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Introducing Our New U.S. Giveaways Program–A More Powerful Book Marketing Tool for Authors and Publishers!
A.W. wrote: "Are Goodreads giving away author's books without their knowledge?A number of authors (including myself) are seeing books notated on our November Amazon reports as being "FREE-Goodreads giveaway"..."
I'm not sure about Goodreads, but anyone can sponsor an Amazon giveaway of any book, as long as they are willing to buy the book and send it to the winner.
This thread is 14+ hours old, and has had comments by only 18 individuals and only 116 views.What does that tell you?
The boardroom is happy. Their new innovative source of predictable revenue growth will be fully functional in a matter of weeks.
The words of protest and lament voiced by Goodreads authors have been about as meaningful as 3D glasses on the dark side of the moon.
The new program will begin as planned.
The circus train has pulled into the station. The show must go on.
Put on your clown makeup, you Verbiage Vandal and wave the white flag.
The battle is over.
Hand your ticket to the conductor and take your seat next to the other authors being taken for a ride.
I wouldn't give away 100 paperbacks, but I might give away 100 ebooks, especially if Goodreads is sending the winners prompts to post reviews.
Emily wrote: "Goodreads automatically sends the Kindle ebooks to the winners’ Kindle accounts. .."So, users who will not link their accounts are disqualified? You'll lose a lot of participating readers with that decision. Many of us will not link various accounts.
Seriously Goodread? Are you kidding me?No matter how the corporate puppets try to spin this, it's nothing more than a shameful cash grab and a blatant move to price Indies out of the game.
The new program offers nothing of significance that the old program didn't already do. All it does is rake in money for Goodreads and limit the program to the US. How parochial! How is this a step forwards? How is this good for readers?
My only consolation is that the Indie movement must have the Big 5 worried for Amazon to go into "bully" mode like this :(
Emily wrote: "M.L. Roberts wrote: "Hi, I have a question for the e-book giveaways: Does the author send the e-copy to the winners or does Goodreads do it? Thanks!"Goodreads automatically sends the Kindle ebook..."
That's helpful, thanks. I like the reach of 100 e-books and the fact that GR handles the distribution. Doing this type of giveaway would need to be thought of as part of a marketing budget, the same as promos, freebies, etc., and the cost for those, 5, 10, 25 (and more) here and there, well it all adds up. Those are via e-books as well, so it's a good option to have available here. As far as the Premium, that's a whole different thing, but if you consider giveaways on Amazon and all the rest, the Standard is better--just needs to be managed.
M.L. Roberts wrote: "I like the reach of 100 e-books and the fact that GR handles the distribution. "I stopped entering GR Giveaways years ago, after reasons to be very concerned about our email addresses and physical addresses being provided to individuals became obvious.
Adding the ability to giveaway e-books is great, because it does away with concerns regarding physical addresses being provided, however with the requirement users have their GR and Kindle accounts linked in order to receive the e-book - which is a HUGE security concern - the benefit is pretty much negated.
So, I still won't be participating in Giveaways. It may be convenient to a sole business owner that GR will handle distribution, however it's not a good thing for GR users, or those who will be winning the e-books. IMO people in business are wise to consider not only what is beneficial to them, but also the benefits/risks to customers.
A.W. wrote: "Emily wrote: "It appears to be an issue with how those reports are generated, as we have confirmed that these books were not actually given away. Our team is looking into this and should have a res..."Hi A.W. Sorry again for the trouble with this! We've investigated these reports and identified that the issue was the result of a reporting error on the KDP side. Royalties were paid out correctly and books were not given away for free. KDP is aware of the issue and working towards a resolution. As this is a KDP issue, we are, unfortunately, unable to provide you with updates, but I can suggest that you contact KDP support for more information.
