Goodreads

Goodreads: What Every Author Must Do, and How To Do It

Nic Nelson — Fri, 21 May 2021 15:57:11 GMT

Current Revision posted to Goodreads by Nic Nelson on 5/21/2021 3:57:11 PM

In this Goodreads-focused webinar session, writing coach and book editor Nic Nelson will help you:

1. Understand the Goodreads Author Program, what it will and won't do for you, and how to establish a good author presence in less than an hour
2. Claim your Author Profile and determine how you want to use it
3. Get started with the "Ask the Author" feature, when to use it, and how to use it effectively
4. Learn why getting your book on the right Listopia list is crucial, and how to choose a list wisely

And more!

Here is the handout referenced in the session:
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../ALC-Handout-_2D00_-Goodreads_5F00_Nelson.pdf

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../GoodreadsWhatEveryAuthorMustDoandHowToDoIt.mp4

About the Presenter:
Nic is an acclaimed writing coach and book editor. He has served as the head coach at Wordsmith Writing Coaches since 2004, through which he leads SLAKE, a writers’ critique and support group, and PRESS writers’ productivity-development groups, and also mentors up-and-coming editors and writing coaches. He is vice president of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society and a frequent teacher and workshop leader at book festivals and writers’ conferences. Nic lives in South Los Angeles with his lovely wife, a houseful of international graduate students, and an eternally patient terrier who looks just like the Victrola dog.

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

Goodreads: What Every Author Must Do, and How To Do It

Author Learning Center — Fri, 21 May 2021 15:55:43 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Goodreads by Author Learning Center on 5/21/2021 3:55:43 PM

In this Goodreads-focused webinar session, writing coach and book editor Nic Nelson will help you:

And more!

Here is the handout referenced in the session:
www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../ALC-Handout-_2D00_-Goodreads_5F00_Nelson.pdf

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../GoodreadsWhatEveryAuthorMustDoandHowToDoIt.mp4

Tags: fiction, Nonfiction, Subscriber, Recorded Webinar

Why Authors Should Execute Goodreads Giveaways and How to Get Started - article

Author Learning Center — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:24:24 GMT

Current Revision posted to Goodreads by Author Learning Center on 12/14/2017 7:24:24 PM

Whether you're a self-published author or published through a traditional press, you have to market your book if you want to achieve commercial success. One powerful marketing opportunity for authors is a Goodreads giveaway. Goodreads makes it easy for you to run a contest and give away free copies of your book as the prize. You can maximize your book marketing potential by discovering why you should use Goodreads, how to set up a Goodreads giveaway, and tips for an effective giveaway. Once you learn how to run a successful Goodreads giveaway you'll join the growing number of authors who are finding their audiences in big number on Goodreads.

Why should authors use Goodreads?

Goodreads is a website with social media elements that is focused around books of all genres. It allows readers to post reviews on books, find their next read, see what friends are reading, form book clubs, and connect with authors. It is an ideal book marketing tool for authors to gain exposure, find their niche audience, and build deeper connections with their readers.

Goodreads' numbers are huge. In a 2017 Forbes interview, Suzanne Skyvara, vice president of communications at Goodreads, said that "Goodreads has over 60 million accounts globally…over 30,000 book reviews are posted each day, and 17 million books added by Goodreads members to their Want to Read shelves each month." That's a lot of potential readers. Of course, not every member of Goodreads is going to be interested in your book, but Goodreads makes it easy for readers to find new books that match their interests. That's what the site is all about—helping readers find their next good book.

How to Run a Goodreads Giveaway

Only Goodreads members can sign up for a chance to win a free printed copy of any book listed in the giveaways section of the website. Setting up a Goodreads giveaway is quite simple and the author or publisher of a book or soon-to-be released book can set up the giveaway for free. The current program is available for printed books only but will be available for ebooks in the near future. Here's how it works:

Sign up for a Goodreads Author Program. The Goodreads Author Program allows authors to complete a profile page, maintain a blog, engage with readers, and execute promotions such as giveaway programs. You’ll also want to make sure your book is loaded in the Goodreads database.

Complete the giveaway sign-up form listed on Goodreads' website. You'll need to know details such as the start and end date of the giveaway, your book release date, ISBN, countries allowed to enter, number of copies to give away, and a description of the giveaway.

Run it for the allotted time. Goodreads will add your book to the giveaway section of their site and you'll have a giveaway landing page, which includes the first few lines of your author bio, your profile picture, and a "follow author" button.

Wrap up once the contest is over. Goodreads will randomly select the winners and email you the winners' names and mailing addresses. You are responsible to ship a new, printed copy of your book promptly (within two to three weeks).

Benefits of a Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads giveaways are the perfect opportunity to promote your book. Here are a few benefits of participating in a Goodreads giveaway:

Get reviews by giving it away, whether the books are advance reading copies or the finished product. Reviews help spread the word about your book—people want to read what other people are reading. According to Goodreads, sixty percent of winners review the books they win.

