Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
Introduce Yourself!
To Self-Published AuthorsI have met people who are energized by their own genuine enthusiasms here on Goodreads, as well as in other online communities. I have a deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness for the correspondence that has been established between us, and still continues. But in terms of Goodreads, a community now having reached ten million members if I have read correctly, there is an even larger confusion of purpose.
Being an indie author is not cute. Nor is it clever or respectable. It is not enough to think an idea followed through to a bound book makes one a serious writer. In reality, to be an indie author is to be prepared to wallow in not only the malaise and self-doubt that comes with authorship, but the general belief in your uselessness and irrelevance from the publishing world, which includes readers. Ever hear the phrase “If you can’t do, coach?” It’s unfair but no different. Ever hear “No one wanted to publish your work, so you published it yourself?”
I am an indie author, but I wish to rescind the label. And I know, above all and before anything else, I am looked down on because I put money and effort into producing my debut novel. Perhaps I’ve earned a modicum of respect for the financial and temporal sacrifice, which is in its own right a generosity of spirit from people as frustrated as myself, people who could easily have not offered that. And I knew this ahead of time. I knew it would be a gamble, of perception, reception and reward. But I did it because of my understanding of two things:
1. I believe in the relevance and importance of my novel.
2. With the evolution of the publishing industry, I recognized the level of difficulty in convincing an agent or editor to consider a debut novelist who can not guarantee a return on initial investment, as well as a marketing plan that is to be handled mostly by the author. Most good books...hell...most amazing books, spend their time in slush piles before seeing the light of day. I understand established writers and their contention when it comes to self-published authors perverting the system. (And it should not be a system. But because it’s become a system, a tacky machine of superfluous words, the indie authors’ negative reactions to being shoved off in to the margins as not being “true writers” are NOT valid. So prove yourself!)
But just don’t try to prove yourself by engaging in some factory of Likes, Tags and Reviews being exchanged for those who don’t even read your writing. Recently, I commented on a thread here in Goodreads about kindness, humility and gratitude. Someone responded, adding to the end of his/her comment that he/she wasn’t promoting his/her own work before doing it a few hours later in the same thread. And what has pushed me toward this conversation is that today, when corresponding with a show host for books and authors in Canada, the host told me he’d be interested in my book, but mostly he feels self-publishing is a hustle. A hustle. And he isn’t wrong, especially when I see something like what I saw last night on Goodreads: a “writer” was actually asking for help with plot lines for the book. And people were lining up to share their two cents.
Pathetic.
And so, we are not writers here. We are salespersons. And I see fully, now, what is wrong with self-publishing. I am proud of my book, inside and out, and pleased with the company I’ve paid to produce it with me. Not for me. But I am also completely satisfied with one person a month falling in love with my story, indefinitely, rather than one hundred thousand readers “liking” it temporarily just so I will follow their blog.
Wrong.
Hello fellow readers and writers,I'm the author of the Brad Frame Mystery series as well as a political suspense novel - KISSES OF AN ENEMY. My detective led an aimless life on Philadelphia's "Main Line" until his mother and sister were kidnapped and murdered. He helped solved their crime and then, with the assistance of a Philly police detective, opened his own agency to help bring justice to others. You can read the opening of each of the novels at:
http://www.rayflynt.com
All the books are available for e-readers at $2.99 and there are trade paperback versions as well.
Ray
Good morning! My name is Dawn and I am the author of an e-book called Tails of My Rescue Dog. Writing is my passion and like so many people, I always had a dream of writing a novel. After I rescued my dog Mindy, I starting writing down my experiences with her. She gave me plenty of material to write about! After a few years, I took my writing and published a Kindle ebook through Amazon. I never thought that my first book would be about a dog but I love her to death! http://www.amazon.com/Tails-My-Rescue...I look forward to exploring Goodreads and figuring out how it works!
Dawn
Hi! I'm Nicola Black. I'm a writer and blogger (though it's not a book blog). I joined because Justin invited me. :)
It's nice to meet you Nicola and Khatia
Your welcome Nicola and i really like your name
Thanks! It's really a pen name, but not too different from one of my names. It's English though I'm not. :)
I'll be lazy and copy / past from my Author profile: Stephen M Holak was born in Camden, New Jersey, spent ten years in the U.S. Navy, and managed teams of software engineers for a major telecommunications company before turning more attention to his first love: writing.
Steve Majored in English Literature at Temple University in Philadelphia. Writing and reading Science Fiction and Fantasy are his core passions, but Steve also teaches SCUBA diving in his infinite spare time.
He lives, works and writes in the rural suburbs of Philadelphia.
You can follow Steve on his blog (http://stephenmholak.blogspot.com/),
Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/StephenMHolak),
and at his Amazon.com author page (https://www.amazon.com/author/stephen...), where links to his work can be found.