Hi Betsy. Your words are well taken. You made me think of something related to your paragraphs. I feel the theme of your paragraphs in my gut. I often wondered why GR didn't impress upon its readers to select a novel to read that best fits in their genre. I have wondered the same for editors. I did find a good one for my mystery-spy novels, but it took two fakes and a good amount of money lost. GR is somewhat backward in their thinking. Although, like another indie author commented about how clever AMAZON is these days. An ulterior motive to now use GR as a financial tool? Maybe we need to form something ourselves... Anyway, thanks for your opinion. Well taken! Betsy wrote: "PLEASE FORWARD THIS RESPONSE TO PATRICK BROWN, HEAD OF THE WRITERS’ PROMO PROGRAMS
Dear Patrick Brown:
I am an avid GR reader member and value my experience with friends. I’m active and love the ..."
Karl wrote: "Hi Betsy. Your words are well taken. You made me think of something related to your paragraphs. I feel the theme of your paragraphs in my gut. I often wondered why GR didn't impress upon its reader..."Thanks, Karl. Save your money. If you want to do a giveaway that costs money (this would be for your publisher, not for self-publishers) look into Shelf Awareness's just announced GLOW program, http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue...., which gets books into the hands of influencers without scattershooting.
Alexandra wrote: "M.L. Roberts wrote: "I like the reach of 100 e-books and the fact that GR handles the distribution. "I stopped entering GR Giveaways years ago, after reasons to be very concerned about our email ..."
I hear you on the security concern, but everything is linked in one way or another. If I borrow an e-book from my library (gov't agency) and choose Kindle, it sends me to Amazon.
I'm thinking more in terms of labor-saving with someone else managing the distribution channel. The other thing is e-books in general; it's good to arrive at that juncture. Maybe they will revert to the intro price or drop it further. I wouldn't bet on it, but it's possible.
Emily wrote: "M.L. Roberts wrote: "Hi, I have a question for the e-book giveaways: Does the author send the e-copy to the winners or does Goodreads do it? Thanks!"Goodreads automatically sends the Kindle ebook..."
This is where I'm confused and hope you can help me understand. When the e-book giveaways were first introduced on a limited scale, Goodreads said there was a charge because they distributed the books (as you've stated is the case). I looked forward to the day this service would be available to indie authors because of the service included in the cost. Now that it is available, we're being told we have to pay the same amount for the privilege of offering our print books in a giveaway, but I'm assuming we're still responsible for the time and cost to distribute the copies. I also agree with what others have stated that the "new" features of the giveaways already existed for the most part. Thank you for fielding these questions. Please help us understand how the cost for an e-book giveaway where Goodreads does the bulk of the work afterward is the same as a print book giveaway where the author still distributes the books and shoulders those costs.
M.L. Roberts wrote: "I hear you on the security concern, but everything is linked in one way or another. If I borrow an e-book from my library (gov't agency) and choose Kindle, it sends me to Amazon."No, not everything is "linked in one way or another", it's only linked if the user chooses to link it. You've obviously chosen to link your library account with your Amazon Kindle account. When I borrow an e-book from the library it does NOT send it to Amazon, it sends it to ME, which I can then read via Kindle without linking accounts.
So, you've missed the actual point here. It is an issue for GR users that linking the GR account with Amazon/Kindle will be a requirement, not an option. It will impact and lessen the number of entrants, and it does hinder the use by all GR users, even all those who are US residents.
I'm quite aware you're thinking of convenience for YOU and for GR, what you're NOT considering is the INconvenience, and exclusion of many GR users, which, as a business person, I think you should care about. Meaning I think business owners should care not only about what is beneficial and convenient to THEM, but what impacts their customers and potential consumers.
In addition to sellers here being displeased that non-US residents will be excluded, I think they should be equally displeased that GR users who will not link their GR account to their Amazon account will also be excluded. Meaning, the number of potential entrants to your giveaways will diminish by both of those factors. Therefore, so will whatever visibility and promotional benefit you may hope to gain.
GR allows the option for users to link their GR account with their Amazon Account and/or Kindle account. Thank goodness they're smart enough to not require it.