Gain exposure through Goodreads giveaways. Forty-thousand people enter Goodreads giveaways each day. Running a giveaway increases the number of To-Read shelvings of your book—meaning that people see your book and use Goodreads to remind themselves, and tell their friends, that they want to read it.

Build excitement. Nothing entices people more than free stuff. Running a pre-publication giveaway promotes the release of your book. It raises awareness of your book on Goodreads, and you can use the contest to fuel your social media campaign and create a buzz. And as an added bonus for you, Goodreads sends an email to all entrants at the completion of your contest. Just one more reminder about your book.

Connect with readers and make lasting connections with the winners of your giveaway. Sign your book and include a personal note to make the experience even more special for the winning readers.

For additional tips on how to run the most effective Goodreads giveaway possible, read this article. A giveaway is a powerful addition to any author's book marketing plan. Just make sure to read all of the fine print in the terms and conditions listed on Goodreads' website so that you fully understand your responsibilities as the contest sponsor. By planning ahead and following these tips, you can successfully run a Goodreads giveaway, promote your book, gain reviews, and connect with readers.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

9 Tips for Running a Successful Goodreads Giveaway Program - article

Author Learning Center — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:23:39 GMT

Current Revision posted to Goodreads by Author Learning Center on 12/14/2017 7:23:39 PM

Whether you're a self-published author or published through a traditional press, you have to market your book if you want to achieve commercial success. One powerful marketing opportunity for authors is a Goodreads giveaway. As a published or soon-to-be published author, Goodreads makes it easy for you to run a contest and give away free copies of your book as the prize.

For more information on the benefits of running a Goodreads giveaway and to learn how to get started, read this. You can maximize your Goodreads giveaway program by following these tips:

1. Run it early: Goodreads suggests running your giveaway at least one month before your publication date. They also suggest running another giveaway shortly after your book is published. But don't worry if your book has an older publication date—you can still run a giveaway for an older book.

2. Give it time: Running your giveaway for one month allows time to gain numerous entries.

3. Be generous: The more books you giveaway, the more winners there are. And more winners means there are potentially more reviews of your book, which results in powerful word-of-mouth marketing for you. Of course, keep your budget in mind. Goodreads requires you to give away printed copies of your book, plus you are responsible to pay shipping costs.

4. Promote it: Increase your exposure by advertising your giveaway. Goodreads reports that giveaways promoted with ads attract forty-five percent more entries than those without ads. Post an ad on your blog and website, and promote it through your social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter. Also, consider placing a pay-per-click ad on Goodreads and Facebook to increase your exposure. You set the budget so you are always in control of how much you spend.

5. Spruce up your author page: Your book's giveaway page will link to your Goodreads author page, so make sure it projects your author brand image. Not sure how to claim your author page? Goodreads has information about the Author Program on their website.

6. Spend time on your giveaway description: Don’t just paste the synopsis of your book. Write compelling, clear copy. Tell readers if you're sending signed copies or advance reading copies, which they love. And remember, Goodreads has a "no strings attached" policy on their giveaways, so you can't ask readers to do anything other than simply to sign up for the giveaway through Goodreads.

7. Consider shipping costs versus exposure: When setting up your giveaway, you have the option to run the contest in the U.S. only, or open the contest to other countries around the world. The more countries you included, the greater your potential number of entrants. However, remember that you're responsible to pay the shipping costs, so do a little research beforehand and keep your budget in mind.

8. Choose start and end dates with the competition in mind: Shortly after posting your contest, it appears in the "recently added" tab in Goodreads giveaways. And as your contest comes to a close, your book will be posted in the "ending soon" tab. If you choose popular dates, it might end up buried among the competition. Browse the current contests in your genre (for example, Mystery giveaways) so that you can choose less-popular dates.

9. Connect with the winners: When you send print copies to the winners, you may include a personal note congratulating them. But don't spam the entrants. Goodreads prohibits you from using the winners' information to contact them at any other time or in any other way other than simply sending the books.

Now that you know how to run an effective Goodreads giveaway, you can begin planning your own. It is a powerful addition to any author's book marketing plan. Just make sure to read all of the fine print in the terms and conditions listed on Goodreads' website, so that you fully understand your responsibilities as the contest sponsor. By planning ahead and following these tips, you can successfully run a Goodreads giveaway, promote your book, gain reviews, and connect with readers.

Why Authors Should Execute Goodreads Giveaways and How to Get Started - article

Author Learning Center — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:17:01 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Goodreads by Author Learning Center on 12/14/2017 7:17:01 PM

Why should authors use Goodreads?

How to Run a Goodreads Giveaway

Benefits of a Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads giveaways are the perfect opportunity to promote your book. Here are a few benefits of participating in a Goodreads giveaway:

Connect with readers and make lasting connections with the winners of your giveaway. Sign your book and include a personal note to make the experience even more special for the winning readers.

