Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
III. Goodreads Readers
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Question for readers with to-read books
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When I mark a book to-read, it's because I really want to read it. Personally I would like the reminder, because I'm always on the hunt for a bargain anyhow. If I can get a book for free that I hope to read in the future, I'm happy.
I would be interested in hearing from people on my to-read list about free books, not because I'm a cheapskate but because I'm a non-earner (no benefits either) and have to be circumspect about how many books I can afford to buy. The upside of getting a free book for me is that it alerts me to a new author and I will always, if I rate the free book highly enough (4 or above), be willing to pay for the next, as long as the price isn't ridiculously high.
I have absolutely no problem with it at all, I'd be happy for the notification. I've actually been contacted by a writer whose book was on my to-read list -- I did a review on a book by an author we both admired -- who very kindly offered to send me a Kindle version of the book... no strings attached. I had no problem what-so-ever with it (and gladly accepted).
Perhaps it could be implemented in such a way that the reader could have the choice to opt in (give permission) to such a notification. That way there would be no invasion.
My book might not yet be on your to-read list, but it will be free on Amazon tomorrow and Wednesday, January 15 and 16. It's already a bestseller in its category. Here's the link:http://www.amazon.com/Looks-Great-Nak...
I think reminders from the author would be great--if that book were on my to read list. Otherwise, no.
It would be great to be reminded whenever a book on my to read or to get shelves became available
The problem with that is authors don't always know whose TBR list they are on or if the person has already bought the book and it is in the queue to be read. Personally i have a ton of books in my queue and I really don't want 300 emails telling me a book is now free.I do see your point but if you are on lots of lists it might get intrusive to have/send kajillions of emails.
I think it is a great idea and have been sent these emails before by authors. I'm always pleased to discover that a book I want to read is free on kindle,kobo or smashwords. There are of course groups here on goodreads or threads in groups for this purpose as well. Of course as noted above some may not like getting emails of this nature so I would think perhaps scouting out particular readers who obviously have the book on their list or similar and have quite an extensive library. They most likely read alot and may like the heads up.
It would be kind of cool if Goodreads could set up something that would allow you to opt in for a notice when you add a book.Of course, if you go to an author's home page, they will often have (as I do :D ) a contact page where you could leave a message that you'd love to know about promotions. Might be nice to put it that way--not sure how I feel about someone saying "I'd love to read your book, but only if it's free."
You'd have to put up with being on a list to hear about new releases, etc.
My three short stories are free on Smashwords if anyone would care to take a look. Sadly, Amazon insists on charging for them, so go to Smashwords (links on blog) http://jdhugheswriter.wordpress.comI also have a few free chapters from my novel NORTHMAN on the blog for those who enjoy historical, thriller/horror with a touch of time-travel, eternal love and badly cooked lasagne :)
The full novel is available on Amazon.
Jade wrote: "When I mark a book to-read, it's because I really want to read it. Personally I would like the reminder, because I'm always on the hunt for a bargain anyhow. If I can get a book for free that I hop..."I second this completely :)
I am quite happy to be notified of free or discounted book by other GR members - I'm especially happy if it a book on my to-read list but I have found a lot of great books that I had not previously heard of that way!
This is a very good idea but how do we authors find out who has our books on their to read list? I have a free one on kindle right now, through the weekend but don't know if it's on anyone's to read list. Here's the link if you're interested. http://www.amazon.com/SOUTHERN-WICKER...
Look on your author dashboard, Peggy. Below the stats you will see how many people have your book in their to-reads and if you click on thee you will see who they are!
I too would be happy to be notified about such offers. What I put on my to-read lists are books I definitely want to read, but can't necessarily afford right now, so I put them there as a reminder (otherwise three are just so many things I'd like to read I'd always forget some of them!).And while, like everybody else I suppose, I'm always up for cheap bargains and free books, I am also all up for actually buying a physical copy (or ebook) of a book I've read and liked. I've even bought physical copies of books I had already bought as ebooks, so... :)
Wendy wrote: "Look on your author dashboard, Peggy. Below the stats you will see how many people have your book in their to-reads and if you click on thee you will see who they are!"Thank you so much for this information!
