Smart authors don’t fret about the shrinking book review section in The New York Times, or the 12-page book section that the San Francisco Chronicle eliminated.
Instead, they target online communities such as Goodreads.com, the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world.
Here’s why sites like Goodreads are so powerful if you want to find readers who will read, review and buy your books:
- Its more than 7.3 million members create virtual bookshelves where they have added more than 260 million books they love reading.
- Members recommend, review and compare books.
- They keep track of what they’ve read and what they want to read.
- They form book clubs. They debate plot lines and characters, and comment on each others’ reviews.
A Powerful Platform for Authors
Goodreads’ Author Program lets authors write a detailed profile, publicize events like book signings, write quizzes about their book or topic, post videos, give away books before launching, lead Q&A discussion groups, join book groups, and chat about their books in discussion forums—all for free.
Generate positive reviews on a site like Goodreads and you could be reaching millions more readers than if you had a book review printed in the shrinking New York Times.
“People are more likely to get excited about a book their friend recommends than a suggestion from a stranger,” says Otis Chandler, the Founder and CEO of Goodreads who got hooked on the Hardy Boys series in the second grade. “We even created an amazing algorithm that looks at your books and ratings, and helps you find other books based on what fellow Goodreads members with similar tastes enjoyed.”
The site appeals to casual readers and bona-fide bookworms, and the next book they read might be yours.
Other Sites Where Readers Are Reviewing Books
Goodreads is one of the dozens of online communities where you must have a presence if you’re serious about creating buzz for your books. Confused about which sites are best for you? Order the video replay of Join me at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, March 29, when I host the webinar “Where to Find Millions of Readers Online to Review, Recommend & Buy Your Books.”
You’ll learn about the biggest and best online book review sites, online book clubs, web-based book discussion groups, and which ones are best for certain genres and even poetry.
I’ll even throw in several excellent forums and listservs where publishers and authors can learn about writing and publishing. And I’ll show you where to find a network of nearly 2,000 book bloggers and book reviewers. Register here even if the time is inconvenient because you can get the video replay and the other downloads and bonuses, within 72 hours after the webinar.
Wow. What a great service Joan.
Wilbert, the webinar was great and everyone who attended learned a fabulous tip from one of the audience members. One of the sites I mentioned was Kirkus, which has a program for Indie authors in which you pay $425 for a review. It’s one of the very few paid sites I mentioned.
Somebody asked if it’s worth paying for reviews. I said that I had never paid, but that she needs to ask that question in some of the author forums, on LinkedIn and Quora and see what comes back. A woman on the webinar emailed me and passed along information about an author who got a great review from Kirkus for one of her books. The review opened all sorts of doors for her and put her on the path to a best-seller. I don’t want to share the details here until I research it. I hope to do that later today and I’ll writ about it here.