Goodreads for Authors

This work provided me with an incredibly easy-to-follow guide to using Goodreads to promote my book. I only wish that I had read it sooner, as building relationships on Goodreads is more important to a writer than any other form of social media. Great work, Ms. Campbell-Scott!

Filled with useful, actionable advice from someone who already has cut a path through the e-publishing promotional jungle ahead of me. Thanks, Michelle, for saving me so much time and for the reassurances for new self-publishers along the way.

I loved reading this book. It helped me learn to get used to using Goodreads as an author. I recommend it to any writer who wants to understand the tools Goodreads offers you. Plus, also love how straight to the point it is, unlike many other book marketing books.

Loved this book. It explained so much and helped me make better use of all the options available to authors on Goodreads. With precise and easy to follow instructions, and engaging style, it was a pleasurable read.

Some value to this book, but too much verbiage to fill spaces with Mr. Obvious stuff and then when it gets useful it doesn't supply specific answers. It's okay, there are some good tips in about 10% of the content. My takeaway is to write a short book entitled "How to ....anything new" and fill it with whatever comes to mind and sell it on line. Good idea.

Using Goodreads is definitely a must if you're an author- the idea behind the book is true. However, this book is very much geared towards people who have no computer ability, and no ability to figure things out on their own. I didn't find anything in the book that I couldn't have figured out on my own, and the information also felt very padded.

This book is perfect for someone who knows nothing about Goodreads or who hasn't taken the time to watch the Goodreads video on their site. Other than basic stuff this book doesn't have an new tips or tricks.

This is a helpful introduction to Goodreads. Some of the instructions are obsolete (websites change, but books don’t) so I relied on Goodreads Help pages more than the book. The material could have been presented with a lot fewer words. The ebook is inexpensive, so the investment was worthwhile.

In no more time than it takes to read this book, you can figure out the Goodreads site yourself. Furthermore, it is common knowledge that websites change now and then - once Goodreads changes, this already disappointing book will be out-of-date.

My advice to authors is go to Goodreads and experiment with it. Your book needs exposure so participate in a giveaway. Put your book on lists in the listopia section. Include a link to your blog - that is preferable to doing a blog on the Goodreads site which I found to be "clunky" compared to both Blogger and WordPress. I imagine that I've already given you more strategy in this paragraph than was offered in Campbell-Scott's book, or maybe not - I must confess I didn't get all the way to the end.

It's no secret that there are thousands of ways to market a book. It is also no secret that the job of marketing falls on the author nowadays. How in the world can busy authors keep up? One answer is to get some help (or maybe a lot of help) and this book is one way to do it.

Goodreads.com is just one of the many social media platforms authors can use to reach their audience and, like the rest, it has a learning curve. You can try to figure it all out on your own, but if you'd prefer some help and to shorten the curve, GoodReads for Authors has exactly what you need.

The book is well put together in an easy to navigate, logical order that is useful for beginners to intermediate social media users. Author Michelle Booth includes a broad view of what you need to know, as well as a ton of little details that make this a truly comprehensive soup to nuts book.

If you're an author and you've considered learning to use GoodReads to connect with your audience, you cannot go wrong if you choose this book as your guide.

I’ve been a Goodreads Author since 2009 but haven’t spent as much time on Goodreads as I should. With my second book coming out in a few months, I read “Goodreads for Authors” as a quick catch-up and to see what I was missing.

I soon found myself going back and forth between the Goodreads website and Michelle Campbell-Scott’s book. So, yes, there is a lot of good information for authors in this book—and I plan to go through it again.

My pet-peeve is advice e-books like this that follow the following format:

1) Tell the reader what you are going to cover.

2) Cover the subject.

3) Review what you just covered.

4) Summarize the entire book.

5) Sell the reader on another program, newsletter, course, etc.

If something is in writing, readers can go back and read it again! To me, such redundancies are solely to get the page count up. And I hate the selling at the end. I always feel used for having paid (the book price) to be sold. Why write an advice book without complete advice?

Over the past few years I have come across dozens of e-books that do the above. The only reason you won’t see them in my book reviews is that I have a policy of not ripping indie authors (authors with major publishing companies are fair game, however). Instead, I just don’t acknowledge that those individual books exist.

So why am I giving this book a high rating? Because even though it hit on all my pet peeves, the information provided was valuable. Also, this was a well-written, well-edited book. And that puts “Goodreads for Authors” head-and-shoulders above other e-books written using the same format.

Okay, now I need to put all this new-found knowledge to work . . .