Many users will not link their accounts, for a variety of very valid reasons.
These users will not be able to participate in e-book giveaways because GR has made the boneheaded, anti-consumer, decision to make linking their GR account to their Kindle account a requirement to win a e-book giveaway.
Personally I think people doing business selling and promoting retail products should be smart enough PR and Customer Service oriented people to care about the convenience, wants and needs of their customers and potential customers, and not only themselves. That, IMO, is part of building a successful business.
J.S. wrote: "Please help us understand how the cost for an e-book giveaway where Goodreads does the bulk of the work afterward is the same as a print book giveaway where the author still distributes the books and shoulders those costs. "The cost of our package options reflects the marketing value we are providing to help authors and publishers drive interest and awareness of their books. It’s up to authors and publishers to decide which book format they prefer to distribute to winners.
Alexandra wrote: "Emily wrote: "Goodreads automatically sends the Kindle ebooks to the winners’ Kindle accounts. .."So, users who will not link their accounts are disqualified?
Alexandra wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "Emily wrote: "Goodreads automatically sends the Kindle ebooks to the winners’ Kindle accounts. .."So, users who will not link their accounts are disqualified?"
Our ebook giveaways are available in Kindle format only. As Amazon distributes Kindle ebooks, entrants need an Amazon account to receive the ebooks they win. An Amazon account is not required to enter print book giveaways.
My GR giveaways offered to U.S. only entrants this year averaged 1200 entries.My international GR giveaways this year averaged 2400 entries.
These giveaways rarely led to sales or reviews, but I thought the exposure was worth the cost of books and postage.
So if ebook giveaways are only open to U.S. members, further narrowed down to GR members in the U.S. who have linked their Amazon and GR accounts, how many entries should I expect from an ebook giveaway? 100? 50? How does the marketing value for a substantially reduced audience size exceed $100? If anything, the marketing value has dropped as international readers are excluded, and U.S. readers stop following authors or stop entering giveaways because they don't want the spam.
GR members across the forum are already talking about not entering giveaways anymore because they do not want the increase in notifications or to have books automatically added to their lists!
And I agree that sharing readers' physical addresses with authors is a concern. I think that if GR needed to change anything about giveaways, it was that. I understand that this is trickier to fix though due to shipping.
Emily wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "Our ebook giveaways are available in Kindle format only. As Amazon distributes Kindle ebooks, entrants need an Amazon account to receive the ebooks they win. "Thanks, but that isn't what I asked. Obviously an Amazon account would be needed for a Kindle book. What I would like to know is if it will be required for a user's GoodReads and Amazon accounts to be linked in order to receive a Giveaway e-book?
Jaclyn wrote: "With our new program, we have priced the package options to reflect the marketing value we are offering."It would be interesting to get a breakdown of how the marketing value of this was determined - so that we can judge how our money would be spent on this new version of the program.
Jaclyn wrote: "We are no longer able to provide the marketing value of getting your book in front of the community of readers on Goodreads, driving book discovery and reviews for free. "
Why not?
Jaclyn wrote: "We are no longer able to provide the marketing value of getting your book in front of the community of readers on Goodreads, driving book discovery and reviews for free."Ummm ... wasn't this the whole point of Goodreads in the first place? To get books in front of the community of readers, and drive book discovery? Seems like the community of readers has simply become yet another profit center for Amazon.
Ian wrote: "wasn't this the whole point of Goodreads in the first place? To get books in front of the community of readers, and drive book discovery? "Umm...no. The whole point of Goodreads in the first place was to provide a place for readers to discuss books with other readers.
The bright idea to use it to promote authors and publishers marketing to readers was added much later, after the Amazon takeover.
"Seems like the community of readers has simply become yet another profit center for Amazon."
That part you got right, but it's been a change going on for several years now. You indie authors are late to the complaint party ;)
Some of us have been complaining since 2013.
