Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
Author Resource Round Table
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Using Goodread Giveaways
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Stan wrote: "How about leaving a link?"Go to the top of your page where "Home My Books..." is and click the little drop-down arrow beside Explore. Giveaway is listed there.
Just to point out. It says that ebooks are not allowed.
awe :(well that's okay! A little sacrifice goes a loooong way!
I'm not going to do that soon, but just for the record: can you open a giveaway for a book that you want to sell as ebook and POD only? (And then send a physical copy to the winner through Createspace, Lulu, or whatever POD website your book is listed at.)
Yzabel wrote: "I'm not going to do that soon, but just for the record: can you open a giveaway for a book that you want to sell as ebook and POD only? (And then send a physical copy to the winner through Createsp..."Yeah, you can send POD books out to Giveaway winners.
@Gregor: Thanks for the answer. (I guess not every self-published author goes the way of having hundreds of copies printed, storing them in the basement, then shipping them manually and selling everything him/herself...)
Karla wrote: "what is POD???"Print on Demand
What Stan said.A copy of the book is only printed when it's actually ordered by a customer. It makes printing costs more expensive, since they don't print in bulk (therefore the price for the customer is higher than it would be in the case of, say, mass market paperbacks). On the other hand, when you're a self-published author, it also means you don't have to go through storing plenty of copies at home (and potentially never selling them).
Yzabel wrote: "@Gregor: Thanks for the answer. (I guess not every self-published author goes the way of having hundreds of copies printed, storing them in the basement, then shipping them manually and selling eve..."No problem. The only requirement is that the winners get a copy. You can use whatever means you can to fulfill your orders. I gave away signed copies, so I had them shipped to me first.
Gregor wrote: "No problem. The only requirement is that the winners get a copy. You can use whatever means you can to fulfill your orders. I gave away signed copies, so I had them shipped to me first."Probably something I couldn't do. I write in English, but live in France, so having copies shipped here to sign them, then shipping them back to a native speaker in the USA, Canada, UK or whatever would likely eat my weekly food budget. ^^;
But I'm not there anyway, since I'm yet to actually sell a finished product.
Yzabel wrote: "Gregor wrote: "No problem. The only requirement is that the winners get a copy. You can use whatever means you can to fulfill your orders. I gave away signed copies, so I had them shipped to me fir..."Yeah, that wouldn't be right for you.
Richard wrote: "Not to rain on any parades,but... I've done eight giveaways. Mostly 2-3 copies at once, of several different books. I think all were autographed, and I shipped them myself.More than 3000 people e..."
Very interesting. There is so much to learn. I guess in the end it comes down to perseverance. I know some people go years before seeing any big jumps in sales.
In my opinion its a little deceptive, to make readers be under the impression, that if they put the desired giveaway book in the 'to-read-list' will give them a better chance to win. That check mark should not be there.
Are the winners obligated to review? I thought it was mostly a "strongly advised if you want to be picked for other giveaways" thing.
My parade is a little damp right now, but I'm not easily discouraged. Sooner or later I will figure out the mystery of "discoverability"I have done give-aways of both my books as e-books on Booklikes and got one review from that exercise, and a few blog followers. One person who won an e-book entered the next give-way and won again. I like to assume she read the first book.
More people by far entered the Goodreads give-away for Shaman's Blues, and I consider it to have been an inexpensive ad that ran for a month. It cost me five paperbacks at author's price from CreateSpace, and shipping. I have no idea if any of those hundreds of people with the book on their to-read list will ever buy it, but I suppose most of them did just want a free book. At least they have heard of me now, and I went into the giveaway virtually unknown.
Well, I won't hold it against anyone who "just wants a free book". I enter 10 giveaways at a time just for the same reason, so... (But at least, I've always reviewed to books I won.)
Thank you Richard. I have cherished your phrase "amped up squeeness."(Hope I remembered that right.)
Deanna wrote: "Another bonus is that the person who won is obligated to review it"No they are not. GR encourages them to review, but they are in no way obligated to review. In fact some winners don't even read the book, they just enter for the chance to win something for free.
I have run 4 different giveaways over the last year for over 15 paperbacks and of those winners only 3 even marked my book TBR and none have reviewed. I run them for the visibility, there are far better ways to obtain reviews.
Richard, your first comment was spot on true. It's a great idea at the time but there's more downfall and risk then reward. If there is a reasonable method to making giveaways more beneficial then I'd be all ears.