All that out of the way . . . (waves) Aloha. Glad to be here and look forward to chatting with you all.
Hi to everyone! SO nice to be amongst writers again. I have been away from Goodreads for awhile but really want to reconnect with kindred spirits who love words and books! I live in Texas with my good husband.I have two books published, one of which is just this week launched on E-BOOKS KINDLE format! This is so exciting!
Will you please go take a look at "SEEING THE LIBERTY, The Journey of Eve's Daughter" - e-books are such an easy way to read!! although I do still love a book in my hand!
Please look at my link! YAY! Joy to you all! Sharon
http://www.amazon.com/SEEING-LIBERTY-...
Hey Lilly! I'm Nic (short for Nicolas) Glad to meet you! Are you an author, blogger, or reader? Or many all of them or some of them xD
:o awesome i'll go check your bio :D Oh don't worry, you're doing great xD
Hi, I'm Marcy G. Dyer and I'm an author. My debut novel will be released Jan, 2013.I'm also an avid reader and love several different generes.
www.marcydyer.com
Hello. My name is Travis Ford. I write books. I don't read as much because I am busy writing. When I am not writing I am editing. When I am not editing I am writing. I hope one day I could become as good as Stephen King or Dean Koontz. I am in the first stages of self publishing, There's a Killer Lurking at Every Curb. I don't have any help so, that is why it's called self publishing. I do it all by myself, because I can't find any help. Maybe one day I will get there with the greatest. Till then, it is what it is.
It's nice to meet you G.G. Collins
I LOVE LOVE Reading. This is an awesome group! I have been looking for a group like this to join where I can connect to other readers and authors as well. Thanks Vincent for creating it! I read a lot, and I also have my own blog where I review and go bookserk about all things books. (If you would like to check it out Gone Bookserk)Excited about this group!
Hi. My name is Julie Day and I write YA fantasy and magical romance with gentle warm humour. I also love reading, and have done since primary school. I now love writing. I have just self-epublished my first magical romance called 'One Good Turn'. I am keen to find out what others think of it.
Vincent wrote: "Please introduce yourself! Do you write books? Do you just enjoy reading them?Let us know a little bit more about who you are:"
My name is Author Kathy, and I share this Profiel with my sister Author Karen. We write children's books, and we have one out titled Feelings, Feelings, Feelings! We also love to cook and create our on recipes. We plan on having a cookbook published too!
Welcome Julie, Kathy, and Karen! I'm glad to meet you guys. Julie i'm a fantasy Lover if you want to check my blog out: www.bookmark-reviews.blogpsot.com @kathy and Karen, It's nice to see people writing cookbooks! I'd be interested in learning more
My name is Nicole Bailey and I re-discovered my passion for writing last year. I wrote my first book and self-published through Amazon this June. So far, I have great feedback. It's available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle and also for Nook on Barnes and Noble online. It's called "In the Midst of Darkness" and is a paranormal romance book. I'm currently working on the sequel.
My name is Justin Wilkerson and I'm a writer and reader, although it seems more writer than reader recently.I have a tendency to find very long series to get completely wrapped up in. If you check out the books I've read you'll notice most of them are from a select few series. Whenever I start making money and I can buy all the books that interest me I hope to expand my reading list.
For now though, I write while I wait for the next book in those series to come out.
I am writing a 5 book Science Fiction/Fantasy series called The Ghost Wars Saga.
The first book, Prophecy, is available as an ebook for Kindle and Nook.
Its great to have this place where authors can try to connect with readers.
I'm Caroline and I write romantic historical fiction or historic women's fiction, whichever you prefer. I live in the southern states of the US and have been writing since I was a pre-teen. I just released my first novel "Rebel Heart". I'm looking forward to participating!
Hi, I'm Charlie and I'm brand new to Goodreads and brand new to this group. Still feeling my way around, like a new kid at school.I've just self published my first eBook, Open House, which is to be the first of a series of Cove Castle Comedies. Effectively, the book was inspired by P.G.Wodehouse, and Cove Castle is my humble attempt to wave the flag of Blandings Castle in the present day.
Christine wrote: "It's nice to meet you Charlie"Likewise, Christine. I look forward to sharing the joy of books with you.
Yeah What kind of books do you read Charlie?
Mod
And happy Friday :)
-Vince (Moderator)
Vincent wrote: "Welcome to the group, newest members! And happy Friday :)
-Vince (Moderator)"
Happy Friday to you Vincent!
Hello,
My name is Chelsea. I'm a new author. My first book, Orion, was released about three months ago. I live in Kansas with my husband, John, and I work in early childcare with toddlers, who love books as much as I do. My favorite genres are fantasy and science fiction. It's nice to be a part of this group.
My name is Chelsea. I'm a new author. My first book, Orion, was released about three months ago. I live in Kansas with my husband, John, and I work in early childcare with toddlers, who love books as much as I do. My favorite genres are fantasy and science fiction. It's nice to be a part of this group.
