GoodReads' First Readers discussion
First Reads Discussions
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Why Can't I Win a Book?
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Stephanie
(new)
Sep 21, 2014 07:47PM
^Hahaha, yea probably! But that's just how I feel when I read ebooks! Just being honest! Lol, but I'm glad you know what I mean haha!!
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Jade wrote: "I am having the same trouble with winning a book, I join as many giveaways as i can for books I am interested in or might like, I did start adding them to my to be read list but that didn't seem to..."I know how frustrated you are believe me! I have been on Goodreads since 2011 and have only ever one two books. I won my last book a few days after I wrote my review for my last book I won. Maybe try that? I also started to review the books I have read. Maybe that is the reason why I won again.
All I can say is just keep entering. You have nothing to loose. Like people say, you have to be in it to win it.
Jade wrote: "Anna wrote: "Jade wrote: "I am having the same trouble with winning a book, I join as many giveaways as i can for books I am interested in or might like, I did start adding them to my to be read li..."I would write about 200 - 500 words when doing reviews =)
Even if you didn't really like a book or didn't finish one, it is still good to write something about them.
If you find it difficult, check out what other people have said about their thoughts of the book. Sometimes that triggers a thought or two.
Ok...a friend of mine who was already on Goodreads recently started entering giveaways. Also her mom. Both of them have just won FIVE books within a couple weeks!Now...again...even though this person was a Goodreads member already, it seems to support the view some of you have mentioned about new people or people with no review history winning more frequently than randomness would or should allow.
I haven't won anything since July. But for 2 people to win FIVE giveaways right away and so frequently....Well I just don't get it!
?
I'm tempted to stop entering altogether now. If there is some reason behind my inability to win, then obviously Goodreads or whomever doesn't give a shit about my reviewing the ARC's & what I've tried to offer in return.
Is there someone that I can pose these questions to?
I'd just like to know if Goodreads has an explanation for this.
I know I'm complaining and I'm sorry but I just got more and more disappointed and frustrated when my friend kept telling me how many times she won over the past couple weeks! (and its not her that I'm upset with, it's the lack if consistency on the part of the giveaways!)
If it was TRULY random, then statistically I should have had a "win" by now.
So, am I'm being blocked because I expressed frustration here in a post?
Argh......WTF?!?!?!
I posted this in a different topic as well, but I'll put it here in case someone might be interested and doesn't read that other topic.I tested out the theory that new accounts win more, made a new account and started winning books like crazy.
0 reviews on that account, dozens on this account yet this account was maybe winning 1 book a month if I was lucky with the other winning up to a dozen.
That "new" account is now no longer winning anything either, so I'm pretty sure one of thew few, if not only, qualification is that your account has a "new" flag on it.
Feeling the frustration too, try and try and try for all the books I think I will enjoy, and nothing. Feel like I'm just wasting my time when I can't win squat and then others get heaps. I do all the right things, I even review books as I read them each day. Sigh.
Well, I entered a few, and have won 3 books so far. I thought I had my best chances with books that had less entries, which worked initially but not now, I haven't had a win in aaaaaages. I've actually discovered that I love the books that most don't want! Real gems hidden in there! The thing that gets me, is they draw a winner, and nek-minnit, it is re-listed as a giveaway again.
Anyway, all I can say is, keep trying guys, you get there eventually!
Well, I emailed Goodreads directly about my question and concerns - that for some reason I haven't won anything since June 2014 (when I had won FOUR books between Jan. and June 2014).Anyway, (unfortunately I deleted the email) I was assured that the giveaways are indeed random (although, I had pointed out that based on my history of winning books, I should have won another by now, statistically!).
And I was told to just keep entering as that would increase my chances.
So, basically their response was not helpful at all.
I just don't get it....I keep entering and as I said, statistically speaking, I should have won something in the period of June 2014 until now.
Thanks Jody for your info though.
Nik
I also suspect that many of the books re-list the same giveaway over and over is they over time remove countries that have won a book. That could be why some giveaways have very odd country mixes available.
Sometimes I find success if I enter a giveaway a couple of hours before it ends.
New fun fact, but all the ones I have one so far have been authored by people in my country. I haven't won any from overseas!
Are there that many by overseas authors?
Are there that many by overseas authors?
We all have droughts. I had years between my first and second giveaway wins, literally.
Authors are from all over the world I think, but I've only ever won ones from Aussie because they've been sent within Australia.