Alexandra wrote: "Umm...no. The whole point of Goodreads in the first place was to provide a place for readers to discuss books with other readers.The bright idea to use it to promote authors and publishers marketing to readers was added much later, after the Amazon takeover."
Please forgive my rather patchy knowledge of history here. I admit I've only been on here since 2014, shortly after Amazon took over, so I don't know what changes you've seen since the pre-Amazon days. I haven't noticed anything substantial change over the last 3 1/2 years.
However, giveaways have been running since early days at Goodreads, and certainly years before Amazon took over. Also features like recommending books to readers were around prior to Amazon. Those are the kinds of things I think of when I talk about helping readers discover books.
Jaclyn wrote: "We are no longer able to provide the marketing value of getting your book in front of the community of readers on Goodreads, driving book discovery and reviews for free."In other words, you are putting a price to reduce the number of giveaways since if you really wouldn't be able to provide the marketing value of getting our book in front of the community of readers, paid giveaways shouldn't change a thing. You're saying that the motivation of receiving this astronomical amount of money will miraculously make you able to do it?
Emily wrote: As mentioned above, indie authors are an important part of the Goodreads community, and we’re now giving them access to the same powerful marketing tool used by traditional publishers.
The problem with your statement is that Indies are not backed up my rich publishers. So I agree with the others. This change is a hidden way of getting rid of Indies.
This is indeed a sad day...
I guess we'll have to rely on freebie days with KDP select. It works just as well...and for now, it's still free... :/
considering this is a simple case of cashing in on the naive hopes of new independent authors and gouging them for any hopes and dreams. i'd say this is a good step to ending goodreads on the web. bravo.2.0 should start with the flaying alive of widows and orphans because you really need to keep the ball rolling here.
you guys do realize that all it takes to end this is an across the web warning to not click on any goodreads giveaways
James wrote: "you guys do realize that all it takes to end this is an across the web warning to not click on any goodreads giveaways"
That is ridiculous. First you'd have to enough people to agree with you. I don't know how its expected that you get services for free. I can't believe the public temper tantrums that are being had when its no longer free. It costs money to run things. When you contact support a person, a person who needs to be paid answers your questions. The free to us system that everyone is always bitching about has programmers that need to be paid working on it. Yes there are ads but people are always complaining about that and use adblock. The whole site will someday cost to use.
I also don't understand why indie authors are trying so hard to get people to read their books. Do you hope the right person will read it and you will finally make money off your hobby? How many of you are working so darn hard to get people to read and review your books for it to go no where? Some of the biggest bitchers on her have like 2 books with 4 reviews each. Explain to me the dream you are working on here?
That is ridiculous. First you'd have to enough people to agree with you. I don't know how its expected that you get services for free. I can't believe the public temper tantrums that are being had when its no longer free. It costs money to run things. When you contact support a person, a person who needs to be paid answers your questions. The free to us system that everyone is always bitching about has programmers that need to be paid working on it. Yes there are ads but people are always complaining about that and use adblock. The whole site will someday cost to use.
I also don't understand why indie authors are trying so hard to get people to read their books. Do you hope the right person will read it and you will finally make money off your hobby? How many of you are working so darn hard to get people to read and review your books for it to go no where? Some of the biggest bitchers on her have like 2 books with 4 reviews each. Explain to me the dream you are working on here?
Peahen wrote: "James wrote: "you guys do realize that all it takes to end this is an across the web warning to not click on any goodreads giveaways"That is ridiculous. First you'd have to enough people to agree..."
Out of curiousity, how much did amazon pay you for that post? Seems a liitle too scripted for a simple fake profile troll :D
No one paid me. I don't want to have my books and groups and reviews judged therefore this profile is being used. Focus on that if you wish. I am willing to be enlightened. Everything costs money. Way too much money. So I don't understand why this is such a huge deal. Its seems more like a "that was good while it lasted" thing. But also, was it good while it lasted? Did you really get anywhere anyways?
