Goodreads for Authors

Over a week ago week a bunch of us had an informal chat on AgentQueryConnect about the social reading site, Goodreads, and what it can do for authors.

Earlier in that week I had read a piece claiming that most readers find the books they read on Goodreads and not on Twitter or Facebook. Granted, this information was accumulated over on Goodreads so those results may be a little skewed. Either way, it shows something I’ve wondered about for some time. Twitter and Facebook are great ways to connect with your audience on a different level as well as network with other industry experts. But showing off your book? Not so much. It’s hard to market your book in 140 characters or less without being so obvious that it lacks intrigue and turns people off. Still, it is another place to create a touch point (more on that later).

Source: Goodreads

In the chat we also talked about things such as lists. Lists on Goodreads are big. Lists of YA books coming out in 2013, Best Summer Reads, or what-not. Getting on one of those lists can be huge in terms of getting your book in front of your audience. You, however, should not put yourself on a list as that just looks bad–and people can see who put a book on a list. Asking someone else to add your book to a list–providing they are comfortable with it–is perfectly fine.

Giveaways! There are tons of giveaways going on all over Goodreads. Often there will be literally hundreds of people asking for a handful of copies. Why? Because it is so easy! You just click and you are entered to win. Authors, ask yourself… for the price of a couple of copies, how many people are being exposed to your title? (Rumour is that a person must see/hear/read about your title up to 7 times before they pick it up!! Every touch point counts!)

Connect with your competition’s audience. Find them. Woo them. But don’t be a you-know-what about it. Learn what they like to read. Use that information in your marketing.

The author’s dashboard. When you become a Goodreads “author” instead of average joe, suddenly you get a fancy dashboard in your account. People can become fans, you can see all reviews for your books, see what lists your books are on, and much more. It sounds pretty cool.

Speaking of reviews, it came up in the chat that reviewers on Goodreads can be downright mean. And a few authors have gotten slammed. We’re not just talking 1 star which means “did not like it.” (Get over it, your book isn’t going to be for everyone! And sometimes 1 star reviews can entice people to read your book and see if they are right.) But we’re talking nasty-a$$ed comments that get personal. And a few authors have responded. Not good. If you are a Goodreads author, don’t read your reviews.

As an author, be very, very careful about your own book reviews and what you say about other writers. You can come off looking very, very bad. Ungracious… poor sport. You get the picture. Some authors create a separate, private account for their reviews, or they simply leave the stars rating off, or only review books they feel passionate about–in a good way.

Seeing a book on a friend’s shelf on Goodreads is one of the biggest ways readers find new books to read. Think of it this way, are you more likely to read a book you randomly see in the bookstore or one you see a friend reading? Most likely, you are going to be more intrigued by the book your friend is reading. And so it goes with seeing books on your friend’s Goodreads bookshelf. (When people you have friended add a book on Goodreads you get an email update as well as see it in a ‘stream’ on Goodreads.) As an author, get people to add your book to their ‘to be read’ shelves if you can, and people with friends in the publishing world–add their books to your shelves to support them.

Want to find out more? Check out this must-read Goodreads blog post.

How about you? Do you use Goodreads? How about LibraryThing or others? What are your thoughts on authors and review sites? Good, bad, ugly?

Purely Coincidental Memoir

I just finished reading Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern. (It’s a book of stories and quotes about a guy’s dad.) It’s taken me awhile to get to this one even though my husband bought it and laughed his way through it last August. I suppose I didn’t think it was going to be as charming as it was. And that could be due to several different factors. One being I was pregnant. A little side note on that… when pregnant I tend to find America’s Funniest Videos side splitingly funny which says an awful lot for just how disturbed my sense of humour is while under the influence of an influx of maternal hormones. However, I did not find my husband reading this book amusing what-so-ever. I did not share his mirth at the funny little quotes he shared with me. In fact, I found most of the parental ‘wisdom’ nuggets he shared with me to be mildly horrifying due to their straight-up bluntness. Again, note that I was under the influence of hormones that tend to tinker with one’s judgment when it comes to all things amusing.