Marty Essen, author of: Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico
and Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents

This a comprehensive, thoughtful guide to utilizing Goodreads. Every author from Goodreads newbies to Goodreads pros should find something worth taking away in this book. For newbies, there are detailed, step-by-step directions that even the most computer-illiterate grandparent could follow. For old-hands, there are insights into ways to use Goodreads groups and other such options to your advantage – probably a lot here you hadn’t yet thought to try. I’d made a point to study and use Goodreads, but I learned a few excellent tricks from this book, making it well worth the investment. Best of all, there are short summaries throughout the book so you can look things up at a glance, or use to determine which sections you can skip because you already understand everything in the summary. The writing style is very clear and inspirational. You’ll find this a quick, valuable read that you’ll turn to again and again.

There are some helpful tips about getting around on Goodreads, but the information on giveaways is either outdated or just flat-out wrong. Most of the people who sign up for giveaways have never reviewed anything and it's doubtful they're going to start on your book. In fact, they don't even read in the genres of the books they sign up for. People who sign up appear to be people who want free stuff, period, whether it's of particular interest to them or not. I strongly suspect that most of them turn right around and sell the books they win from these giveaways on E-Bay, Craigslist or elsewhere.

Bottom line is, Goodreads giveaways are not effective marketing tactics anymore (assuming they once were, when this book was written). They are just another way to flush time, effort and money down the toilet.

I read this book while I doing research for one of my own books.

On the plus side Michelle Campbell-Scott delivers a very complete book. She addresses every single little detail including that goodreads users can communicate with each other via email. Then again, this is not different from any other social media platform.

Most outstanding is the feature *(doing this or that) when you are in a hurry*. I liked that. It is new. I have never seen it before. Then again, this feature may also be contra productive for achieving results. Authors need to treat their books like their children, thus apply as much care as possible. That being said, all parents feed their children fast food at times, so maybe this feature can be understood the same way.

What I missed in this book was actual insights. The author delivers a manual, not unlike the goodreads help-section itself but does not share real experiences, examples, or insights beyond what can be found at goodreads itself. I would hope that this book will be republished in a second edition, which includes personal insights.

Gisela Hausmann, author & blogger

* Overview
I bought the Kindle edition, and I rated this book five stars because for four reasons.

1. It is filled with practical advice and links that helps the author who is interested in promoting their book.

2. It has a useful index, something that rarely exists in non-fiction Kindle books.

3. When I read the appendices at the end of the book, I discovered a technique that the author does not describe, but that I immediately made highlighted and noted this, "What an idea! Integrate Udemy with my non-fiction work." Since then, I've thought of how I might actually integrate Udemy with my fiction work.

4. "Bonus Two - Book Updates for Life" has the best, most non-threatening phrasing to invite a reader to sign up for a mailing list that I've ever seen, and when I went to the page, it was well designed and appears to use MailChimp, an autoresponder that I think is top notch.

If you belong to Kindle Unlimited, I recommend that you make this one of your ten free books, and then if you like what you see, buy a permanent copy.

A Sampling of things that I liked/learned/realized
*It's worth while creating a POD edition of an e-book to get advance reviews. - Getting advance reviews is something that I have struggled with, and I know from experience that I can create a short B/W book for $2.15 + shipping.
*Goodreads syndicates reviews to e-commerce sites and to traditional media - This alone makes me want the exposure of Goodreads. It's darn hard to get a review of an indie book in traditional media.
*Many readers set up their Goodreads accounts to update their Facebook profiles.
*An example of how Tim Ferris uses Goodreads to promote his Four-Hour series of books.
* Discussions about pay-per click advertising.
* A mention of Quantcast.com that reminded me that I wanted to check out that site.
* A discussion of how Goodreads provides increased social proof.
* A discussion of Listopia
* Interesting, insightful ways to use Goodreads polls.
I liked the way she plugged her children's book in this non-fiction book, a technique that I'm starting to do with my writing.
* The discussions on being a "librarian."
* The discussion on using Slideshare.net
* The statistics on how people discover books on Goodreads.
* The people who she acknowledged. - I consider them credible.
You may also want to know...
...that I've read a lot of books on marketing lately, and that this book is interesting to read. It's conversational in tone.
Finally, I did't find any bad advice in it. There are many books that offer advice that can undermine you if you follow it. Goodreads for Authors is filled with practical advice, that is based on experience and not hype.

