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When I've made a complaint about an inappropriate post, such as someone selling reviews, I've had a response in the matter of a few hours.I'd contact them again
I asked for some advice regarding "author/reader" policy about a week ago now and have heard nothing. Usually they're quite good about getting back with an answer. Maybe they didn't know how to answer my question! Now I'm not sure just whether to go with my instinct and use my common sense or give it another go with asking the question again.
Gary, there may be a quicker way to get a response, but "how" depends on what your complaint was about. You can email support (at) goodreads (dot) com but who it should be addressed to in the subject line depends on the nature of the complaint. If it's something specific to authors, you might want to try Attn: Patrick (or Emily).When did you send your complaint? A message first has to go into the queue, then be routed to the appropriate person. If it's something that requires any sort of investigation, it could take a while.
Wendy, if your question regarding policy can be stated in general terms, you may have better luck starting a thread here in this section of this group.
Christa wrote: "Gary, there may be a quicker way to get a response, but "how" depends on what your complaint was about. You can email support (at) goodreads (dot) com but who it should be addressed to in the subje..."Thanks, Christa. Good idea. :-)
A reader posted a very nice review about my book, having read it in her local library. She commented that she'd love to read anything else I'd written but at the time that was the only book I'd published. Now I've brought out another and it seemed sensible to let her know that it exists! (I'm not sure how GR works, as regards updating members on new books by authors they've read.) I know GR are "nervous" about author approaches directly to readers so I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing the wrong thing by sending her a message. I don't want to get myself a reputation for being pushy! Any thoughts?
I looked at the reviews for your first book, so I think I know which review it was. Oh, actually, there are two that say something similar.If it were me, I would not contact them directly. It's worth remembering that most readers put their reviews out there for other readers, so they aren't really thinking about the fact that authors are reading them, and it can be a bit of an awkward moment when they are contacted by an author (for any reason) due to something they wrote in a review.
As one of the reviews was fairly recent, there's a good chance the reader will find your latest book on her own. Also, if she has recommendations turned on or is receiving the Goodreads new release emails, there are pretty good odds that Goodreads will put the book in front of her, especially as she hasn't rated / reviewed many books yet. If she got the book on Amazon, they'll probably push your latest to her there as well.
Neither reviewer has followed / fanned any authors. Neither has joined any author / reader connection groups. I would play it safe and take that as an indication that they are not seeking out interaction with authors.
Hope that helps. :)
I couldn't agree more with Christa; it's not worth the sale of one book. (As an aside I would like to hire Christa as a life coach.) I would, however, encourage your fans to like your author or book facebook page, twitter, Instagram etc. and then they will hear about new book signings and promotions.
Thanks for that, James and Christa. An author who'd commented on something similar some while ago on her FB page said she'd always found readers happy, if not delighted, to have an author contact them but I do see what you're saying.However since I posted here on the subject, I've heard back from GR on my query and I thought you may like to read their answer.
"While you're right that sending similar messages promoting your own book to many members can be considered spam, sending one or two thoughtful, highly-personalized messages should probably be fine."
An interesting distinction, I thought.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. :-)
You're welcome, Wendy! It's always nice to have multiple perspectives to consider. I guess I tend to urge authors on the side of caution because you never know how someone will react until it's done. But that doesn't mean a negative response is imminent. Something you might consider that I didn't think of yesterday - when you "follow" someone's reviews, they get a notice that you're following them, but it's not a direct contact. (The only person currently following my reviews is one of my favorite erotica authors. :D) Usually, when someone gets this notification, the first thing they do is check the profile of the follower and "Hey, I read one of her books... Oh, look! She's got a new one out!"
So that may be a more passive way to make a connection and make them aware of your new book. And the fact that you don't currently "follow" a lot of people will let them know you're more selective. I think that is very important - following hundreds of people means you can't actually read all their reviews. Following just a few means you chose carefully.
For anyone new who hasn't followed anyone yet - you just go to the person's profile, and click "follow reviews" button.
Christa wrote: "You're welcome, Wendy! It's always nice to have multiple perspectives to consider. I guess I tend to urge authors on the side of caution because you never know how someone will react until it's don..."Thanks for the suggestions, Christa. :-)
Christa wrote: "You're welcome, Wendy! It's always nice to have multiple perspectives to consider. I guess I tend to urge authors on the side of caution because you never know how someone will react until it's don..."Thank you again, Christa. You really are a great help to this new author.
OK, I did my part by following the contact Goodreads directions online, and upon pressing "Send" for my messages, was informed to allow a specified amount of time for Goodreads to respond. Not a problem.
But now its well past that time and no contact or response. I had hoped to resolve my original complaint swiftly.