I've completed one Giveaway since joining Goodreads and have another one running right now. I considered the first one a good experience because 1020 people entered to win it and 430 marked it as WANT TO READ. (647 have entered the second one with 275 marking it as WANT TO READ) So, using Giveaways does seem to be the most effective way to connect with readers as far as increasing visibility. However, so far at least, I haven't gotten any reviews out of it. Now I'm wondering what to do with the people who entered and marked it as WANT TO READ. Is it OK to try to add them as a friend? Or would that be considered bad manners? What is the best way to connect with readers on Goodreads besides a Giveaway?
Richard wrote: "Russell wrote: "wondering what to do with the people who entered and marked it as WANT TO READ. Is it OK to try to add them as a friend? Or would that be considered bad manners?"I believe it's ag..."
The rules are specific to the winners and state clearly that you're not supposed to contact them or use the email addresses supplied by Goodreads for any other purpose than delivering the books to them. I understand that would be improper to do. But, i'm talking about adding people as a friend using the "add as a friend" button.
I realize that adding my book to their WANT TO READ list does not automatically mean they want to be my friend. However, if they liked my book, perhaps it is a good idea to reach out to them that way. I just wonder what the proper etiquette is for making friends on Goodreads.
As a reader I can say that I have won about 50 books from the giveaways. I have read and reviewed every book that I won that I actually recieved from the author. There have actually been some books that I won but never recieved that I then tracked down through libraries or ebooks to read. I haven't enjoyed every book that I have read but I did give honest feedback for the books and recommended the books that I liked to other people.
While it isn't a perfect system to get your name out there I know I have found several new authors that I enjoyed and have bought several of their other books because of the giveaways. I often enter for books that are outside my "norm" to try new authors out and have expanded my reading norm by doing so.
Giveaways are a tool that you can use as an author and as a reader but if your expectations are to high then you may be disappointed.
Richard, I have recieved emails from authors that I entered a giveaway from and didn't win. The authors that sent a nice, "sorry you didn't win but you can find my book here, or here is a coupon for reduced price" didn't bother me. But I have gotten some authors that just drove me to distraction about there book and that isn't the right way. I think it depends on how you are doing it.
I have purchased books that I didn't win from authors that sent me an email with a discount code for purchasing it.
To talk about myself: I am reviewing all books I was reading, finished and liked. Regardless weather it was a giveaway or not. The chances to get or 'win' a desired book on the goodreads giveaway program are very slim . The books I actually win, signed or advanced copies, I keep and have it as a collection piece. I make a review, say my thanks for it. Other books I give away as presents and mention about the author, program and so on. I know, that those books will be appreciated and spread on social networks, and friends.
Thanks Richard, Melissa & Shoshi. Your input is appreciated. Hearing this it seems to me that the results of using the add as a friend button could go either way. Readers will either appreciate it for what it is or they'll be annoyed by it. I don't plan to send a friend request to everyone who entered or showed an interest and beg for reviews. I think that would be inappropriate. My goal is to connect with readers who maybe interested in any books I may publish in the future. The way things are right now, anything I post in my blog or comment on etc. doesn't reach very many people. I'm looking for ways to expand on that.
You are more than welcome to add me. I love supporting authors :)
There's a long discussion in the group The Source about how readers want authors to promote their books. I got the impression that there are people who will take an author off their to-read list if they get contacted in ways they think are spammy. Maybe a discount coupon isn't seen that way. I guess it depends on that reader's level of don't-sell-at-me sensitivity. I've only entered two giveaways and I already know both authors so I wouldn't see contact as spam. If I didn't know them and they gave me a discount I would not be annoyed but friend requests without it would be unsubtle, in my opinion, if I were on the receiving end.I'm intrigued that people know how to create a coupon.
This leads to two questions:
1. How do you do that? I have my books on all e-retailers and I imagine they might each have a different way of doing a coupon.
2. Is there a way to put that information into a giveaway posting so the non-winners will know to expect the discount coupon and look forward to it, rather than see it as spam?
Amber wrote: "There's a long discussion in the group The Source about how readers want authors to promote their books. I got the impression that there are people who will take an author off their to-read list if..."I appreciate that. I'll jump over there and check out that conversation. As for coupons. I know Smashwords has that function although I haven't used it yet.
I just finished one up and promoted it on several social network sites. When a person enters it the book is autom..."
How about leaving a link?