Pertinent question for me at the moment. How about this?:I'm giving away one free copy per month of my eating disorder memoir in any digital format. To be in the running, you just have to leave a comment on the 'giveaway' page of my website, telling me why you'd like to read it.
Now ... would you be annoyed if I contacted you about this if you had my book on your to-read list? ...
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Peggy wrote: "This is a very good idea but how do we authors find out who has our books on their to read list? I have a free one on kindle right now, through the weekend but don't know if it's on anyone's to re..."Peggy, could I suggest that you go back to you product description for Southern Wicker. It simple says it is the first two books combined. I did go back to book one to check out what it was about but maybe some potential buyers/downloaders wouldn't bother and would pass the book by rather than check further. Hope you dont mind this suggestion. The book looks interesting, I have downloaded!
Thanks for downloading my book and thanks for the suggestion. I agree with you 100% and it was just laziness on my part the way I did that. I just hate writing synopsis. Writing a whole book is so much easier. I will go back and make it right. Thanks again, Wendy.
No problem - I agree 'synopsis' is one of the most dreaded words in the writers vocabulary!
Marília wrote: "Hi, everyone!I'm running a promotion on amazon KDP and I stumbled upon a book that I would've downloaded and given a chance and I'd just missed the free days, and that got me thinking...
If you h..."
My eReader uses ePub, so I don't watch for Amazon free days at all. If there is a book on my TBR that comes up on a promotion at Smashwords, I'll sometimes pick it up. I'm more likely to get them from the library if possible, or just flat-out pay for them.
I'm with you Sharon. And since I didn't buy into the Amazon KDS monopoly, it is on Smashwords that I offer coupons and maybe even reduced prices at some point. Yes, you can download software so you can read Kindle books on any computer. But who wants to read a whole novel sitting at the computer? I don't even want to read a whole novel on my eye-searing iPad.
I confess I have no idea about the types of ebooks out there and the difference between them. I've never even seen a kindle, but my using amazon KDP was because it was easy.I've been wondering about this. There is a physical copy of the kindle book as well... Since I'm planning a giveaway for next month or so, I thought of putting in a comment in the giveaway that readers interested in being told of this book having free days on amazon please leave a comment or PM. Don't know if that would work, but at least that way, no one would get bothered by it.
What do you guys think?
Also, can we start a poll on this in the poll section? I've never messed with it, but I thought it would be one way to get more people's opinions.
Debbie wrote: "If you look thru some threads about the new green "want to read" button (or search "UGB" for "Ugly Green Button") that came out, lots of members use "to read" shelf for books already bought waiting..."I also use my to-read shelf like that, to store books that I already have and are still going to get around to.... but what I was talking about was a book that was recently released, and got into to-read shelves after a giveaway here on goodreads. After that, I made it into an ebook and had free promotion days. So in this case, people who had it on their to-read shelves couldn't possibly have bought the book, yet. In any case, I didn't contact anyone because I thought I might be offending people or being annoying. But it is still something I'm trying to see if we can't work out.
Mike and Rebecca are right, after all, the opting in thing would be an issue.
Rebecca wrote: "It would be kind of cool if Goodreads could set up something that would allow you to opt in for a notice when you add a book.Of course, if you go to an author's home page, they will often have (a..."
That's a great idea. I'll try to do something like that. For now, I'd have no problem with people telling me they'd wait for a free promotion to get a copy of my book. I'm still starting and no one really knows me. Personally, sometimes I'll borrow a book to read and then I'll buy it if I like it. Doesn't make that much sense, maybe, but I figure there are others out there like me.
Rebecca wrote:Of course, if you go to an author's home page, they will often have (a..."
So I tried your idea, Rebecca, and did a contact form, but I'm not sure if it's okay.
