Goodreads is the largest social network for readers, authors and book-lovers in the world. There are over 4.5 million members who use the service to share books they've read by rating and reviewing books, adding books in categories on their virtual bookshelves, forming and joining book clubs plus much more.
Basically, Goodreads is the Facebook for bookworms!
Why should all authors (and readers) join Goodreads?
- It's free to join
- There is a fantastic Author Program
- You have direct access to over 4.5 million members who LOVE books
- You can easily connect with other authors
- Your books and writing can be reviewed and rated – for those emerging authors, this can be a useful
tool to get free advice to improve your writing
- Free publicity for your books
- Develop a loyal following
- Find more books that you might enjoy
Read on to find out about Goodreads' great features...
Goodreads features:
Profile
This is your own part of the site where you can tell everyone about yourself, display a profile picture, manage your bookshelves, show recent updates, pieces of your own writing and more.
This is your anchor-point to connect with others who have similar interests to your own, so make it informative.
My Books
Consider the “my books” section as your own personal library record. You can place books on virtual bookshelves in categories you choose, such as the default ones - “read”, “currently-reading”, and “to-read”. You may also add your own categories to organise your books in any way you wish. I think this is great if you have a huge book collection and want to keep an easy to access record of them all. Not only that but you're sharing books you've read to the world and helping readers out there find something new and giving authors much appreciated publicity.
Friends
Much like Facebook, you can send friend requests. This is an essential part of the networking involved with Goodreads. You can search for people, or Goodreads will give you a list of recommendations based on your current group of friends. A fantastic way to find appropriate members to befriend is by joining groups and adding those with similar literary interests.
Groups
There are many different groups you can find and join, or create your own. Each group contains a variety of topic headings for discussions you can be a part of. I find this to be a fantastic way to share your thoughts with anyone from around the world on books you've read, or anything to do with reading and writing.
Explore
This is where you can browse genres, lists, reviews, or simply search for books to add to your bookshelves. Listopia is on this page, which contains lists of books under appropriate headings, for example - “Best Books of the Decade: 2000s”. Goodreads members can vote for books and send them to the top of the list. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling tops the aforementioned list.
The Goodreads Author Program is a free feature for published authors or those who are in the process of publishing a book. It is designed to assist authors in reaching their target audience through various means. Readers join Goodreads because they are passionate about books, which is what makes this so perfect.
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| Click here to watch a slideshow on how to promote your books on Goodreads |
Becoming part of the Goodreads Author Program gives you access to the following features:
Blog – only Goodreads authors can publish their blogs on the site
Advertise your book – much like Facebook Ads or Google Adwords, you can create an ad to target a specific audience by age, location, gender and reading preferences.
Author Q&A Groups – your own forum where you and your readers can discuss anything you desire.
Giveaways – a terrific way to generate interest in your new book is to hold a giveaway.
Author Widgets – an eye-catching tool you can place on your website or blog to attract readers to your Goodreads page.
Ebooks – sell or giveaway your ebooks on Goodreads. It must be in the correct ePub format, and Goodreads will pay you 70% of the price you set once your sales reach $50 or more
The Title – you are given the title “Goodreads Author” under your profile, and can build up a following of fans.
Sample Writing - offer free samples of your books or other writing.
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| Click to read Facing Demons chapter preview |
If you are an author, joining the Goodreads Author Program is a fantastic way to find more readers and connect with them. By establishing a dialogue directly with your fans, you will build trust and create a lasting relationship of loyal followers.
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