UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion
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Dos and don'ts of promoting on Goodreads groups
Kath wrote: "UK Crime Book Club. It covers psychological thrillers and police procedurals too. As I don't write those I'm neutral :) All by British writers and set in the UK. Most of the admins are enthusiastic..."Sounds a good group Kath. I read crime novels rather than write them but I'm still interested so I'll have to pop over.
I love this group. The discussions are fun. Is everyone from the UK?
Wendy wrote: "I love this group. The discussions are fun. Is everyone from the UK?"I am. :-)
Wendy wrote: "I love this group. The discussions are fun. Is everyone from the UK?"Hi Wendy,
I'm from Upstate New York in the US.
We've got groupites from all over the world. One of our strengths is our inclusiveness and interest in other perspectives.
Greeting from the UK Norse homelands, where the geese trumpet their instructions overhead, interspersed with the deafening roar of RAF jets as the pilots play in dogfights over the gentle swaying reed beds. I am one of those authors who has no clue regarding Goodreads as from this former software developer's viewpoint it is not an easy place to navigate. I also get the distinct feeling readers don't want anyone like us here unless we're willing to cross their palms with silver! So I expect to be pleasantly surprised. :)
Book junkies can't get their fix without authors.Of course we want authors here!
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Book junkies can't get their fix without authors.Of course we want authors here!"
Lol, just in the right places, eh? We authors can be an inappropriate bunch if you let us get out of hand. Now...about my new deal... Lol. Wink.
Rosemary and I have rather a lot of experience with herding cats. ;)
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Rosemary and I have rather a lot of experience with herding cats. ;)"Darn! ;)
Gingerlily - Mistress Lantern wrote: ""Lol, yup - that's authors.
L.A. wrote: "Cornwall here."Me too. Where in Cornwall?
Aha! Gorran Haven, just round the corner from Mevagissey. Where are you?
L.A. wrote: "Aha! Gorran Haven, just round the corner from Mevagissey. Where are you?"Tuckingmill! Between Camborne and Redruth. :-)
It's nice to see some UK authors for a change I know mostly Aussies Canadian and US authors.I am in the Lincolnshire Fens away from any population centres, it's unlikely anyone is close to my location even my friends are not!
What are the main activities on this group?
And I though the place names in Wales are odd...
Have a look through the threads, H A.Weve got everything happening in here, from bird watching to gardening to football (spit) to cooking to writing a good blurb to how to market your book to cake to...
You get the idea.
Sometimes we even talk about books.
I took a look! I am at the "end of the proverbial line" I generally only browse in text mode as our rural broadband is barely better than 20 years ago. We have frequent crashes ,so I have not been able to get on any social media sites in any reliable way. At one stage no phone contact for 3 months. So I have limitations.
I lived in Nigeria for many years, so I know just what you mean. Goodreads works very well with bad internet.
I think a New Author thread would be good. I think people like fresh material. But I think there has to be some guidelines such as: Name of author, title and two or three lines of what the book is about.
Hello. I'm a new author to this group. My name is David Thompson. Am I supposed to say that here? If not...where? I get somewhat lost on GR. Is this a UK group? Hello...?
David wrote: "Hello. I'm a new author to this group. My name is David Thompson. Am I supposed to say that here? If not...where? I get somewhat lost on GR. Is this a UK group? Hello...?"Hi David,
It takes a while to get the hang of GR. Took me ages. I joined loads of groups and couldn't keep up. Best to just be part of a few, I found.
I've been conspicuous by my absence for ages as I was caught up in final edits and book promos. Just beginning to surface again now.
Anyway, nice to meet you. Conversation is er...rather varied on here, lol. Lots to chuckle over.
Loretta wrote: "David wrote: "Hello. I'm a new author to this group. My name is David Thompson. Am I supposed to say that here? If not...where? I get somewhat lost on GR. Is this a UK group? Hello...?"Hi David,
..."
I'm in the UK - not everyone is, though. Whereabouts are you from? Your bio is rather...well, it doesn't say much, haha.
H.A. wrote: "Greeting from the UK Norse homelands, where the geese trumpet their instructions overhead, interspersed with the deafening roar of RAF jets as the pilots play in dogfights over the gentle swaying r..."Well, as I understand it Goodreads is a readers site so any attempt at publicity/marketing is unlikely to be well received. So, apart from paid Goodreads adverts I'm not sure we can do much, other than join in discussions and in a subtle manner let people know we are authors and see if any of them bite.