If anyone would care to check it out and give me their insight, please. I wrote it with my voice, which means it's not really professional-sounding. You can even click no to everything and you'll never have to hear from me again. :)
Anyways, I'm looking for suggestions, please.
I like it! A touch of humor, though maybe just a little long? All it did was tell people to leave me their email, or contact me through mine (I have one just for web page purposes).
And that was the short version. I am hoping the humor will disguise the fact that it is enormous... :)
And there really is a kitten, haha.
As an author, I take these things very seriously, and I can tell you my 1st book 'The Key' is free 100% of the time. If you have a Kindle, Smashwords does support that e-reader. They actually support all e-readers (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad, Sony, etc.) Here's a link to 'The Key' for anyone that is interested. It's a sci-fi action adventure.https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...The Key
I would like to be able to notify worthy people who marked to read my book of it when and if it ever went free.Sometimes you wonder how many of those people(who added it because they want to read it) after a giveaway and still look into it.
Good idea.
I'd love to be notified when something on my to-read list becomes either free, reduced in price or a giveaway.
I would love to be notified about books on my to-read list becoming free, part of a giveaway, reduced in price AND newly released. I have a few books on my list that haven't been released yet and although I randomly check release dates they some times pass me by. Also, some of the books on my list are very hard to find. It would be great to someday get a notification that one of those books were for sale somewhere!
An author contacted me the other day to thank me for adding her book to my to-read list. That's the first time that's ever happened. What seemed odd was that she didn't offer me anything. She just thanked me. It felt intrusive, like I was being spied on. I'd avoid doing that.
Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "An author contacted me the other day to thank me for adding her book to my to-read list. That's the first time that's ever happened. What seemed odd was that she didn't offer me anything. She just ..."It also smacks of desperation. I'm pretty sure that authors with significant sales don't track stuff like that, let alone feel gratitude for every person who adds the book (and I ain't saying where I fall on that spectrum! :D )
I have added an exclusive shelf labelled 'wishlist' so it has books I want, while 'to-read' are books I own. I wish this was a Goodreads standard, but it's still doable. I have had authors contact me when their book is on my wishlist with either a notice that it is on sale or free, or they offer to send a review copy. I think it's a great idea since it shows the author is active with their readers.
Sarah wrote: "I have added an exclusive shelf labelled 'wishlist' so it has books I want, while 'to-read' are books I own. I wish this was a Goodreads standard, but it's still doable. I have had authors contac..."
This is a great idea! :D
Rebecca wrote: "It also smacks of desperation. ..."She was probably just being excited because she has amazing reviews, which is why I added the book in the first place. But it still didn't feel right. I would only contact a reader if I were offering them something.
Great reviews don't necessarily mean great sales. I have very nice reviews....
As a reader, I don't think I'd like an unsolicited message from an author telling me when the ebook was free on Amazon (not least because I use a Kobo!). Also, like others, I have books in my 'want to read' list that I've already bought. If I am really keen on a particular author, I'll subscribe to their Goodreads feed, blog or whatever and trust that they'll inform readers of special offers that way - which is what I do for my own books.
My 'to read' list only has books that I've already purchased or been sent for review and I'm waiting to get round to reading them. The books I want to get are on my 'wishlist' shelf. Also I don't have an ereader so I wouldn't like tons of messages about available ebooks from authors, publishers or amazon. I don't mind authors PMing me to offer a free pdf copy of what is on my wishlist. I prefer that to being part of a carpetbombing campaign for everyone who has the book listed on a goodreads shelf.
I'm running a promotion on amazon KDP and I stumbled upon a book that I would've downloaded and given a chance and I'd just missed the free days, and that got me thinking...
If you had a book in your to-read pile that was going to have free days on amazon, would you like to be told or would you consider that an invasion or an annoyance?
Personally, if I marked something to-read but haven't gotten around to it, yet, I wouldn't mind the head's up, but I'm not sure how others would feel. Do you just randomly mark books or are you really saying they are something you would read?
And should I tell the people who marked my book to-read that it's free for download? Or would that just be annoying?
Marilia