As many of you may have already noticed there are a number of groups on Goodreads that are designed to get new and independent authors connected with readers. They offer vast forums to promote yourself, solicit reviews, discuss marketing tactics. The works. And for the most part, they are well intentioned, smartly designed and professionally managed. I actually belong to a few.
But what I've found most frustrating is the lack of involvement and response from the membership of these sites as a whole. More to the point, the lack of reciprocity from other authors.
It's sad to see so many authors of so many good stories NOT helping one another. Some of these groups have hundreds of members... you'd think with a population like that, there'd be at least a few interested readers/reviewers for each and every book. But, the reality is exactly the opposite: Everyday I see new posts in every genre, promoting new books. These authors are excited and proud; and the work itself is usually professional and sound. They follow the long-standing recipe of offering "giveaways" and free review copies. Sometimes there are even a few comments over the follow few days: "Sounds intriguing!" "I'll have to add to my list..." And so on...
But then all to soon, those posts become literally buried in an seemingly endless thread of hopeful posts from other like-minded authors, never to be seen again.
I want to avoid that. I want to eliminate the threads that are thousands of entries long and extend for years. I want to allow an author to generate a buzz and be able to maintain some of that momentum for longer than a few days. I have some ideas, but the first and main thing is going to be you, dear member and colleague.
I want to promote a community in which we, as authors (and let's not forget our other passion: we're also READERS) help one another out. I want to encourage more active membership involvement. Do more than just comment on someone's posting. Make the effort to click a few more times and actually obtain a copy of the book you think sounds intriguing. If you put a book on your list, make the effort to get it, read it, and most importantly--REVIEW it. Getting reviews and feedback from other authors is probably the best way to generate a following.
I guess my plea is to not be so self-involved with your own struggle. Remember there are many other authors out there that could benefit from some attention as well. I want a community of authors that are willing to help one another--not compete with one another. Our competition, after all, is NOT other authors but the huge population of readers that are stuck in the rut of reading the same mass-produced products from the same handful of writers that the Massive Publishing Machine forces them to read.
Let's do our very best to rescue those readers from their imprisonment and show them that another world of books exists beyond the narrow scope of what the Big Houses allow them to read.
But what I've found most frustrating is the lack of involvement and response from the membership of these sites as a whole. More to the point, the lack of reciprocity from other authors.
It's sad to see so many authors of so many good stories NOT helping one another. Some of these groups have hundreds of members... you'd think with a population like that, there'd be at least a few interested readers/reviewers for each and every book. But, the reality is exactly the opposite: Everyday I see new posts in every genre, promoting new books. These authors are excited and proud; and the work itself is usually professional and sound. They follow the long-standing recipe of offering "giveaways" and free review copies. Sometimes there are even a few comments over the follow few days: "Sounds intriguing!" "I'll have to add to my list..." And so on...
But then all to soon, those posts become literally buried in an seemingly endless thread of hopeful posts from other like-minded authors, never to be seen again.
I want to avoid that. I want to eliminate the threads that are thousands of entries long and extend for years. I want to allow an author to generate a buzz and be able to maintain some of that momentum for longer than a few days. I have some ideas, but the first and main thing is going to be you, dear member and colleague.
I want to promote a community in which we, as authors (and let's not forget our other passion: we're also READERS) help one another out. I want to encourage more active membership involvement. Do more than just comment on someone's posting. Make the effort to click a few more times and actually obtain a copy of the book you think sounds intriguing. If you put a book on your list, make the effort to get it, read it, and most importantly--REVIEW it. Getting reviews and feedback from other authors is probably the best way to generate a following.
I guess my plea is to not be so self-involved with your own struggle. Remember there are many other authors out there that could benefit from some attention as well. I want a community of authors that are willing to help one another--not compete with one another. Our competition, after all, is NOT other authors but the huge population of readers that are stuck in the rut of reading the same mass-produced products from the same handful of writers that the Massive Publishing Machine forces them to read.
Let's do our very best to rescue those readers from their imprisonment and show them that another world of books exists beyond the narrow scope of what the Big Houses allow them to read.
Even if it's one new reader at a time...