Is Goodreads a good platform for supporting self-published Authors?

[Luke]

Hi.

I recently self-published my first ebook. Just 20k ish words. It sold 190 copies on Amazon in the first 5 weeks, which I was delighted with.

A friend recommended I join Goodreads as she loves the platform as an avid reader.

In Oct I ran a Giveaway for 20 free copies of the ebook. 558 people entered and added it to their 'want to read' list. Of the 20 who won, most of them have 1,000 of books marked as 'to read'.

It is early days but I am beginning to question if those who enter the Giveaways do end up reading the book and / or reviewing? Can we restrict people who we know will enter the Giveaway but not actually read nor review the book?

[Talia]

A “20k ish” is not a book, but a long story. At best, a novella. I suggest that you present it as such, rather than a book because you may get disappointed readers who’d give you a negative review based upon their disappointment.

No, I don’t believe that you can restrict the category of giveaways except to indicate USA-only. (It’s very expensive to ship printed galleys overseas.)

Good luck!

[Luke]

Thank you