Anyone using GoodReads author program to promote their book?

I love GR. I've been for almost 2 years. I mainly use it to read reviews & find new books. I'm in a few groups, but mostly I read & rate. I use my author page to post sample of my book & writing, host videos, etc. Once my book is out in paperback, I'll do a give away.

For connecting with like-minded readers, there isn't a better site, IMO.

Does it actually make much of a difference to sales, though? Has anyone worked that out yet?

scarletpeaches said:

Does it actually make much of a difference to sales, though? Has anyone worked that out yet?

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If being on Goodreads gets the attention and interest of readers, that works for me, especially as I'm a very small fish in a pond full of sharks.

I think for m/m romance, Goodreads is pretty much de rigueur. I often find the interface confusing, but I know a lot of people on there, and the interactive features are pretty cool.

After a few big name authors added my book, my adds skyrocketed. Will that translate to sales? IDK. However, it made ppl aware of my book & that's the first hurdle.

I have a highly followed YA reviewer currently reading & my adds also went up from that. If her review is good, I assume it will lead to a few sales & more awareness.

I write M/M occasionally, and maybe my sales would spike if I contributed to the site. I'm a Goodreads Author, but don't post there.

I don't feel able to post reviews there because I have to work with the people whose books I'd be reviewing and I don't mind saying, erotic romance has some of the most precious snowflakes I've ever met working in the industry.

There's a lot of shite being published, but if I say "This book is shite!" you can bet one day I'll sub a manuscript to a publisher and the person whose book I dissed will be the editor!

I understand there are discussion threads on Goodreads too, but it seems like another timesuck.

There are M/M authors who have made it big without posting on Goodreads, and I'm hoping I can work that way too, because to me, it's just not an attractive site, and I...well, I just don't get it.

Dawn Schaefer said:

After a few big name authors added my book, my adds skyrocketed. Will that translate to sales? IDK. However, it made ppl aware of my book & that's the first hurdle.

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This. You're in a saturated market, as am I. Any interest generated anywhere has to help. I had, at the most, a handful of reviews on m/m and romance blogs because no one's heard of me and no one was tripping over themselves to read and review the book. Why should they when there's dozens of new releases by more established authors out there? So I have to take advantage of whatever interest I can get, wherever I can get it. I've had a couple of reviewers on GR who have lots of 'friends' and, as result of their reviews, the number of readers picked up. I don't know if it will translate into sales or not because the whole business is new to me and I have no idea what constitutes good sales or not.

I would say having a big-name publisher is more likely to have an effect on sales than a Goodreads presence (and yes, I count TeB in that list).

scarletpeaches said:

Does it actually make much of a difference to sales, though? Has anyone worked that out yet?

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I have yet to work out how much ANYTHING influences sales. It's pretty hard to isolate these things, after all. But it definitely increased my exposure, and I think that's the best we can do, as authors... just get our names and our books "out there".

scarletpeaches said:

I would say having a big-name publisher is more likely to have an effect on sales than a Goodreads presence (and yes, I count TeB in that list).

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A solid publisher is great, and probably IS more important, but that doesn't mean Goodreads isn't useful too, right? Nobody's saying you have to chose between the two!

I guess so. (ETA: I'm replying to post #34.) I'm just reticent 'cause I don't like socialising in real life, and this just seems like an added pressure to put myself out there. I'd rather get my books out there. However, I'm not as productive at the moment as I'd like, so I can hardly complain about Goodreads taking me away from my writing.

I heard a while back that the best way to sell your backlist is to write your frontlist, and I subscribe to that. Mainly because it's music to my ears, rather than having concrete proof that it works. I'll keep an eye on my future royalty statements and see if new releases cause a spike in sales.

scarletpeaches said:

I would say having a big-name publisher is more likely to have an effect on sales than a Goodreads presence (and yes, I count TeB in that list).

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IDK. At least in the YA arena, word of mouth is huge. More so than who your publisher is - unless you're a lead title. When a NYT best seller mentioned my book on twitter, there was a spike in sales. Awareness + trusted source mention = sales (or at least an add to the TBR pile).

scarletpeaches said:

I guess so. (ETA: I'm replying to post #34.) I'm just reticent 'cause I don't like socialising in real life, and this just seems like an added pressure to put myself out there. I'd rather get my books out there. However, I'm not as productive at the moment as I'd like, so I can hardly complain about Goodreads taking me away from my writing.

I heard a while back that the best way to sell your backlist is to write your frontlist, and I subscribe to that. Mainly because it's music to my ears, rather than having concrete proof that it works. I'll keep an eye on my future royalty statements and see if new releases cause a spike in sales.

