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]

The book "Goodreads for Authors: How To Use Goodreads To Promote Your Books’, Kindle Edition, by Michelle Campbell-Scott, is exactly what says Cheryl Kaye Tardif, “Aneasy-to-use, informative, step-by-step guide for all authors, especially new ones, seeking to use Goodreads as a valued marketing tool.” Successful occurs the style in the organization of the book. After each chapter there is a short summary "Chapter X IF YOU'RE IN A HURRY", in which the author briefly presents the main steps of the chapter, step-by-step. The reader may thus find with ease, the material corresponding to his own situation – if at the same time he is a writer. This style seems to be particularly useful for writers who want to devote more time to writing their books. Also very helpful are the advices shown in the book: On the one hand cautious advices in relation to the behavior of the authors and the ethics on the environment of Goodreads, and on the other, practical advices with regard to guidance on the promotion of their book. Trying the formulation of a conclusion about the book, it seems obvious to qualify it as an 'Extremely Useful Book' regarding the ‘Behaviour of Writers on Goodreads’, and also, a collection of short and useful observations uttermost successful, about the environment Goodreads: an ethical and polite place of people who love books. Alexis Aronis

An alright book on Goodreads. I came across this book when I was searching for tips on how to use Goodreads. I am an author myself and had been using Goodreads then for quite a few days. I was already familiar with Goodreads so nearly half of the book did not really provide me with any new useful information that I was not aware of. Nevertheless, Michelle does talk about some very valuable information regarding giveaways, how to use listopias and scheduling events to increase the discoverability of your book. Overall, I believe this book will be helpful to anyone who is not at all familiar with Goodreads.

I have been in sales for the past 30 years, trained 1,000's of sales people and written several best selling books (the back room variety!) Knowing my platform was solid and confident in my content, 3 years ago I decided to launch a more formal and expansive author/speaker platform. I did this right as the publishing world was see-sawing between print/digital (yes, still ongoing!) and self-publishing/traditional. In spite of my highly successful sales background, the marketing of a book (even a great one!) was not easy. One day, I had a conversation with my sister and she asked me if I new about Goodreads...of course, the answer was "no". Since she is a seasoned review and reader of over 600 books on the Goodreads platform, it is incredulous that it had never come up. I followed up on her prompting and was overwhelmed by the vastness of the Goodreads environment. I have my audience and an industry that I am well known and have been very successful...but here...I was the proverbial "fish out of water". As I had just downloaded a free book learning how to work with Amazon KDP publishing this book by Michelle Campbell-Scott came up as a suggested purchase. My reticular glands were salivating so I quickly read the sample, and then purchased the book. In less than an hour, I had created an author profile, identified and tied my books to that profile, connected my blog and uploaded videos. While there are parts of the book that could be improved (very minor!), Michelle Campbell-Scott does a good job of being linear, progressive in the use of Goodreads, and provides valuable screenshots to help you get up and running. I am fairly technology adept, so I could move quick, but if that is not you, she holds your hand sufficiently. If you are an author and not on Goodreads...buy this book. If you are on Goodreads and not maximizing it...spend the $2.99 to get this book and follow through!!!

Michelle Campbell Scott's book Goodreads For Authors: How To Use Goodreads To Promote Your Books is a comprehensive guide to Goodreads that is valuable to Goodreads users and authors alike. I have been poking around on Goodreads since 2011, and became fairly familiar with the website, yet even I was able to pick up on some excellent features that I was previously unaware of such as the ability for readers to compare shelves and the ability to edit your shelves in order to choose features such as which ones are listed at the top and which ones are used for recommendations. Michelle describes in meticulous detail all of the features of Goodreads and walks you through everything from signup to widgets. It took me a few hours to read this book---not because of any fault in the book, but because I kept leaping to Goodreads to implement some of Michelle's suggestions, as well as thinking of a few things on my own inspired by reading this book. It is always refreshing to see an author encouraging ethical reviews and ethical book promotion. Her tips are excellent for authors who need to navigate the fine line between book promotion and book annoyance! If that wasn't enough, she then provides a great outline on how to accomplish and prioritize these tasks, which can seem overwhelming if viewed all at once. I would recommend this comprehensive guide both to authors and to those new to Goodreads.

Being a indie author I learned about Goodreads.com when I published my first book. I read some stuff online that helped me figure out how to use the website and get my stuff setup. But when I saw this book, I figured what could it hurt. I found this book very helpful even for a current user. I used an entire highlighter marking the book up with stuff I needed to take care of on Goodreads. If you're an indie author you might think you've got Goodreads down, but unless you read this book, you don't know all the little secrets. Well worth the read and money.

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.