How Authors Can Engage with Readers and Reviewers on Goodreads

Goodreads is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations, and an attractive spot for authors to promote their books to readers to get reviews. Authors sometimes wonder how to effectively reach and engage with reviewers on Goodreads, especially when they can see how much Goodreads reviews can impact the success of a book.

There are two different approaches for authors when it comes to promoting books on Goodreads that authors should leverage together. There’s the “pure marketing” approach, for which Goodreads provides suite of advertising products for authors to use to build awareness around their books. The other approach involves investing in building long term relationships with readers that can pay off over time.

If you have the time and are willing to invest it, here are some ways to engage with reviewers on Goodreads:

Share your passion for books. The number one activity readers want to see from authors on Goodreads is the books they read and recommend. People go to Goodreads to talk about books, and authors who embrace this unlock the power to effectively integrate Goodreads into their overall online presence.

Successful authors like Celeste Ng and Roxane Gay spent years curating their shelves on Goodreads while concurrently writing their books. The authors have more than 500 books marked as ‘read’ and Ng even created custom shelves to give a better sense of what she’s reading.

Adding a few books to your WTR shelf once a week or updating the status of the book you just finished is all it takes to stay engaged with the Goodreads community. You might choose to take a more strategic approach: review books that are in the same genre as the book you have written, create shelves of books you used for inspiration, or mark books that you loved in high school.

Build genuine relationships. When browsing the reviews of the books you love, you’ll find readers who share your preferences. It might be tempting to shoot them a quick message to introduce yourself and your book, but there’s the risk that the message might be perceived as spam. Instead, follow the reviewer and see what books you both enjoyed, see their reviews and updates in your newsfeed, and then engage with them in the comment section of those reviews and updates. Engage with the reviewer over a shared passion for reading. Remember: relationships take time to cultivate so don’t give up if you don’t see immediate results.

Know when to mention your book. There are many areas where authors can talk about their own book, and guess what? Your book page is one of them. Reviewing your own book is allowed as long as it’s clear that the work you’re reviewing is your own. Approach the review space of your own book like you would writing a foreword, adding additional insights that didn’t make it into the blurb (see an example here) and sharing occasional updates.

While you’re on the book page, avoid responding to reviews about your own book. Even if you like a particularly positive review of your own book, resist the urge to hit ‘like’ on Goodreads. Instead, follow the reviewer to see what else the person might be reading (hey - if they liked your book, you already know they have great taste!) and start engaging with them about books you both enjoyed.

Let reviewers contact you. Ask the Author allows authors to take questions from readers anywhere in the world, at any time. The questions aren’t public until the author chooses to answer them, and it’s perfectly fine to skip questions. Check your Author Dashboard for new questions regularly and tell readers to ask you questions using Ask the Author by sharing the link to your Goodreads profile on your website, newsletter, blog, or social media account.

You can talk about your book through Ask the Author – in fact, we encourage it by asking “Where did you get your idea for your most recent book?” – but you can use it in many other creative ways as well: share some original writing or personal insights on yourself. Have a friend ask you a question that you can respond to, or even ask yourself a question!

Readers might occasionally send you a message telling you how much they loved your book, and if you feel comfortable engaging with readers that way, go for it. If they request for a free copy of your book, feel free to send them a copy, but don’t feel obligated to accommodate that if your budget doesn’t allow for it. A friendly decline “I’m out of review copies at the moment, but you can follow me for updates on when I get more” can work.

When authors take this long-term approach and invest in building a community on Goodreads, they find their time spent on Goodreads becomes much richer.

How do you engage with readers? Tell us in the comments below!

Next: The Business of Being a Writer: Turning Attention Into Sales

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