Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jessica Vealitzek on April 25, 2012 at 8:07pm

Yes, exactly...that's what it seems to me. Hard to put my finger on Goodreads. 

I'm a bit befuddled by your offer (though I would love to work with you re: guest blog posts). What series on online networking sites? (And I don't count out that I might be having a big brain fart right now...)

Permalink Reply by Michele Tracy Berger on April 25, 2012 at 7:23am

Hi Jessica,

Great question. I have come to see the possibilities of Goodreads to connect to readers and potential readers. I have an author page for my academic works that have a bit of trade appeal. I hope to utilize it even more effectively as I move into the creative writer realm. I don't really provide reviews, but just 1-2 sentences that are generally descriptive. I've enjoyed following the blogs of writers whose work I want to learn more about (example, Val Nieman, also a She Writer). I'm currently part of one of the Goodreads' writing groups, but haven't been as engaged with that group. As others have said, Goodreads offers many possibilities. It's just picking and then being consistent in the social media conversations you want to be involved in.

Kristen Lamb's book: We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media is really helpful!

I'd love to have more She Writer friends on Goodreads--please feel free to friend me -Michele Tracy Berger!

Permalink Reply by Jessica Vealitzek on April 25, 2012 at 8:09pm

Thanks, Michele -- will do! And thank you for the book suggestion. Sounds like what I need. I suppose like all of it, I'll learn how and how much to use it as I go.

Permalink Reply by Zetta Brown on April 25, 2012 at 8:41am

I like using GoodReads because I like making lists. I like creating shelves for the books I have read, want to read, liked as a kid, etc. 

I like to rate books with stars and I may leave a brief review. I write book reviews for New York Journal of Books and sometimes for my own blog(s) so that's where I do my more in-depth reviews. As far as reviewing on GoodReads, a few sentences saying what you think about a book is good enough. You don't have to write a thesis unless you want too! LOL

I have several people who follow my reviews.

My novel and novellas are on GoodReads and they have been rated and reviewed. To be honest, I may peek at them now and again to see if anything fresh has been said, but I don't sit waiting for a review to appear.

Apart from "friending" with people who are my friends to begin with, I've participated in some of the groups and even created two groups: 2nd Childhood Group where you can share those books you loved/read as a kid and still read as an adult, and Calls for Submissions where authors, editors, publishers can list any calls.

I admit. I'm not on GoodReads very often, but the tools that I have found useful is the Giveaway. If you have a published book and have it listed on GoodReads, you can offer copies to giveaway. Be sure you have your author profile set up.

All in all, I like GoodReads, and like with anything else, its usefulness will grow depending on if you use it and how much.

Permalink Reply by Jessica Vealitzek on April 25, 2012 at 8:16pm

Thank you, Zetta. So true. (I'm a list-maker, too. It's getting very LONG.) I think you just wrote a post somewhere (here?) about giveaways. Yes? I saved it to refer back to later, when I publish. 

Permalink Reply by Anita Chapman on April 29, 2012 at 9:56am

Hi, I joined Goodreads recently and don't quite understand how it works yet-I've noticed that it's linked to Facebook and everytime I update Goodreads it updates my Facebook timeline. I wrote a review for a book I read recently-it was the first I've written and I found that the most difficult part was not giving away what happened in the story.

Permalink Reply by Jessica Vealitzek on April 30, 2012 at 1:36pm

Huh - I wonder if you checked some option re: Facebook. I don't think mine does that, but I'm going to go see... 

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