S D Enterprises asked to fill out publishing survey!

I know, right? At first I was honored but after reading the survey I was just sort of stunned. All I can say is that you should always keep in mind who is being surveyed whenever you read the results of any survey. Here's the letter I received to let me know what the survey was about and who was conducting it:

Dear Sue,

On behalf of The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and The Book Industry Study Group(BISG) we are requesting S D Enterprises to participate in our new joint industry statistics project, BookStats.

The aim of the program is to track transformational shifts in how book content is produced and sold in the age of digital. The new data product, to be released annually at first, will provide a comprehensive view of book sales aggregated by revenue, units, categories, formats and distribution channels.

Our efforts to improve the accuracy and quality of data collection rest primarily on the commitment and engagement of publishers like you. Whether large or small, we are hopeful that everyone will want to stand and be counted.

The survey is just ten questions and shouldn’t take long to complete. All data is absolutely confidential and it is important for you to know that your individual sales information will never be shared or used other than as part of the aggregate totals reported.

As a way to thank you for your time and commitment, participating publishers will receive complimentary access to the data once it is published.

First off I can't imagine how I even qualified to be asked to participate. What a joke! I know the reason though. I bought a block of ISBN's from Bowker. To be able to do this you have to set yourself up as a publisher which involves acquiring an EIN and saying you're a publisher. There are no other requirements.

The survey questions are for "real" publishers who have "real" sales which are only large publishers. I can show you the questions and you can laugh along with me. I think I'll save that for the next post though.

So oh boy another stupid survey coming down from the publishing industry that shows absolutely NOTHING!!! Just what us small press authors need.