I've really enjoyed this discussion, how cool would it be to work out the algorithms for certain. I dare say the algorithm gives suggestions to the comp runner and then they hand pick. I'll find out one day! I'm hoping I can publish a book one day :)
There are lots of things that factor into winning. Be consistent and when you receive a book read it and give it a fair review. Make contact with authors, be truthful, and honest.
I've seen a lot of people who have won books and sold them, but sold them before the book is actually released for sale to the public. I don't agree with that. Make sure you honor the author who has given you a book for free. You'll also find many authors offer consolation prizes like free e-books.
For me, the e-books are no good, because I don't read e-books, only hard copy and audio books.
Just some ideas.
Ya know....I have done all that I could to be a "good" winner (reading right away, reviewing, etc.) and yet things still haven't changed. I just seem to have stopped winning altogether despite no real changes in my frequency or pattern of entries.
Even Goodreads tells me that I must not be entering enough or somehow I am not doing what I did before when I won.
All in all, I won my books from Jan. 28 to July 23, 2014.
That's it.....no more for me!
Thankfully I've found a great e-library online & have found some of the books I was interested in thru the giveaways!!
In the end, it's guesswork, and perhaps it is sheer random 'luck' the books I have one. I like to think that perhaps one day, I won't need to enter comps to get new books to read. Maybe authors will seek me out!
Jhermaine wrote: "How will you know if you win a book?"An email is sent to whatever email address you signed up for Goodreads with. You only get emails if you've won.
Stephanie wrote: "I've been trying and trying to win a book on Goodreads giveaways. But still, no luck. I added every book that I've read onto my "read" shelf, I've also filled my other shelves up with books that I ..."Same here :(
I have been a member for five years, have read 600+ books, given many recommendations, voted on polls, started lists, made friends, etc. etc. but I have never won a single giveaway. Am I wasting my time entering giveaways?
Mrs. Moore wrote: "I have been a member for five years, have read 600+ books, given many recommendations, voted on polls, started lists, made friends, etc. etc. but I have never won a single giveaway. Am I wasting my..."My first question would be, how many do you enter? If you enter one or two a day...it's extremely unlikely you'll be randomly selected. Less than that, obviously even more unlikely.
I enter in flurries of activity... maybe 20 one day and none for a month... then I might average 40 in another month. Am I not entering enough? It takes quite a bit of time to go through all the books to find the ones that appeal to me the most. Should I be less selective? Thanks for the feedback :)
The only thing I can think of is that you currently have written zero reviews. While they claim that giveaways are completely random and there are plenty of non-reviewing repeat winners, I'd recommend at least writing a few. They don't have to be in-depth essays (mine certainly aren't). I've won 34 books since I've been here, July 2014. I won a lot of them in the first ~6 months. They changed the algorithm sometime in February/March...it used to say that they take into account the books on your shelves, reviews you've written and activity (among other things). They now state that it's completely random and not dependent on anything other than entering. Since those changes, I've won far less frequently and they seem to come in bunches for some reason. 3 books in a week, then none for 3 months.
As for frequency, I enter at least one daily it seems. I can almost always find something I'm interested in. Some days I'll enter, like you, 20 in a day. Some days it's maybe 1 or 2. Most giveaways end on the final day of the month...so I'd say always go through those days and see if there are any you like, since there are so many books available.
I usually go through in advance (2-7 days) of when the end date is. A giveaway has to be listed for at least 7 days per the GR terms. That way I can do it when I have the time.
I've stopped winning giveaways. I was on a great streak there for a few years, averaging one every two or three months. But since we've started receiving e-mail alerts for giveaways of books on our "to-read" lists, I've won just two, and nothing at all in the last four months.
I understand your comment Jason. I've been a member since February of this year so I don't have a long history with Goodreads yet. I have won 4 books total. I read the books fairly quickly, rate and review them. I only enter giveaways that I know I'm going to read.....that I'm interested in. That # could range anywhere from 2-3 giveaways to about 8-9 giveaways a day. I wish I better understood the method for how winners get picked. I see a lot of the same people winning over and over again.
You guys should try LibraryThing's giveaways. They have monthly batches and I usually win one every batch.
Jessica wrote: "You guys should try LibraryThing's giveaways. They have monthly batches and I usually win one every batch."Thank you Jessica. I take a look at the website that you mentioned above. It seems pretty nice.
Shaun wrote: "The only thing I can think of is that you currently have written zero reviews. While they claim that giveaways are completely random and there are plenty of non-reviewing repeat winners, I'd recomm..."I finally won a book :) I'll read and review it as soon as it arrives! Thanks for the encouragement.