Two, we were in Florida and it was August. And it was scorching-freaking-hot. And we were tramping through the paved paradise of everything Disney every day for five or six days. That can put a damper on anyone’s sense of humour.

Three, I was trying to nap.

Four, my husband was frequently shaking the hotel bed by trying to contain his very frequent mirth. (In a way, I think this was karmic payback for all those times I laughed out loud (and thus disturbing him) when I read A.J. Jacobs’ The Know-It-All in bed.

Anyway, I finally read Sh*t My Dad Says. And it was amusing. And kind of sweet actually. Despite the blunt and somewhat harsh advice and quotes from Sam Halpern, you can tell this father loves his son an awful lot–and even before you get to the last chapter where Justin talks about that fact.

But that’s all me just babbling on, what I actually wanted to blog about is this little disclaimer at the back of the ebook: “Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.”

Did I mention that this book is nonfiction and based on this guy’s dad and actually quotes him and shares REAL LIFE stories about growing up? Yeah. So, I’m not really sure how that disclaimer works seeing as this is a memoir of sorts… but I found it… interesting. I guess nonfiction isn’t what it used to be. Or maybe they just want to cover their butts in case this turns into A Million Little Pieces (a memoir that turned out to be a whole lot of fiction). Or maybe, just maybe Halpern’s father is purely coincidental or what he’s done and said is purely coincidental. (Not just plain ol’ “coincidental,” doncha know.)

And now look at me… I’m no longer making sense either. Coincidental, too. Purely.

Hello.

Book Round Up

I’ve been neglecting my Goodreads account lately. That and sharing books I’ve read with my blog readers. So, when a friend asked me if I’d read anything good lately (she just got an ereader), I said, “You betcha.”

And then I had to try and recall something I’d read in the past few months.

Fortunately, that wasn’t a problem. Briefly, here are a few…

Room by Emma Donoghue. Room is about a girl who is kidnapped and has a baby while in captivity (the kidnapper is the father) and when her child turns five, they manage to escape. It wasn’t nearly as disturbing as I thought it would be–which is kind of a relief, actually. I don’t like it when books mess with my mind in a huge way. The first half of the book deals with their imprisonment, the second half with… well, I won’t spoil it by telling you what they deal with.

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The Immortals by J.T. Ellison. This one also had mind messing potential, but thankfully didn’t leave any scars. It is about some teens involved in dark magic and murder. Fast and entertaining while the main character tries to track down the murders. Uses several point of views which works well for the story.

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Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. I really enjoyed this one–more than I thought I would. It follows two families–an American family that adopts a baby from India who was given up because the family was too poor to raise her. It also follows that Indian family. I was worried it would be slow and work to read, but I couldn’t stop reading it! It also shows you a bit about Indian culture and the way things aren’t as balanced as you may think.

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The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald. This was an intriguing book as Grunwald set her story of a man unable to commit to relationships in a university practice house during the 1940s. These practice houses existed (my grandmother-in-law attended one as part of her home economics education) and were intended to teach students the latest in home economics. Babies (supplied by an orphanage) included. My grandmother-in-law said there was a waiting list for babies who had been in the practice house as they didn’t play strange. Go figure, having how many mothers. Anyway, this story follows one baby who stays in the practice house instead of being adopted out and his own journeys into making lasting bonds with the women who come and go in his life.

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Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. This was pretty good, as I do love Walls’s voice. However, I did like her memoir about her own life better–The Glass Castle. Half Broke Horses was about her grandma (who was a pretty amazing woman and character), which was cool, but at times I wanted to reach in the book and smack the grandma.

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Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin. A chick lit novel that had me waffling back and forth on what I thought the main character was going to do… go back to her husband? Get back together with the ex-boyfriend who still stirs her heart? There were times when I wanted to shove the character one way and other times that I wanted to smack some sense into her and drag her back the other way.

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People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. A novel that moves back in time, following the story of a religious text from it’s daring wartime rescues back to its creation. While it may sound technical and dry, its a great story that is an intriguing mystery and is tied together by a current day protagonist who is not only dealing with her own issues, but also with solving the mystery and history of this book while restoring it.

