Using social media to promote your work is not only advisable but is also expected today. One of the great media tools is Goodreads. Goodreads was created in 2006 by Otis and Elizabeth Chandler with a stated mission “to help people find and share books they love… [and] to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world.” In 2011, Goodreads acquired Discovereads, a book recommendation engine that employs “machine learning algorithms to analyze which books people might like, based on books they’ve liked in the past and books that people with similar tastes have like.” On November 2012, Goodreads had surpassed 12 million members. Amazon.com acquired Goodreads in 2013.
The first promotional tool is to join Goodreads and create an author profile. All members of Goodreads have profiles created when they join, but authors have special profiles and promotional tools. To become part of the author program, simply do a search for your own book. Click on your name as author. Scroll down to the page bottom and click on the question “Is this you?”
The benefits of presenting your profile on Goodreads are seemingly endless. You are reaching people who are readers, who take their reading seriously and who write reviews. Your work will get rated by fans and you can build up a base of loyal readers who will follow you, waiting for your next book or blog. And here is my first pointer. It is not just enough to join and set up a profile on Goodreads – you must be an active member. You should start posting the books you read and post reviews to Goodreads. As an author, your positive reviews count with your readers. You should always post your blog. You may think that seems like too much, but Goodreads makes it easy by allowing you to automatically have your blog post on your Goodreads site. Each time I write a blog on my website it is automatically posted on Goodreads.
You can also have Amazon and Kindle purchases reflect on your Goodreads page. It’s easy to do. Look to the right hand column of your home page and you will see New! Add your amazon books! Click on that and make the connection. It makes it easy to rate and review the books you purchase for your kindle or in print. It keeps an ongoing list of the books you ordered.
Write those reviews. Goodreads is an interactive site. When you write reviews people read them. If they like your reviews they follow or friend you. They order your books and write reviews for you. I try to write reviews, even simple ones, for most of the books I read or order. Of course that is not always possible with a busy writing schedule. When I can’t write the comprehensive review I would like to, I at least write a line or two and rate the book. I cannot tell you how many followers and readers I have gained by taking the time to support other writers and their work. I am a firm believer that what you give is always returned to you with God’s grace and blessings. In Luke 6: 38 the Lord promises, “Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete, therewith it shall be measured to you again.”
Goodreads allows you to join on-line groups and there seems to be a group to fit every interest and need. I became so excited by the numerous groups offered that I initially joined too many of them. I suggest you be more careful. Join one group or at the most two. Remember, this is interactive. It is better to become a real member of a group, get to know the other members, share postings and news, then to belong and not have a presence. To find a group just click on the top subject bar that says “groups.” Do a search for the kind of group you are interested in. Do you want a Catholic or Christian group? Do you want a writing or reading group? Do you want to join a group of children’s or non-fiction writers? The possibilities are endless. Take the time to find a group that will fulfill your needs. I have just skimmed the surface of what Goodreads offered authors. More next blog.
Karen Boyce
Karen Kelly Boyce lives on a farm in N.J. with her retired husband. She is a mother and grandmother. She is the author of “The Sisters of the Last Straw” series published by Tan Books. You can see her work and learn more about her on her website: www,kkboyce.com