And before you pull up my profile in a vain attemt to humiliate me or discredit what i say. Yes. Im a two book author. I draw a comic strip on the side. I will doubtless never be famous, but thats not really what goodreads used to be about. A few years back i had someone email me because hed been in a dark place in his life, and reading my comic had pulled him through it. Thats what im in this for. And thats what goodreads is about. Making friends, reaching out, and maybe just a little glimpse that something we shared was apreciated. And thats what goodreads is killing. Thats a good enough reason to fight it
The giveaway program seemed marginally worthwhile when there were no fees. With a fee, it's obviously a suckers' choice. Done.
@James I wasn't judging your work personally. Way before you joined the conversation there was some major temper tantrums. Your statement that it could be shutdown with a web warning got me to summarize all the things I've been feeling about it. Sorry if it seemed only focused at you!!! Thanks for your answer about why you do it. I really do want to understand what the drive is.
Alexandra wrote: "Ian wrote: "wasn't this the whole point of Goodreads in the first place? To get books in front of the community of readers, and drive book discovery? "Umm...no. The whole point of Goodreads in th..."
Idie authors may be appear to be late to the party, but it's our pocketbooks, not publicists or publishers who finance the advertising budget for our books.
Right now theres a large number of people fighting for net nutrality. They arent just going to sit back and give up on a basic service. Now if goodreads had left the basic give away alone and added a more powerful paid option thered be only a minimal amount of bitching and most of it would be unjustified. Right now theyre playing games with thier bread and butter and making it so there will be fewer books discovered and fewer giveaways offered. Basically theyre pissing in the water supply and ruining it for people who are desperate to drink. Thats not something to be dismissed thats something to be called out on.As for using a profile so people wont get to see who it is thats has an oppinion. Thats fine. I personally never express an oppinion i wouldnt be proud to stand by, fan base or not. But i do question what the point is in having any beliefs if you are more worried about what people will say and do if they find out you have them.
James wrote: "...As for using a profile so people wont get to see who it is thats has an oppinion. Thats fine. I personally never express an oppinion i wouldnt be proud to stand by, fan base or not. But i do question what the point is in having any beliefs if you are more worried about what people will say and do if they find out you have them. "
We grow up in a scary world. I am uncomfortable sharing too much personal information for my own comfort. The gift of fear. I didn't use the profile to be rude, say hurtful things and hide. I asked how can we expect services that we don't pay for? And, what is the drive to get your indie books out there? That isn't throwing a grenade and hiding, IMO.
ETA. I guess I did say it was ridiculous that it could be shut down with a web warning. So I guess that was "rude" and set the tone for the whole post. But I do find it extremely unlikely and presumptuous to think its possible.
We grow up in a scary world. I am uncomfortable sharing too much personal information for my own comfort. The gift of fear. I didn't use the profile to be rude, say hurtful things and hide. I asked how can we expect services that we don't pay for? And, what is the drive to get your indie books out there? That isn't throwing a grenade and hiding, IMO.
ETA. I guess I did say it was ridiculous that it could be shut down with a web warning. So I guess that was "rude" and set the tone for the whole post. But I do find it extremely unlikely and presumptuous to think its possible.
Sorry youre scared. Thats your choice. Frankly the only cure for fear is to get out there and survive it. I doubt id have ever been a ghost hunter if i hadnt been fed up with being afraid of the unexplained. I never would have put a comic out there if id listened to the fears of being critiqued, and i never would have put my books out there if i had listened to the fears that no one would read them. The biggest reason to be afraid tbese days has nothing to do with someone finding you and taking your life. Its to never live for fear of being killed. Probably not the best time to point out that hiding your profile doesnt do much in preventing someone from tracking your i.p. adress if someone was determined enough. No matter. I found you afraid. Ill leave you to it have a good day
Alexandra wrote: "What I would like to know is if it will be required for a user's GoodReads and Amazon accounts to be linked in order to receive a Giveaway e-book? "Entrants in Kindle ebook giveaways must have their Goodreads and Amazon accounts linked so ebooks can be delivered to their Amazon accounts if they are selected as winners.
