Report Research- Survey

The first bit of research I collected was a survey, aimed at people in and around the North East (this was because I would be advertising the survey on my Facebook page and through email, and so it would be reaching people I know who live in the North East area).

There were eight questions in my survey, and I purposefully kept it short and sweet so as to prevent the respondents from being disheartened or just plain bored. 36 people in total answered the survey, which was a lot more than expected, and four provided comments at the end about the books and their experience with them.

As seen in the results, some respondents selected more than one answer for a question, some skipped questions and some added comments to the survey. Although one comment wasn't helpful, the others were and allowed some good insight into general opinion on the books.

Report Statement

The topic I have chosen for my report is children's book publishing. In this field I have chosen to research one particular publishing house, Penguin books. I chose it because it's a huge company that has published books for years and is one of those iconic brands book-lovers will always instantly recognise.

Within the Penguin publishing house there are two off-branches- these are the specifically targeted Puffin and Ladybird books, aimed at children and teens.

After collecting research on these branches, I will be comparing the fictional publications and the non-fiction books, and using my resources to find which is more popular.

Agencies

The right agent or agency can provide plenty of work and job opportunities for any artist, and thus they are an important part of the industry. They are especially skilled at networking and this is what makes them so valuable.

So how do you choose the right agent for you and your style?

• Some agents may have a 'house' style
• Some may focus only on UK opportunities
• Some may be able to look over the EU too
• Others may even have worldwide connections
• They may only target a specific market
• Some agents may push you to be 'flexible' to meet income opportunities
• A good agent should try to push you as a 'brand'

This leads me to ask myself what my expectations are.

• How do I want to be represented?
• How do I want to be perceived by the industry?
• How will I want to win commissions?

 These are important questions related to my practice and so I will be researching some agencies that interest me and that I feel could potentially represent me properly.