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How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely. A humourous novel about a guy who decides he’s going to become a famous novelist to ‘get back’ at his ex-girlfriend who is getting married. He decides he can add in all the great elements of the nation’s greatest best-selling novels to make his The Big One. That means road trip, exotic locations, war, love stories, and philosophical moments. The novel (not the one he writes) follows his progress, downfall, success, downfall, and ultimate… share it… or spoil it? Nah… I couldn’t spoil it for you.

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P.S. Full disclosure: If you purchase one of these books using the links I’ve provided, I get a couple of cents. Does that make me an enterprising sell-out? (However, I haven’t ever ‘sold’ anything from my blog, so maybe it doesn’t–or just makes me an ineffective one. Har, har.)

Novels Remembering World War II

By coincidence, I happened to read two great novels in the past few weeks that both use World War II as their setting. One in England and the USA, the other in Germany. One narrated by a female reporter, the other by Death, himself. Both stellar.

First I read The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. This is the story set in England and the East coast of the USA. (With a short trip through Germany and France.) The story follows Frankie, a female American reporter, who broadcasts news from England to those in the US. When a friend is killed during a typical, nightly bombing of London, she takes up her friend’s quest to show the world what is happening to the Jewish people. (This was before the world knew what was really happening with the Jewish people in Germany and German occupied territories.) Off to Germany she goes with a portable recorder to record voices, not knowing what she will do with them, just knowing that it is important to record them.

Meanwhile, back on the East coast of the US, a small town is going about their everyday lives, wondering/disbelieving/believing that the war will reach their shores. And in the midst is a rule-honouring Postmistress who does something ‘wrong.’ But truly, this story is not about her and her minor misdeed. In fact, the prologue gives readers an unfair expectation of the book and what the story will hold. That aside (don’t bother reading the prologue if you like), the book is a fantastic story of war, love, family, community, and identity. If you liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, you will likely enjoy The Postmistress.

The second book was The Book Thief by Markus Zusuk. While classified as YA (young adult), this is a thick book that also appeals to adults. While narrated by Death (who has a very distinct and wonderful voice as well as way of seeing things), it truly follows the story of a poor, young, foster girl, dubbed ‘the book thief’ by Death due to her love of reading and her unlawful ways of getting reading material to satiate her love of the written word. While a member of the mandated Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany, this girl has another secret other than her ill-gotten books, and that is the Jew hidden in her basement.

A wonderful story about coming of age, secrets, war, friendships, and making due with little. If you liked the quirks of The Giver, you will probably enjoy The Book Thief.

Today, pick up one of these books and remember those who died and fought (and are fighting) for what we have today–and part what we have is the freedom and safety to write and read about life, war, society, governments, and more.

We are a privileged lot and I am forever grateful and thankful for what we have.

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Book Review: Return the Heart

Book Review for: Return the Heart
By: TK Richardson

You may recall TK Richardson (Website & Blog) from our author swap some time back. Well, guess what? She’s been busy writing and publishing her first book, Return the Heart. And you know what? It’s fabulous. This is a gal who has invested in her skill and it shows.

Lilly, the heroine, is well-developed, as is the rest of her ‘gang’ of new friends that have special, top secret talents. You know what motivates them, what their internal conflicts are, and all that high-tech writerly mumbo-jumbo. In other words, you totally get why each character acts the way they do and totally understand (and empathize) with the push-pull they feel at any given moment.

So, what’s up with Lilly anyway? Well, Lilly can read hearts. That is, she can look at someone (or a photo of someone) and read their feelings, histories, desires, and most telling, their secrets–good and bad. Her friends have similar, but unrelated talents, and together they mesh to create a powerful group that is wanted by agencies (both good and bad) around the world. But I’ve already told you enough. TK slowly doles out information in a way that intrigues the reader and causes them to want more and I don’t want to spoil that for you.

Watch for more from TK, and more in the series. (After reading the last chapter I emailed her and asked, so you totally led up to a sequel–is there one? The answer is yes. Yay!)

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