Mrs. Moore wrote: "I finally won a book :) I'll read and review it as soon as it arrives! Thanks for the encouragement. "Congrats!
I still have not won a book :( It's sad because I always pick books I definitely want to read, but still nothing.
Finally I won TWO books. One book on January & the other book on February. :D One book is arrived. I'm waiting for the arrival of the second book I won. It was awesome. :) :)
The randomness can be frustrating, yet I do feel lucky that we even have the opportunity/ possibility to win free books.
Hello everyone! I am a new member so I didn't have the chance to have a look at all the discussions of this group. Well I joined goodreads a couple of months ago... To be honest I had no idea a website like this existed... Lame right??? Anyway, as soon as I found out about the giveaways I got very excited, because I read a lot of books and...well books in Greece aren't so cheap. So I thought giveaways would be much better than borrowing my friends' books. This way I get to have my own personal library. I heard people won so many books here .... I even read some posts mentioning 35-50 books... I thought it would be easy. At first I was rather selective. I only chose the ones I was sure I would like. The same thing I do whenever I go to the bookstore. I kept checking every 10 minutes.. When I realized nothing happened I increased the number of giveaways I entered. Still nothing.. This is so frustrating. I'm running out of pages and I really hate it when I am left without a book. Really I even have a hard time falling asleep. Am I doing something wrong? Is it because I am a new member? Should I quit entering giveaways? There was this book I really wanted to win and when I clicked on the winner's name I saw that the person had read 5 books and had zero reviews... I don't have many reviews yet.. I'm trying really hard. But I don't always have the time to write one.. So what's really happening?? :(
I'm going through an awful dry spell. It's almost feeling like punishment for not entering for a few months. I wish I could win more. I always review and I've read over 7 books already this year and make of them were in March!
Hope to enjoy some new books soon!!
I haven't won any giveaways yet. I have done virtually everything I could do to win. I entered groups, participated in some discussions, reviewed lots of books, added them to my to-read shelf, rated the books I wanted to win, added a little thing saying I would review the book once I read it, etc. I am also a very generous reviewer who hasn't given many bad reviews thus far and may not give that many as I find that I like a lot of stuff. What I am doing wrong?
![laurel [the suspected bibliophile] (laurelthereader)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1645808644p1/7494844.jpg)
I've been a pretty active member for the past four and a half years. Entered literally (not figuratively) hundreds of giveaways, for books that interest me and that I know I'll read. I've done everything I can short of reviewing everything I read (that cuts into reading time).Finally FINALLY I won. And it's been over 6 weeks. I notified Goodreads after day 30 and no book. I just tried to contact the publisher who hosted the giveaway, so we'll see what happens next. My hopes are not high. So it's been pretty disappointing . . . Just needed to vent/complain/whine a little.
I think I will notify if I don't get one here sometime soon.
I won last night, early this morning, for the first time. Won Mind = Blown: Amazing Facts About This Weird, Hilarious, Insane World by Matthew Santoro. Just so happy and thankful to get the first one out of the way. Hopefully that is the first of many, many more victories.
I won two back to back, including the aforementioned one, and haven't won since. Hoping my fortunes change here as there is one book I really want and I didn't win it the last time it was in the giveaway.
I have been a member of goodreads for 3 years and have never won a single book. I am pretty active reader, rate books and sometimes review them. How to increase a chance to win?? I have terrible luck :(
Still no book :( Over two months now and it hasn't arrived.
Hmm. I am hoping this Welcome To Deadland book I won isn't like that. It was won the day after I won that Matthew Santoro book, and that Santoro was at my house in like 3 days. I hope this other book arrives soon, or wasn't stolen by a passerby seeing a package on the porch.
I've never won a book but I've entered so many giveaways it's a little ridiculous now. I'm thinking about giving up since it's been months of trying and with nothing to come of it. :(
I just discovered giveaways a month ago as well, but I have been a member for quite some time. Everywhere I look it says that new accounts win more. Is this true? I want to know if I am wasting my time.
I've been a member since 2014 or so and I've been active only this year but have tried this whole year with giveaways and have gotten nothing. I'm actually wondering if that new account thing is true because I'll delete my account and start over if it is.
I have won a few books and the first book I won did what it was supposed to do....I have bought every book in that series (KGI Maya Banks)
Same, I constantly write reviews but I have only won 1 book in the giveaways.
