I am another self-published author. I am of the belief that the best poll you can conduct is to announce that something exists and then try to get people to inv

I am another self-published author. I am of the belief that the best poll you can conduct is to announce that something exists and then try to get people to invest something—time, attention, money—in it. For example, you can announce you're writing a certain book and ask people to sign up for a mailing list to be informed about updates. Or follow the LeanPub model and offer the unfinished book for sale at a steep discount, with early adopters/patrons getting all updates. I count amongst my biggest successes a small list of books I DIDN'T write because although people told me that they were interested in the books, mocking up a fake cover and attempting to sign people up for emails told me that the market wasn't actually receptive. The key is that asking people to make even a small investment gives you a far truer signal than any poll.