Goodreads for Authors

Loved this book. I ate it up in 1 day during long flights. It is inspirational, conversational, honest and sincere, and full of well-researched knowledge by a fellow author who cares passionately about her fellow author peers. Thank you Michelle. I read this on my flights down to Chile and have been setting up my entire profile, including building up to close to 100 of my reviews - I am a voracious reader and a reader before a writer always - and setting up my author profile page. I must say that I am even more impressed with Goodreads ... the updates are fast. For changing and adding my book covers, I was able to upload them and see them instantly update into the system without even going through a librarian. And the approval to enable my user/reader profile to author was almost instantaneous. I am grateful to the librarians already. This book is the ultimate inspiration packed with how-to knowledge for authors to learn how to use Goodreads and leverage its powers in a way that is so very appealing and attractive to us. I am so very glad I picked it up and will be referring it to many of my author friends. Thank you so very much Michelle. There were a dozen or so small oversights on spelling and grammar, in case you do future editions of the book. Did not take away from the 5-star rating.

I snagged this one because Amazon recommended it, based on a previous purchase of Writing for Dummies. (Does that qualify me as a dummy? I don't know... and I'm not sure I want to.) It seemed potentially useful in my current situation, that being "Okay, I wrote a bunch of books... now what?" The book proved to literally be a hand-holding experience, starting with finding your way to the site and working through to the more advanced topics of how the advertising engine works, what Listopia does and how you can make it work for you, and perhaps the most important item to be found: What not to do, if one wants to remain well-regarded (and with an active account.) All the information was presented clearly, with plenty of links to the requisite pages for the folks who don't already know where they're hiding - and let's face it, everyone on Goodreads knows some of those spots can be tricky to find, at times. It also goes fairly in-depth into how the ranking system works, precisely what you're paying for in CPC advertising, and the near-viral functionality that begins just by clicking "Want to read" or voting on a poll or two. The book, overall, hassome great info inside, and I do recommend it to any fellow authors hoping to join the community on Goodreads and be considered as fine upstanding citizens instead of one step above spambots. For those folks who have a little less technical savvy or who are just starting to get a handle on social media and how it influences your advertising, I'd say it's a straight up must. For those who are already members and have been experimenting, the author's suggestions and tips - including pointing you to parts of the site you might not have even been aware of - are still incredibly helpful. The best part? The author talks like a real person. She talks to the reader as though they're a real person. She's not afraid to make something a little humorous, and doesn't ever have a "tone" of talking down to the reader, regardless of the subject. That puts it head and shoulders above most of the similar books/sites I've seen, which all too often seem to have a "Well, if you have to ask...*sniff*" sort of motif. Having the right tone, and delivering information that is as useful to veterans as it is to someone visiting the site for the first time, is a gift.

All I really wanted to do was to write a book - a simple book - a good book. I had no desire - WHATSOEVER - to become a computer guru/social media maven, yet now I find that's what I must be if I want to sell my words. I struggled through and semi-conquered Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest, but Goodreads overwhelmed me and left me just about ready to throw in the towel. Enter author Michelle Campbell-Scott - an angel if there's ever been one (and, I know a thing or two about angels since I write about them). In "Goodreads for Authors," Ms. Campbell-Scott tears down this intimidating website and builds it back again nail by nail - point by point. It might be easier to state what the author DOES NOT do: 1. She doesn't talk over the reader's head by using technological/computer terms without explanation. If I'd known what a widget was, I wouldn't have needed the book to begin with. 2. She doesn't use her book to hawk her other books. If an author wants to sell multiple books to the same reader, he/she should make dang sure the first book does what it is suppose to do, i.e. teach, entertain, inspire. Ms. Campbell-Scott only mentions her other books when it makes sense for her to do so. 3. She doesn't write with the assumption the reader has already sold thousands of books. There are far more authors out there with single digit sales than books on the bestseller list. A little respect for the underdog is not only appreciated but advisable. The bestselling authors probably don't need a how-to book! Michelle Campbell-Scott has provided a blueprint for Goodreads - a valuable resource for both authors and readers. I was up and running on the site an hour after downloading the book. I have no doubt that I will be buying more of the author's books as the need arises.[book:Goodreads for Authors|17908268]

What a fantasic read. I new about goodreads but only thought it was for books lovers.. that was until I read this book. It opened my eyes to ultimate opportunities for authors of fiction books and non-fiction books. My mind is still buzzing with all the ideas and tips of every single aspect of goodreads. If your an author or wish to become one you must buy this book. So good I am spending all weekend going through every stage of this book and setting up an author account at goodreads. I have never seen an non-fiction book so well researched and put together by step-by-step. Six stars not five as amazon allows

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.

Wow. I saw this book recommended reading in a comment left on a blog about Goodreads. It has been one of the best purchases I have made this year. I consider myself an intelligent person but have spent hours stumbling around Goodreads on my own and googling "how to" in regard to its use. This book puts it altogether chapter by chapter with instructions step by step. A wonderful resource, and love the hyperlinks and short summation at end of each chapter for those "in a hurry". I can't recommend this book enough especially for authors.

Easy to follow introduction to Goodreads and its potential for Indie Authors. I like the way Campbell-Scott says 'you could do this and jump ahead but DON'T!' Her step by step approach seems the best way ahead. The Chapter summaries provide a useful future reference. Campbell-Scott cautions that that GR is set up FOR READERS rather than authors; hence its use as a marketing tool may not be instant.Hence I'm slowly working through step by step. Only time will tell how well GR works. But on the face of it, the advice seems valuable.

This is a very well written book that shows you how to use the Goodreads site. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you, Katharine Simpson Katharine Everest is my pen name.