help topics

my books

how to shelve your books

To add books you've read to a shelf, use the 'bookshelves' dropdown while editing a review. All the books you add are in the 'read' shelf by default, unless you add them to the 'currently-reading' or 'to-read' shelf using the bookshelves dropdown. You can create additional shelves that are mutually exclusive with the 'read', 'to-read', and 'currently-read' shelves by clicking on 'edit shelves' from the homepage. You can also create your own bookshelves (also known as tags or lists), and add the book to as many of them as you like.

can I edit the shelf for multiple books at once?

To add or remove books from a shelf in batches, use the 'edit view' on your 'my books' page. The edit view lets you select as many books as you like to move them from one shelf or another, or even to remove them from your profile. You can also find duplicate books in edit view.

can I add videos or book trailers to an author profile?

Videos may be added to any author profile as long as they are hosted on YouTube or BookVideos.tv first. To add a video, first make sure you have librarian status, then click on "edit" on any author profile (lower right corner of the info box). The "add videos" link is on the right side of that page.

how to add a book to your books

To add a book to your shelves, find the book by searching for its title or author. On the book profile page click on 'add to my books'. All the fields on the next page are optional, so enter a rating or review if you like, then click 'save' and the book will be added to your books.

how to remove a book from your books

To remove a book from your shelf, click on the 'my books' link at the top of Goodreads, make sure you are on the 'main' or 'list' view, then click 'remove' next to the book you'd like to remove. You can also click on the book, click 'edit my review', then click 'remove from my books' at the bottom of the page.

how to import or export your books

To import your books from a csv, txt, or xls file, click on my books then on import. Then follow the instructions on the right side of the page. The batch upload may take several minutes to process, depending on how large your file is. You can also export your books to excel from the same page.

how to sort your books

You can sort your or your friends reading lists by any criteria you like, using the links at the top of the column while viewing a shelf. For example, to sort by title, click on 'title', which appears at the top of the page. Clicking again will reverse the sort. Other columns that can be sorted on are: author name, rating, my rating, shelves, date added, publication date, date added, date read, average rating, review, number of comments, and number of reviews. Make sure to check out the various views (main, list, reviews, covers, print, edit, rss) to see all the sorting options.

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book topics

if a book is missing a cover image or other data

It is possible for members to change book covers, edit book and author data, and generally correct any inaccuracies. Much of Goodreads' data comes from Amazon, and occasionally the page number, author name, or publisher name is incorrect. To fix the data, look for the 'edit' link on any author or book profile page (lower right side of the box next to the image). However to keep the site clean we restrict this ability to people with 'librarian status'. We will grant this status to anyone with at least 50 books who applies. If you don't have enough books, you can always post your issue on the Goodreads Librarians group.

what is the Goodreads Authors Program?

The Goodreads Authors Program is designed for published authors to have a presence on Goodreads. Goodreads Authors can connect with fans, add excerpts of their writing, post upcoming events, and add photos and videos of themselves. In order to join our Authors Program, you must have your books listed on Goodreads. The easiest way to do this is to ensure they listed on Amazon, as when books are on Amazon they are automatically found on Goodreads. If you don't have any work on Amazon, the best thing to is is manually add your books to Goodreads (advanced search => manually add). Then just follow the instructions here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/program.

what is a Goodreads librarian

Goodreads Librarians are people who are dedicated to improving Goodreads' data. Librarians can edit book and author information, as well as combine separate editions of books to help aggregate reviews and ratings. In order to become a librarian on Goodreads you must have at least 50 books in your profile, then just apply.

tips for book publishers and authors

Tips for book publishers or authors to use Goodreads:

* Author Program. Designed for authors to have a profile on the site and interact with fans, and add photos, videos, events, etc to their profile.
* For authors that aren't interested in the program, publishers can join as a Librarian and then they can fully edit any author profile and add the photo, full bio, Youtube videos, events, etc.
* Advertising. We are now offering custom advertising buys. Buys can be across the entire site or targeted to a particular genre (eg women who like romance/fiction, etc). For a rate card please contact us.
* Author interviews & newsletter promotion. Each month we feature 2 authors in our monthly newsletter (over 1 million subscribers). This is an editorial decision, but usually the authors featured have interesting books just released. For consideration, contact us with details about the book.
* Book Giveaways. You can submit any number of copies to be given away to interested members. There is no charge for listing books, however you are responsible for shipping to the winners. For now Goodreads will drive traffic to the giveaway for free.
* Q&A groups. Authors can host a Q&A group to answer questions from fans about a new book.

tips on being a Goodreads librarian

There is a comprehensive Librarian Manual that deals with any questions librarians may want to know: check it out.

multiple copies of the same book

Due to the nature of there being many different editions of a book, each having its own ISBN, we have built a feature where you can combine (or separate) each edition. This provides the advantage of aggregating all the reviews and statistics for this combined 'work'. To combine editions of a book, just click 'edit other editions of this book' on the right side of the book's page.

if you can't find a book

If you can't find a book on our search engine, you have two options. The first option is to search by ISBN. You can find ISBN numbers on in the inside cover of your book or on Amazon. The second option is to add the book yourself by clicking on 'manually add book' on the right side of the search page.

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my account

tips for booksellers and authors

We welcome participation from organizations such as book stores, and we invite all published authors to join the Goodreads Author Program. However, spam and unsolicited advertising of any kind will not be tolerated and could lead to the permanent deletion of you Goodreads account. Posting of legitimate book reviews from organizations or individuals is the intended use of the site, but no review should have any content with an intent to sell. Goodreads members recognize this as spam, so this tactic is not a good strategy for gaining new customers. In contrast, becoming an active participant in literary discussion on Goodreads will win you friends and new readers.

how to cancel your account

To cancel your account on Goodreads, select my account from the "hi [your name]" drop-down list at the top right of Goodreads. Then select the 'delete my account' link at the bottom of the right-hand column. Your account data, books, and friend list will permanently erased.

how to remove a friend

To remove a friend, click the "friends" tab in the header then the "edit friends" button. Click the X next to the name you wish to remove. The friend will not be notified. You can also navigate to the friends profile and click on the 'remove as friend' link which is under the 'more...' dropdown next to the 'send message' link.

how to unsubscribe from emails

To change the frequency (daily or weekly) or unsubscribe from the Goodreads update email or any other email, click on my account at the top right corner of Goodreads, then click the 'notifications' tab. All email settings can be controlled on this page.

how to set my profile to private

All the privacy setting on Goodreads are found by clicking my account at the top right of Goodreads. You can select who can view your profile, last name, and email address, and send you messages. If your profile is private, only your friends can see your profile. This includes your profile data, book shelves, profile comments, and your friend list. Your first name and image thumbnail are still available in some areas of site. Your book reviews will also still be available on each book page. Note also that author profiles cannot be made private.

how to add friends

Adding friends is easy - just click on the friends tab in the header, then click add friends.

On this page you have several options to add friends:

use your Yahoo!, Hotmail, or Gmail address books to invite friends and see which friends are already Goodreads members
invite friends by copy/pasting the message from the box and sending it to your friends using email
search for friends already on the site using the 'find friends' box

how to synch your Facebook account to Goodreads

If you've installed the Goodreads Books app on Facebook, your books may not appear on your Facebook profile if your Facebook account isn't linked to your correct Goodreads account. You may also have a duplicate account. To change which Goodreads account is linked to your Facebook profile, sign in to Facebook and go to the Goodreads Books app. Then click on settings (to the right of the Goodreads logo), and follow the instructions to login to your Goodreads account.

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