Emily wrote: "Entrants in Kindle ebook giveaways must have their Goodreads and Amazon accounts linked ..."Yeah, that's what I suspected. Thanks for the answer. I think it's a terrible requirement, and will cut out many, many GR users who care more about their security than they do about a free e-book.
It could easily be handled by providing the winner a code to enter to claim their prize, or something similar.
So, this clearly is about wanting to get more GR users to link their various accounts, which benefits GR and Amazon, at the expense of their customers and users.
I won't be participating.
Emily wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "What I would like to know is if it will be required for a user's GoodReads and Amazon accounts to be linked in order to receive a Giveaway e-book? "Entrants in Kindle ebook give..."
Emily, besides the cost of the giveaway, what will the cost of each ebook be to the author who is giving it away? Is the author charged for each ebook given as well?
Carmel wrote: "Emily, besides the cost of the giveaway, what will the cost of each ebook be to the author who is giving it away? Is the author charged for each ebook given as well?"For ebook giveaways, the ebooks are fulfilled as part of the cost of the giveaway. There is no additional charge for the ebooks.
Alexandra wrote: "M.L. Roberts wrote: "I hear you on the security concern, but everything is linked in one way or another. If I borrow an e-book from my library (gov't agency) and choose Kindle, it sends me to Amazo..."As they say, "just say 'no.' " :)
That account linkage is nothing new though, it's been that way since GR announced the beta e-book giveaway program back in May 2016. I won't link accounts on principle but that's just a personal choice; I can see why Amazon/Goodreads wants them connected. I've seen a few complaints in Feedback but I doubt most people care.
M.L. Roberts wrote: "As they say, "just say 'no.' " :) "Sure, just shut up. Don't think you have the right to actually advise companies about dissatisfaction regarding their business decisions, or the negative impact on users or customers.
Don't advise the authors here who have chosen to not "just say 'no'", but express *their* own opinions that there is an additional negative impact to both their potential customers and that will be a factor in the number of entrants they receive.
Um, no. You keep *your* mouth shut if you choose, I prefer to provide feedback when companies make decisions and changes that negatively impact me.
As you should be able to see, I voiced my displeasure and stated I would not participate. The end.
Ms M. - I also can see why Goodreads and Amazon want users to link their accounts, it benefits THEM. That Goodreads and Amazon doesn't care about negatively impacting users and consumers is something we've seen before.
Most who care will not bother to complain, they'll simply choose to not link their accounts and not participate in the e-book giveaways.
I stopped entering Giveaways years ago, due to very real concerns about personal information being provided to complete strangers. With the addition of e-books I thought I could perhaps participate in those. I see now I cannot.
As authors wanting to participate in e-book giveaways likely want as many potential entrants as possible, particularly those sincerely interested in reading their book, I would think any action by GR that would cause people to NOT participate would be of interest.
Edward wrote: "Idie authors may be appear to be late to the party, but it's our pocketbooks, not publicists or publishers who finance the advertising budget for our books. "You appear to not have actually read my post, as my "late to the party" reference had absolutely nothing to do with anyone's pocketbooks or who finances advertising budgets.
In this group, we ask that everyone stick to the ideas being discussed, not the people discussing them. You may not agree with one another, but please keep this discussion civil.
Personally I'm very disappointed that giveaway entrants are limited to US residents only - and then further narrowed by only those who link their Amazon & GR accounts. I have run several giveaways over the year and being outside the US myself, I have always made my giveaways open internationally. As a result, I have sent my books all over the world.As an author, I wouldn't use a promotional tool that limits readers to one geographic location.
As a reader, yet again those outside the US miss out on giveaways and deals.
P.D. Workman (Pamela) wrote: "I wouldn't give away 100 paperbacks, but I might give away 100 ebooks, especially if Goodreads is sending the winners prompts to post reviews."Goodreads has been sending these prompts for ages, and emails from Goodreads are more often than not ignored because of all the "newsletter" emails they send. There is no guarantee people will review.
