SoAiS Member survey

– Step 1 of 3

1. Overall, how satisfied are you with your membership? *

Very satisfied
Satisfied
Moderately satisfied
Not particularly satisfied
Very unsatisfied

1. a) What could we do to improve your satisfaction level?

We want to improve our service for members, so any suggestions about how we could do this would be very useful.

2. How likely are you to renew your membership? *

I will definitely renew
I will most likely renew
I might renew
I might not renew
I will not be renewing

2. a) What could we do to change your mind about renewing?

It would be helpful to know what steps we could take to make you consider renewing.

3. How long have you been a member?

fewer than 2 years
2 – 5 years
6 – 10 years
more than 10 years

4. Which of the below are your primary motivations for being a member?

SoA campaigns
Individual support e.g. advisory services
Member discounts
Events
Feeling part of a community
Knowing that the SoA will support you when you need it
Specialist insurance
Other

Please select as many as apply from the list or chose Other to add your own.

4. a) Please tell us what other motivation is important to you

You can type an answer into this box

5. Which benefits have you used in the last 12 months? *

Advisory services
SoA Events in-person or online
Local group events
Discounted products and/or services
Other benefits

Please select as many as apply from the list or chose Other to add your own.

5. a) Please let us know what other benefits you have used

If you have used another membership benefit in the last 12 months please let us know here.

6. What changes or improvements would most enhance your membership experience?

Let us know your thoughts e.g. a new member benefit, an event or resource that would support you as an author or member.

7. Do you feel membership is good value for money? *

Excellent value
Good value
OK value
Poor value
Terrible value

7. a) What could we do to improve the value for money?

Please let us know your thoughts so we can try to improve.

8. How involved do you feel in events or the community?

Very involved
Involved
A little involved
Not really involved
Not involved at all

9. Are you happy with your level of involvement in the SoA community? *

I would like to be more involved
Yes, I’m involved at the right level for me
I would like to be less involved
I am not involved

9. a) If you would like to be more involved, please give us your name and email address and we will be in touch to find out more

Please give us your name and email address here.

9. b) If you would like to be less involved, please give us your name and email address and we will be in touch to see how we can help

Please give us your name and email address here.

9. c) If you would like to be involved, please give us your name and email address and we will be in touch to find out more

Please give us your name and email address here.

you with the

10. Please tell us where you live *

This will normally to the address that we have as your main address on your SoA record. We will use this information to help us analyse the data.

10. a) If Other, please let us know which country you live in

The Society of Authors in Scotland

The Society of Authors in Scotland (SoAiS) is a Nation Group within the wider SoA. The SoAiS committee is directly elected by the Scottish membership.

S1. What do you understand as the purpose of the SoA Scottish committee?

S2. Have you ever had any engagement with the Scottish committee? *

Yes
No
Don’t know

You may have met a Committee member at an event, through the Facebook group, by email etc

S2. a) If so, in what way, or for what purpose?

S3. Which of the following SoAiS activities are most important to you? *

Campaigning
Events
Policy development
Representation in literary sector, including lobbying
Other

Please pick as many as appropriate

S3. a) If other, please specify here

Please give us information about other areas that are important to you.

S4. Thinking about campaigning, which of these issues are important to you? *

Better pay and conditions for creative freelancers
Increased arts funding
Reduced bureaucracy for accessing funding
Other

Please pick as many as appropriate

S4. a) If other, please specify here

Please give us information about other campaigning issues that are important to you.

S5. 'How would you like to see SoAiS engage with the wider SoA? *

Joint events
Involvement with SoA Management Committee
Shared campaigns
Voting rights at Board meetings
Other

Please select as many as apply

S5. a) If other, please give more details below

Events

We’d like to plan events in the future that will be relevant to as many members in Scotland as possible.

