Here is some Social Media just for authors and just for readers. You are probably thinking, “Am I dreaming?”
No! It does exist, and it is an amazing place to devote time and energy. This little heaven for authors is called Goodreads. Goodreads has approximately 4.6 million users. While it may not seem to be as grand as Facebook’s 800 million users, these 4.6 million users are just on Goodreads as readers!
Goodreads is a place people go to only to think about reading. What an awesome concept. There are no random pictures of kids, like on Facebook, pictures of things you canāt afford like on Pinterest. Instead, there are readers, some virtual books shelves, and people talking about BOOKS!Ā Think about this as Facebook just for authors and their audience.
What are some of the things that you can do on Goodreads?Ā You can create an author page that āfansā can share with others.Ā Within Goodreads, you can also start pages specifically for your book. ( I do not encourage people to start book pages on Facebook, just fan pages.Ā But on Goodreads, you can have both, and they link back to your author page.) Ā Itās designed just for you, the author. You can easily chat with your readers, add video clips, and link it to your Facebook and/or Twitter pages.
I recommend to authors that they spend money on Facebook, programming a page with their books, so it directs them to buy the author’s books. If you are an author with many books, start a store on your fan page. Goodreads does this for you! (Score!) If your book is on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, it is automatically connected to Goodreads.
Goodreads is super user friendly and very intuitive. Ā When you sign in, there are tips and tricks that are posted on their pages everyday. Ā It will give you more ideas and walk you through the site. Ā This makes it very easy to learn and be more adept in controlling the site. Have fun with this site, and don’t just put your books on it, but really get involved. Dialogue with friends, readers, and other authors.
My personal favorite thing on Goodreads is their quote section. Ā You can add quotes from your book or quotes from your favorite author. I love to search the quotes by words and topics. There are no ads with these quotes, and it is such a great resource for writing. Quotes are also a good way to promote yourself!
Goodreads is definitely a top social networking site for authors.
Go here to start your adventure as a Goodreads author. Also, here is some great information about how to effectively utilize all that Goodreads has to offer: Using Goodreads to Promote Your Books
Have you been using Goodreads to promote your writing? How so?
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Thanks, Ingrid. I’m on Goodreads and it is an excellent site. Your post gives me even more information and inspiration to make more productive use of the site.
Blessings.
You are welcome Henry!
Ingrid! Thank you! I get a little overwhelmed when I look at the big picture ~ including Goodreads ~ and have kind of ignored it because it seemed to be a huge monstrosity. Thank you for making it seem more attainable and easier to understand. You’ve helped me out tremendously, and I’m heading over there now to see what I can get into. š
Yea Amanda!! Have fun.
Thank you, Ingrid. I am on Goodreads and so happy to receive your recommended ideas. In particular, one or two of my poems will find their way on the Quote Section. Maybe a quote from my book. Have overlooked several of your mentions.
~ Charlotte
Great Idea Charlotte! The quote area is my favorite part of Goodreads. I love the fact that it is so easy to search! Make sure you label your poem and quotes with some GREAT keywords.
This is so helpful, Ingrid! Thanks for breaking this down – getting into Goodreads is on my list of marketing tools to explore this summer, and you’ve made it less scary.
Thank you, Ingrid for this post! I did not know about Goodreads until tonight. I followed your directions to the site and sent in my author request after finding my name.
Peace to you…
Peace to you as well Greg! Glad it was helpful.
I LOVE Goodreads! It’s a great way to connect with not only my readers but other authors as well.
š So true!