For further introduction, I've added a video to my homepage. Check it out at http://www.rayflynt.com (it is only 63 seconds).
Hi,I'm new to this platform and just getting acquainted with all that Goodreads has to offer. Good stuff. I'm author to a new series of books on helping people avoid becoming victim to online scams. The first one, Top 10 Email Scams, just published. I keep several blogs, twitter, and facebook pages where users post their online scam experiences and warn others and have for years.
I also have an internet marketing/web development consulting business and am a fine artist, painting California landscapes. The more varied my interests and the more new things I'm learning, the better.
I look forward to learning about all the other great authors and readers on here.
Hi all! I'm Nicole, and my book is called Driving A Rental Car in Heels. It's a collection of humorous (I hope!) essays about my travels as a freelance musician. I am a classically trained musician, but have found myself doing more and more writing in the past several years, largely as part of live performances. It's a love I temporarily left to train as a flutist, but I am happy to be back in the game and eager to hone my skills. Nice to meet you all!
Kathleen wrote: "Hi,I'm new to this platform and just getting acquainted with all that Goodreads has to offer. Good stuff. I'm author to a new series of books on helping people avoid becoming victim to online sca..."
Hey Kathleen,
Looks like you are doing grat stuff over there. Seems like interesting novels you have written. Could you leave me a link to your blog. I'de be interested in checking it out :) Best regards-Nic.
Hello all. My name is Carmel Harrington and I'm an author. I published my first novel Beyond Grace's Rainbow two weeks ago as an eBook. So far so good, it's doing very well. I have managed to stay in the top 10 in the fiction category of ITunes, spending almost a week at no 1. It's on sale with all the usual online retailers, including amazon and just recently Barnes and noble, I'm working on no2 right now, but have quite a few outlines done for further books. Writing is my passion, and I try my best to do something every day. With two small children - a two year old and 10 month old, that can be tricky some days! I found Goodreads after my husband googled my name and saw a discussion thread on my book! A surreal moment watching these wonderful people review my book! I wasn't sure whether to join in or just watch! I decided on the latter and am very grateful for their kind reviews and comments.
I have to say that after just a few days on Goodreads I am just loving the site. I can see this being my new addiction ... To add to Pinterest, Facebook and twitter!
I've placed a link to my novel and if you want to have a little preview the first few chapters are free on both iTunes and amazon. I think it's only fair to let a reader have a little taster before they spend their hard earned cash!
I'm looking forward to meeting both authors and readers here.
Carmel
Beyond Grace's Rainbow
Christine wrote: "It's nice to meet you Carmel"Thanks Christine, you too!
Here's the trailer for my book, which is currently the top rated Gay & Lesbian Nonfiction on Amazon:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnxh0j...
Loving getting more familiar with GR and the great people who participate here!
Jeremy
http://writermirandastork.wordpress.c...Hi! I just wanted to post the latest review of my novel 'Gypsy', a tale of murder and mystery spanning 30 years in the Peak district. It's given it 5 out of 5 and if you do buy it then please review it too!
It's great being part of the GR community - like mined people who love books. David Menon
Hi everyone! My name is Rachel Hanna, and I am a romance writer. I live just outside of Atlanta with my hubby, three kids, 2 dogs and a snooty outdoor cat. :) I work full-time as a writer, and my big dream one day is to take this show on the road by traveling all over the country in an RV. I do have several books published on Amazon Kindle with more to come!Rachel Hanna
www.RachelHannaRomance.com
Feel free to connect with me on Facebook and Twitter. You can do that through my website above.
One of my books: Second Chance - Tanner & Shannon
Hello!I'm Sylvia, and I write romance, usually m/m, and usually fantasy or paranormal.
I read the same sort of genres that I write in, am a fan of sci-fi and horror, anything that chills and thrills.
My published stories can be found on my author's page if anyone's interested. I have a new one coming out in November which is nice (:
Looking forward to browsing and getting to know this group.
Christine wrote: "It's nice to meet you Sylvia"Thank you (:
It's nice to meet you Alexandra and your welcome Sylvia
Hi, I'm Joyce Harmon, and I write. All sorts of things. I have two cozy mysteries available in ebook - Died On The Vine and Bidding On Death. I'm currently writing a Regency romance. Other than that... what can I say? Got a dog and two cats, and I'm trying to relearn the hula hoop.
Here's my Goodreads Author page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
And here's my blog:
http://joyceharmon.wordpress.com/
Hi everyone. My name's Raphyel, and I'm a YA sci-fi author. Beyond writing, I LOVE to draw and help out other authors with their writing careers. We're all in this thing together, after all! ^_^ Feel free to check out my site and blog. Nice to meet yaz! ^_^Site
http://www.raphyelmjordan.com/
Blog
http://raphyelmjordan.blogspot.com/
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