S6. What type of events would you like to see the SoAiS run? *

In-person social events/meet ups
In-person professional development events
Online social events
Online professional development events
Other

S6. a) If Other, please explain what type of event you'd like the SoAiS run

Please note, the subject of the event will be covered by the next question

S7. What subject areas would you be interested in? *

Funding and income opportunities
Learning from others personal experiences
Learning new writing skills
Marketing your work
Specific forms and genres
Topical writing issues
Using technology
Other

S7. a) Please add your suggestions here

S8. Have you attended any of the following events: *

SoAiS AGM
Christmas Lunch
Summer Picnic
Writing Retreat
Online events (such as Gender inequality in Publishing)
Local group meetings (online or in-person)
None of the above
Other

Please select as many as appropriate

S8. a) If other, please describe the SoAiS event you attended

S8. b) Which of the events you attended was most meaningful to you and why?

We’d like to know what made that event so helpful or successful for you.

S9. What would you need to feel comfortable attending SoAiS events?

Step-free access
Hybrid/online option
Mask-friendly environments
Flexible timings (during school hours, outside work hours)
Access to a quiet space
Bursaries (e.g. to cover caring costs)
Other

Please select as many as appropriate

S9. a) If other, please let us know what else would make you feel comfortable attending an in-person SoAiS event

The information provided will help us shape future events to better suit your needs.

About you

Your responses will be stored in accordance with our Privacy Policy and GDPR rules (https://societyofauthors.org/legal-privacy/privacy-statement/).

S10. How old are you?

S11. Do you consider yourself to have a disability or impairment?

Yes
No
Prefer not to say

S11. a) If you consider yourself to have a disability or impairment, please select the relevant definitions from the list below:

Chronic pain or fatigue
Coordination, dexterity, or mobility impairments
Experience seizures
Hearing loss
Learning disabilities
Long-term experience of a mental health condition
Neurodivergent (e.g. Asperger’s syndrome, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia etc.)
Speech impairment
Visual impairment
None of the above
Prefer not to say

Please select all that apply (definitions taken from the UK Census 2021)

S11. b) If none of the above, please describe below:

If you prefer, you can leave this blank, but the more we know about our members the better we can tailor our campaigning and events programme

S12. Do you have any caring responsibilities (e.g. children, elderly relatives, disabled family members)? *

S13. Please select an option that best describes your ethnicity.

These definitions are the same as in the Census 2021.

S13. a) Please use this box to fully describe your ethnicity:

S14. please provide any other information you want to share with the SoAiS Committee

Communication

This section asks about your communication preferences

S15. What are your preferred methods of communication from the SoAiS Committee?

SoAiS newsletter
Direct email
Facebook post
Private social media (e.g. WhatsApp)
Other

Please select as many as apply.

S15. a) If other, please tell us what communication method you'd prefer

11. How satisfied are you with the communications you receive from the Society of Authors? *

Very satisfied
Satisfied
Moderately satisfied
Not particularly satisfied
Very unsatisfied

11. a) What could we do to improve your satisfaction level with our communications?

Please give us your thoughts to help us improve our communications.

12. Are you happy with the number of emails we send about our activities and campaigns?

Too many
Just the right number
Too few
I don’t know
I don’t remember receiving any emails

12 a). Are you happy with the number of emails we send about events?

Too many
Just the right number
Too few
I don’t know
I don’t remember receiving any emails

12. b) If you don't remember receiving any emails, please supply your email address and we can check for you

Enter your email address and we will see if you have accidentally unsubscribed or if we have a different address on record for you. We will remove it from the results of the survey to ensure anonymity.

13. How likely are you to recommend joining the Society of Authors to another author? *

Very likely
Likely
Maybe
Unlikely
Definitely not

13. a) What could we do to make you feel able to recommend the Society of Authors?

Please share your thoughts to help us improve what we do.

14. What would you like to hear more about?

Tell us what things you’d like us to update you on, or keep you informed about.

15. What would you like to hear less about?

Tell us what things you’ve heard too much about.

16. We are looking for testimonials that we can use to promote the SoA. If you'd like to contribute please do so below.

We anticipate using these on our social media platforms.

16. a) If you are happy to have your name associated with your comment, please enter your email address here.

We will not share your email address with anyone and will only use it to contact you. Thank you very much for your contribution.

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