm: when she isn’t reading or writing, she teaches martial arts and self-defence to adults and children. 

After working in pharmaceutical research, then in education as a schoolteacher, she decided to put the following to good use: one, her 2nd degree black belt in Wing Chun kung fu; and two, her overwhelming need to write dark mysteries and gripping thrillers with a psychological slant. 

Her short stories have won various prizes and have been published in several anthologies. Oracle is her first novel.

Born and raised in Malaysia, J.C. now lives in south London with her husband and three dogs.

Contact: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Any questions, just give me a shout!

Thanks so much again for all your help guys! I just can’t thank you all enough! 

 

J.C. Martin

Website: http://jc-martin.com  

Blog: http://jc-martin.com/fighterwriter/