For additional tips on how to run the most effective Goodreads giveaway possible, read this article (link to second article “9 Tips for a Successful Goodreads Giveaway Program”). A giveaway is a powerful addition to any author's book marketing plan. Just make sure to read all of the fine print in the terms and conditions listed on Goodreads' website so that you fully understand your responsibilities as the contest sponsor. By planning ahead and following these tips, you can successfully run a Goodreads giveaway, promote your book, gain reviews, and connect with readers.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

Goodreads Ripe with Potential for Writers Who Play it Smart - article

Steve Piacente — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 11:03:15 GMT

Current Revision posted to Goodreads by Steve Piacente on 2/21/2017 11:03:15 AM

Goodreads is Facebook for people who enjoy life between the covers.

embership in the fast-growing site for readers, writers and reviewers has spiked from 6.5 million to 9 million since we rang in 2012, with 17 million joining each month, says Goodreads Author Program Manager Patrick Brown.

Speaking at the 2012 BookExpo America convention in New York City, Brown said authors should set up shop in Goodreads and spend lots of time meeting the neighbors. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re self-published or represented by a major house.

“The only distinction we make,” Brown said, “is whether you’ve joined Goodreads. To me, an author is an author.”

Currently, 42,000 authors have planted their flag on Goodreads

Most writers, whether self or traditionally published, know one of the toughest problems they face is getting noticed. Goodreads is a better place than most to get discovered, win fans, and pile up some reviews.

Here are some more tips:

Join Goodreads and create an author page. Mine is here. Note that you can include a photo, bio, and videos, and run a feed so that your blog posts also show up on your page.

Join several of the site’s book clubs and begin introducing yourself. Outright self-promotion is discouraged, so stash the hard sell. You’ll quickly start meeting bloggers open to reviewing your book.

Review some books yourself to increase your exposure on the site. Remember that well-written reviews can help attract a following. Conversely, you’ll discourage potential fans if you just dash off a few weakly written lines.

The time to shoot for reviews is early in the life of your book. Readers like “new,” and interest will wane if you wait six months to begin campaigning.

Consider a giveaway; Brown says this is one of Goodreads’ best offerings for authors trying to make inroads with new readers. He suggests a modestly priced ad in tandem with the giveaway. Here’s more.

Keep up to speed on latest developments by dropping in on the Goodreads blog, which is located here.

The interest and passion around Goodreads is a great sign for self-published authors. It demonstrates not only a huge interest in reading, but also a demand for new writing talent.

Not that Brown was ever worried.

“I’ve never felt that reading was at all imperiled,” he says. “I think people read more than they ever have before. I’ve never been even the littlest bit worried. This is a very positive statement about where we are.”

What’s doing best on Goodreads? Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, General Fiction and Literary Non-Fiction. Brown reports that there’s a growing interest in business and thought leadership as well.

While the site is pretty intuitive,this is the place to go if you have questions.

You can also follow Goodreads on Twitter at: twitter.com/#!/goodreads, and “meet your next favorite book” on the Facebook page at: facebook.com/Goodreads.

Brown, incidentally, is the 43rd most followed member on Goodreads. See what he’s up to and make an important new friend at his page.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

Goodreads Ripe with Potential for Writers Who Play it Smart - Article

Steve Piacente — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Goodreads by Steve Piacente on 12/14/2016 12:00:00 AM

Goodreads is Facebook for people who enjoy life between the covers.

“The only distinction we make,” Brown said, “is whether you’ve joined Goodreads. To me, an author is an author.”

Currently, 42,000 authors have planted their flag on Goodreads

Here are some more tips:

Join Goodreads and create an author page. Mine is here. Note that you can include a photo, bio, and videos, and run a feed so that your blog posts also show up on your page.

Join several of the site’s book clubs and begin introducing yourself. Outright self-promotion is discouraged, so stash the hard sell. You’ll quickly start meeting bloggers open to reviewing your book.

Review some books yourself to increase your exposure on the site. Remember that well-written reviews can help attract a following. Conversely, you’ll discourage potential fans if you just dash off a few weakly written lines.

The time to shoot for reviews is early in the life of your book. Readers like “new,” and interest will wane if you wait six months to begin campaigning.

Consider a giveaway; Brown says this is one of Goodreads’ best offerings for authors trying to make inroads with new readers. He suggests a modestly priced ad in tandem with the giveaway. Here’s more.

Keep up to speed on latest developments by dropping in on the Goodreads blog, which is located here.

The interest and passion around Goodreads is a great sign for self-published authors. It demonstrates not only a huge interest in reading, but also a demand for new writing talent.

Not that Brown was ever worried.

While the site is pretty intuitive,this is the place to go if you have questions.

You can also follow Goodreads on Twitter at: twitter.com/#!/goodreads, and “meet your next favorite book” on the Facebook page at: facebook.com/Goodreads.

Brown, incidentally, is the 43rd most followed member on Goodreads. See what he’s up to and make an important new friend at his page.

Tags: article, fiction, Nonfiction

Goodreads

Author Learning Center — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 20:29:20 GMT

Current Revision posted to Goodreads by Author Learning Center on 11/10/2016 8:29:20 PM