I found this book enormously helpful. Very easy-to-read, friendly tone, and a solid lesson on Goodreads. The author says the book is good for people unfamiliar with Goodreads (readers and authors), but also for authors already on Goodreads who aren't using it to its fullest potential. (No spam encouraged, by the way.)

I can't speak for people already familiar with the site, but as someone who'd never been on Goodreads before, I found it invaluable. The book functions as a How To user guide for the whole site. It's not very expensive as a Kindle buy, and I think worth it. Especially, I'd recommend this book to anyone new or fairly new to the site (readers and authors), or any authors who feel like they could be getting more out of the site. Also, people who are unfamiliar/somewhat unfamiliar with social media and anyone intimidated by the Goodreads website.

For someone who isn't even on FaceBook (yes, there are still a few of us out there, living in dark caves in the hills, our view of the world blocked by trees, unable to see even a bird's eye view of the towns below), if I would have tried to navigate my way around the Goodreads website without the help of this book, it would have taken me much, much longer, and I likely wouldn't have even ventured to explore all of its features.

For authors:
Michelle Campbell-Scott in no way encourages spam. She advises authors to get involved as READERS on Goodreads and she also offers a multitude of ways to get your book noticed on the site, both for free and through paid advertising (but mostly for free!).

I'm completely happy with this book, no complaints. But my perspective is that of someone unfamiliar with the site. I do think I still would have found it helpful, though, if I was moderately familiar with the site.

*Note: Michelle Campbell-Scott also offers people who read her book a heavy discount on a visual course on Goodreads, which includes some extras. I don't think I need that, but if you're an author, you might want to consider it. If you're a visual learner, you may even consider the course in place of this book.

This is not the first book by Michelle I read. I've read her Mo, the Talking Dog and new that I was in for a good read, when Michelle send me a copy of her book prior to release and gave me the chance to write a foreword for this excellent book.

What you get is a step-by-step process that leads you through the shear infinite opportunities goodreads offers to authors and readers. Michelle takes you from the regristration to getting an author's account and from uploading your books to organizing a giveaway. You learn about reading groups and how to interact with other authors and especially READERS.

What I personally find really cool is that she always offers two approaches a slow and detailed one, followed by a quick take on every feature, Michelle discusses.

Goodreads holds many hidden treasures in store and this books gives you a key to the treasure chest!

Now it's up to you. Go and make good use of it!

what luck that I stumbled on Ms. Campbell Scott's thorough and informative guide while groping for ways to build a book marketing strategy! I had NO IDEA Goodreads has so many aspects and useful features. Tomorrow I will map out and start a campaign with this ebook at my computer's side. Thank you for so many positive ideas!

Victoria Hay / Roberta Stuart
Plain & Simple Press (PG-13 books)
Camptown Races Press (Racy Books for Racy Readers!)

Awesome and concise and comprehensive, are the three superlatives that spring to mind when I read Michelle's new book on navigating Goodreads. I've been a member of Goodreads since July 2012 but had no idea of the potential until I read this PDF preview copy of Goodreads for Authors. I would give it 4.5 stars. I found the recommendations at the end to be very helpful and an insight into the author's other books and videos, as well as to similar authors who provide a road map to this complex countryside of ever expanding technology.

This book might be the best thing to happen to Goodreads and authors since..well...since Michelle's dad suggested she try to write!

I have been a member of Goodreads for awhile now but I didn't know how to use to promote my own books.
Michelle Campbell-Scott has written a comprehensive guide on how to promote books with Goodreads.
The book is very easy to use with step by step instructions. At the end of every chapter is a summary.
You have the choice to really delve into the subject matter at hand or get a quick overview to get you up and running fast!

How to promote your books with Goodreads is a great how-to guide if you are serious about promoting your books with Goodreads.
I highly recommend to all Indie authors!

Informative, well organized, concise. The author adopts a tone of a friend, showing authors the value of engaging our readers on the platform, while avoiding the pitfalls others have experienced. There's no theory here; this is based on her and others' experience. I especially like the chapter summaries. They provide a checklist for when you don't have time to read the full chapter, or when using the book as a reference. Overall, a solid reference for all that Goodreads offers its readers, as well as authors.

I have spent hours of my life that I will never get back trying to figure out how to use the Goodreads site effectively as an author. And while I did make some progress, I had no idea what I was doing, or what was important to do, or why - I just knew that it was. I am thrilled that someone, finally, has written this guide. I learned so much in such a short time! In fact, before I even finished this book, I had imported my blog feed into my author profile blog (simply by following the author's instructions - I had no idea what I was doing) and it worked. I plan to re-visit this book again and again and highly recommend it for every author (except authors in my category!). NOTE: I received a free review copy in exchange for my honest review. Honestly, I love it.