Figgy wrote: "Goodreads has been sending these prompts for ages, and emails from Goodreads are more often than not ignored because of all the "newsletter" emails they send. There is no guarantee people will review."That's true. Further, people who sign up for giveaways tend to be aware that posting a review cannot and is not required. Those that want to post one will, those who don't won't. Regardless of GR sending them prompts.
Giveaways, I think, can be a good way to get books into the hands of people who may, hopefully will, read and enjoy them. And when readers read a book they enjoy they often like to tell other readers. Most especially when it's a new-to-them author.
IMO, this is a way Giveaways can benefit an author. As well as the notifications that a user has entered a Giveaway and (if they don't change the default) that they've shelved a book "To Read". These things are telegraphed to those who are on their Friend list and who Follow them, showing up in those users Feeds.
These are ways Giveaways can gain exposure for a book.
If the desire is simply to gain reader reviews, which I think is a bit short sighted in light of the above, I think there are better methods.
Just my opinion as a GR user and reader, not an author.
I am not an author, I am a reader and a semi-professional book reviewer, bookseller, freelance editor, and a publishing assistant for independent authors and I honestly think this whole thing is a ridiculous idea.For starters, all of the promotional things - including those marked as NEW - that you are offering authors, with the exception of the "featured" listing are things you have already been doing in giveaways for the last 6-12 months, things that readers have already seen. The featured option is something many readers will spend very little time looking at when checking the giveaways, as it's more relevant to see giveaways that are ending soon or are most popular. And restricting the giveaways to US residents is actually REDUCING the spread of buzz and the sales of the book, so how is this suddenly worth paying for?
For another thing, there are many free or more beneficial ways for authors to giveaway copies of the book, especially as you offer no guarantee of a review in response to their book. Authors can alternatively giveaway books for free (and increase their following at the same time) on twitter and facebook, and for a fee to other programs like BookBub which promote actual sales/downloads and increase the chances of reviews in a much more effective way than any of your features do. There are also many sites that do book tours, and programs like "Read it and Reap" in which people are offered copies of the book, so long as they review within a certain window.
For the Big 5, they pay less for listing a book on NetGalley or to send physical copies out to dedicated book reviewers (who have a much higher chance than the general goodreads population of writing and publicising a review), they can also utilise the features in the above paragraph by hosting giveaways on other sites. They often do. So all you're doing is lessening the number of books being given away via your site and the ease with which readers can access them.
Your costing model is not logical. If you want to monetise it, you should do so at a price that many authors can afford, and which is more relevant to the number of books, and which doesn't reduce the number of people who have access to the book. People would still make noise about suddenly having to pay for features that have been free for the last 6 months or more, but at least if it was something like $10-$20 per giveaway, it would make more sense for them to be able to give away one or two books and still keep your site cycling through with reading copies. As it stands now, I can see a lot of authors AND a lot of readers being pissed off, and I think you know this or you wouldn't have made the feedback form for authors only.
I understand that you're introducing a new feature with the ebooks, and I understand that this is restricting it to US readers only to begin with (as everything you roll out does), and I understand that there is a cost involved in this. You are (through Amazon) the retailer of the books, and if you didn't charge for that in some way you'd be operating at a loss.
But why do authors have to pay the same whether giving away physical copies (which they also have to provide and cover postage costs for) or electronic copies (which you, Goodreads, distribute and make money from via the promotional package)? None of your features (besides the featured page) are new, so why not introduce this new marketing option for ebooks at a cost (because it includes copies of the title being sent out) and leave physical copies free, or at a more understandable amount ($10-$20) as the author still has to pay out of pocket for the physical copies and postage so they CAN be included in the giveaway?
Thank you and an update would be appreciated.
There are a number of us who would like to know what is going on as Amazon aren't responding. I have no problem giving books away to readers, but I would like to know/where it is happening if Amazon is giving away our books.