Peter
Hi guys, I'm new to this group but active in a few others on Goodreads. I am a debut author (still feels wrong actually using that term to describe myself if I'm honest!) Just reading through the comments, trying to work out what's allowed and what isn't here. I'll be good...I promise ;0 )Ps, I concur...the Facebook group UK Crime Book Club is a good one.
Thanks
Lee
Hi Lee,I joined Goodreads and this group ages ago, but didn't really use it the site at all much. Starting to do so a bit more now.
I'm in the UK, my books are set in the UK and have been described as 'very English'. I still sell a few in other countries and wonder if they're read by people from Britain or not.
Patsy wrote: "Hi Lee,I joined Goodreads and this group ages ago, but didn't really use it the site at all much. Starting to do so a bit more now.
I'm in the UK, my books are set in the UK and have been descr..."
Hi Patsy,
Yes, I'm the same. I write realistic thrillers and try to keep my books quite British with the use of locations, slang and references. Some readers have commented that they really liked that. The vast majority of my books appear to have been purchased by readers in the UK but I've recently approached a few select international readers for their opinions. Just really to see if the plot and style translate internationally I guess. So far, it seems to have been fine. I think we're much more of an international community nowadays and, if we don't understand a certain word or phrase, we can always look it up in seconds.
I didn't think my books were particularly British (although I do use grown-up spelling ;-) ) and as fantasy they're not set locally, but I have only a few select international readersBut mine really are select. I sold two Tallis Steelyard collections on Amazon Canada last week!
You know those canadians. If they get a book recommendation they are too polite to say no!
obviously I need to somehow wrangle 36 million book recommendations!
I'm sure those two Canadian sales weren't to anyone related to me.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "I'm sure those two Canadian sales weren't to anyone related to me."I assumed you'd warned them :-)
Lee wrote: "Patsy wrote: "Hi Lee,I joined Goodreads and this group ages ago, but didn't really use it the site at all much. Starting to do so a bit more now.
I'm in the UK, my books are set in the UK and h..."
I'm also new to this site. My debut novel is set in England with English characters, English dialogue etc. My Canadian publisher didn't seem to have too much trouble with most of it but I used an old fashioned word 'titivate' and had to find an alternative as they thought that would be misunderstood. I am English and proud of my language but obviously the USA is a huge audience and their language preferences and style need to be taken into account.
Titivate is a perfectly cromulent word!
I'm self published Peter so I get a certain element of freedom. With a publisher it's always going to be market led... and the US is obviously one of biggest markets. Seems a shame you had to change it though, anyone could've googled anything they didn't understand in seconds.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Titivate is a perfectly cromulent word!"Doh!
Well, you've got me with Cromulent! That's not in my knowledge or my dictionary. :) There are quite a few words/phrases in my novel in Scottish and in what passes for modern Cornish from the English County of Cornwall. The editor insisted on me providing a glossary for all those words/phrases which seemed over the top to me. It seemed to me that the meaning of most of what I'd written should be fairly self-explanatory when read in context. But they were quite insistent.
It's from The Simpson's! David obviously recognised the reference with the Homer cry of 'D'oh!'
Kath wrote: "It's from The Simpson's! David obviously recognised the reference with the Homer cry of 'D'oh!'"Either that or I actually am Homer Simpson.
Ah, fair enough then. I've never watched enough of it to recognise words or phrases :(
If I could add a comment, my first, so please don't tarnish me as a spammer, writers have many hurdles to overcome in order to be read, one of them is where they can legitimately advertise. There are many, many places and people wishing to empty the pockets of authors by promising to promote their work to a wider audience than normally reached by a teller of stories. Very little is done to help the struggling artist in any form of art--But--without the written book there would be no need for a site so dedicated towards the reader as Goodreads.Personally, I detest marking or promoting my work. I find it, and my apologies to any if I offend; nothing more than a form of prostitution--Look at me. I'm the most alluring writer on this corner.
Oh to have an established name for the snobbish to quote as read.
UK Amazon Kindle Forum
Books mentioned in this topic
Raised by Hand, Lifted by the Tides: A Southern Child's Memoir (other topics)The Silver Eggheads (other topics)
I like that genre! Could you recommend something good, please!"
I second that! By reading the books I'll learn more about the police procedures in GB and get great stories as well.