I got this through Kindle Unlimited and it was a great resource.
Some great advice for authors on how to best utilize Goodreads for promotions without being spammy or obnoxious.
For tech savvy authors who already understand the rules of social media, a lot of the book is pretty common sense. Even though I have been on Goodreads for a couple of years and have done pretty well on the site, I did learn some new tricks. For authors who aren't as tech savvy, this book would be a life saver.

If you are an author who is not currently using Goodreads, this book is an absolute necessity. Michelle Campbell-Scott delivers vital, use-it-now information in a practical and well-written guide. She writes with a great sense of humor and uses it to teach but not preach on the philosophy of Goodreads and just as importantly, she explains in detail how to do things that in the past had me saying "huh?" while trying to navigate the site. Highly recommended!

Very helpful information. I learned a lot about how to use Goodreads to promote my books from reading this book and implementing some of the ideas in it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to promote their book on Goodreads.

Michelle Campbell-Scott has done an excellent job of helping authors to utilize the opportunities on Goodreads. Campbell-Scott goes through specific instructions so that authors can navigate all the different sections of the Goodreads website.

As a fiction and nonfiction author, I am implementing her information, and I highly recommend this book.
-- Phyllis Zimbler Miller, author of the romantic suspense spy thriller CIA FALL GUY

This book was very detailed and explained steps that anyone can follow with ease. I had no idea that Goodreads has such depths for a book site. I happen to be a voracious reader and love looking at all the books on Goodreads. Michelle Campbell Scott provided an excellent outline to help authors sell and advertise without beating anyone over the head to buy. As a writer, I would love to read an updated edition with new information after 2014.. A must read.

This was a pretty good book. It talks about how authors can use Goodreads, why they need to, and the nuts and bolts of how to make it work. It didn't tell me everything I needed to know. Some minor things I had to figure out on my own. But it did help me learn how to do many things. On the Kindle, however, the screen shots are hard to read.

This is a great nuts and bolts guide to using Goodreads. There is plenty of advice and guidance. The appendixes are filled with practical information and resources. There are both dos and don'ts. The material is well researched. This book is for anyone who wants to know how to optimize Goodreads for their own books.

This is a useful book with lots of tips and how to operate a Goodreads account. I found it to be a quick read and I have a feeling I will reference it quite a bit over time. For those who aren't familiar with Goodreads at all will appreciate this book even more. I was hoping for more on strategies, but she provides a decent framework of how to start.

The best advice was how to link free days on Kdp select with a goodreads promo. Very sound and insightful and not something I would have thought to do on my own. The rest of the book was a filler though. Quite basic and stating the obvious.

I'm not a goodreads novice but this book helped me get a new checklist of things I need to do to maximize my profile on goodreads. And several of those things are free! Whether you've used goodreads before or are just looking to get better, I recommend this book

This was by far the most useful author book I've read and I am reading many right now. Thank you Michelle! I loved this! when I get to know goodreads better (as Louise Bagshawe) this book will be my guide

This book gave me some great insights on how to best use Goodreads as an author. It covered me many Goodreads features and tools for authors that I didn't know where offered. I found the information very useful.

The best way to summarize my disappointment with this book: it doesn't give you *anything* you couldn't find clearly presented on the Goodreads site itself.

I appreciate what the author tried to do here. Unfortunately, this book is little more than a wordy guide to the basic features of Goodreads. I was expecting more strategy and less 'click here then click save then click edit then click save'. Even these overcooked how-to's are not presented clearly. They should be broken into bullets or numbered steps, not presented in paragraph form.

Imagine a book that teaches you how to use e-mail or facebook. If you were just thawed out and have never used a modern website, you might learn something. 'If you want to delete an e-mail, select it and then click the trash icon'. That's how this book reads. For example, the author actually 'teaches' you how to sign up for Goodreads (create a username and login--my apologies for spoiling part of the book!). For most of us it will seem that the author tried to stretch a good blog post into a poorly executed book. The 'if you're in a hurry' chapter summaries contain all the substance of the book, which is to say, not much. It's hard to imagine a self-published author (presumably the audience of this book) needing all this hand-holding for the most basic features of a popular website. An effective guide would present *specific*, tested strategies for using Goodreads to drive readership and sales. That is exactly what's missing here.

Again, this information would be good as a free blog post. It certainly doesn't add enough to justify a $3 purchase. If my 7 days are not up, I'm going to return mine.