Social Networking for Authors and Avid Readers

photo by: Paul

I don't have time for another social networking site! 

That’s what I thought when I heard about Goodreads, a book social networking site that allows users to add books to their virtual bookshelves, share what they read, see their friends’ bookshelves, read and write book reviews, and connect with readers around the world with similar literary interests.

For authors and avid readers like yourself, this isn’t just “another social networking site” – it’s a site designed with your needs in mind.

The Goodreads mission?  “To get people excited about reading. Along the way, we plan to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world.”

The initial goal of the site was to allow friends to share and recommend books with each other, but shortly after its launch in 2006, Goodreads creators added the Author Program, which, according to the web site: “is a completely free feature designed to help authors reach their target audience — passionate readers. This is the perfect place for new and established authors to promote their books.”

In an interview with Patrick Brown, the Community Manager at Goodreads, he says, “the best way for an author to build a presence on Goodreads is to be an active Goodreads member. That is, they should write reviews of the books they read, participate in groups, and generally use the site as a reader might. In addition to this, they can do some very simple things to get the word out that are not intrusive. If the author is already writing a blog, they can sync that to their author profile. If they aren’t writing a blog, they can start one. They can post videos, ebook excerpts, polls, etc. All of that will end up in their friends’ and fans’ update feeds.”

In an interview with Jeff Bennington, Jeff lists Goodreads as one of the top ways authors can promote themselves.  He says, “Goodreads "giveaways" are an incredible tool to publicize your book. I also like what my ad on Goodreads is doing. The thing with Goodreads is not how many clicks or sales you get, but how many folks "add" your book. When they do that, they are more or less planning on buying your book when they get to it, and they will, because most readers on Goodreads are avid readers and love talking about what they read, so they will also rate and review your book, which is another benefit of that site.”

The NoSpinPR blog lists “Ten tips for authors taking the Goodreads plunge” and blogger Phoebe North also gushes about the benefits of Goodreads.

Do any of you use Goodreads to share and find good books to read?  Have any of you used the Author Program?  If so, let us know how it has worked for you!

by Anne Greenawalt - add me as a friend on Goodreads!