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Dude, you have almost 47 000 posts on AW! If you can do that, you can handle Goodreads!

But I don't think you need to, really. As I said up-thread, the most valuable thing I did there, as far as I can tell, was joining the m/m group and contributing to their free anthology. 'Cause I totally agree that the best way to promote is to keep writing, but I also think it's important to make sure that your writing reaches new audiences.

Are you saying I'm an AW addict? I CAN QUIT ANY TIME I WANT!

Seriously, though, I can bang out a post here in seconds. Goodreads would be another timesuck, and I've already left other fora because AW is my favourite, and has helped me most. (I hope I have helped others too.)

I can see the results in my writing from 'hanging out' on AW -- I just wondered if anyone had seen concrete results (say, in sales) from doing the same on Goodreads.

I have to say that I've seen some posts on a members group on Goodreads that made me a bit cheesed off, when there was a big kerfuffle over an author being 'outed'. It got ugly and it was hard to sit on my hands and not respond to some of those posts, especially when one or two people were calling for a boycott of that author's publishers for not being honest regarding that author's gender identity. But that's a whole other can of worms.

So yeah, the downside of Goodreads, is that as a writer you have to be careful not to say something that could piss a lot of people off.

IMHO the most confusing area of GR is the groups. Take the main m/m group, it's very hard to browse for a newbie. Right now, with the end of the year voting, contests, etc, a newbie could get really lost.

But that's GR's design.

There are several other groups that aren't so huge, some are really worth joining and some, well, aren't.

It doesn't hurt to, at least, have an author profile, search your books, make sure the entries are correct, and little things like that.

As for how it's improved sales? I can't say for sure. I've had a lot of response to my freebie which has promoted interest in the one book I do have for sale, but sales haven't improved dramatically.

firedrake said:

So yeah, the downside of Goodreads, is that as a writer you have to be careful not to say something that could piss a lot of people off.

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This, times a bajillion.

Hand on heart, I feel like a hypocrite sometimes, not saying what I really feel about certain situations, or particular books.

Am I being two-faced in keeping things to myself, or diplomatic? Why are people with positive opinions allowed to voice them, but saying "I don't like this because..." is, well, frowned upon?

I changed my name at AW - used to be my author name, and I decided I'd better not use that if I want to be honest, here. So, here is where I'm honest - Goodreads, Facebook, my blog, my website - that's where I work. I'm careful with what I say, for sure.

If you're approaching Goodreads as a reader, use your real-life name. It's a useful service (I have a personal account, and have found some really good books there). But if you're there as an author, use your pen name, and, yeah, watch what you say. You're not there to express yourself, you're there to sell yourself. And your books.

scarletpeaches said:

This, times a bajillion.

Hand on heart, I feel like a hypocrite sometimes, not saying what I really feel about certain situations, or particular books.

Am I being two-faced in keeping things to myself, or diplomatic? Why are people with positive opinions allowed to voice them, but saying "I don't like this because..." is, well, frowned upon?

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Definitely not two-faced. Definitely diplomatic.

When I see so many positive reviews for books that are crud, though, I want to add my voice to the crowd, to even things up a bit.

But, you know...the author could be someone I know, have known, or will know in the future.

It's difficult, and sometimes I hate myself for not saying what I think about books.

I'm not saying "I want to piss all over someone's work online!" No, not at all. I just want to give honest opinions about books I like or dislike, without fear of being blacklisted for being honest.

scarletpeaches said:

When I see so many positive reviews for books that are crud, though, I want to add my voice to the crowd, to even things up a bit.

But, you know...the author could be someone I know, have known, or will know in the future.

It's difficult, and sometimes I hate myself for not saying what I think about books.

I'm not saying "I want to piss all over someone's work online!" No, not at all. I just want to give honest opinions about books I like or dislike, without fear of being blacklisted for being honest.

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Is your real-life name associated with your writing? If not, give your reviews under your real-life name.

Not a bad idea, but all of my editors and many co-writers know my real name.

I've considered reviewing under a fakey-ass blog name, but I don't know...

Okay, back on topic, people.

i checked in on my page just now. the list of readers and will reads has grown. i am waiting to hear from a publisher on a lesbian love story that i submitted a month ago. this news makes the wait for a probable rejection less depressing. kind of like knowing you can go to prom with your debate partner even if the cool guy with the locker next to yours doesn't ask you.--s6

I decided to run a small ad - ie $5 - on GRs. It went live an hour ago. In that time, my book jump 20,000 spots on amazon. While I can't be positive that the GR ad has anything to do with it, I find it interesting the jump corresponds to when the ad went live.

I poked around the M/M areas of Goodreads and decided it was not for me. Horses for courses, methinks.