THE Group for Authors! discussion
General Discussion
>
New "How to Use the Author Program" Page
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Patrick
(new)
Aug 10, 2010 11:44AM
To answer some of the most frequently asked questions from authors, as well as to provide some helpful tips to make your Goodreads experience that much better, we've created the How To Use the Author Program page. It is linked from the general Author Program informational page, and it provides information and tips about every aspect of the Author Program. It is essential reading for every Goodreads Author. Check it out!
reply
|
flag
I noticed it earlier today, and I think it's pretty cool.
Help, please. I'm trying desperately to find the author dashboard but simply can't. Do I need to add a widget? I've searched and looked at groups but just can't find this info. Thanks.Eve
Eve wrote: "Help, please. I'm trying desperately to find the author dashboard but simply can't. Do I need to add a widget? I've searched and looked at groups but just can't find this info. Thanks.Eve"
It doesn't look like you're a Goodreads Author, Eve. The only people with access to the Author Dashboard are Goodreads Authors. Once you join the Author Program, it appears in the upper right-hand corner of your homepage.
Eve, I just approved you as a Goodreads Author. If you sign out and sign back into the site, you should see the link to your dashboard in the upper right-hand part of the page.
Patrick, Thank you so much. I thought I had joined the program, but obviously hadn't. I appreciate the quick response and have already found it and started a blog.
I tried to create a giveaway of The Peeper, but so far it doesn't appear on the suspense giveaways list. When I open it, I see the following messages:book giveaway for The Peeper
Note: This giveaway is pending your verification. resend verification email
Note: This giveaway is pending approval by the Goodreads staff.
I registered the giveaway on Aug 18. I don't know what to do. Can you advise?
Ellis wrote: "I tried to create a giveaway of The Peeper, but so far it doesn't appear on the suspense giveaways list. When I open it, I see the following messages:book giveaway for The Peeper
Note: This give..."
When a giveaway is pending verification, that means that the person listing it (the author, usually) hasn't verified the details of the giveaway. After you posted it, you should've gotten an email asking you to click on a link that says "I AGREE TO THE TERMS..." Did you receive that email? If not, I can send it to you again. But every giveaway needs to be verified before we will even look at it to approve it.
I think I clicked on it but it was at the bottom of a form. I haven't gotten any emails about it. Please send it again.Thanks!
Ellis
Ellis wrote: "I think I clicked on it but it was at the bottom of a form. I haven't gotten any emails about it. Please send it again.Thanks!
Ellis"
The form is the first step, but we actually make you confirm again that everything is okay with your giveaway. Once on the form, and once via email. I just sent it to you again, so be on the lookout.
I'm wondering if this is the kind of thing they will want us to do (it's real, by the way, a CONTEST for WRITING!!)Friends and Followers of Welwyn Wilton Katz: Test your Precis skills against millions from goodreads, facebook and twitter!
For details of contest, where to post your entry, deadlines, and prizes, please go to
welwynsworld
or, in case I didn't do the html correctly:
http://bit.ly/bgGRpZ
or, as a last resort:
http://welwynsworld.blogspot.com and look for the Contest Post. You must post your entries *there* along with all other contestants from Twitter and Facebook. Read contest rules carefully. Thank you, my friends!
Patrick, is it possible to let the group that entered a giveaway AFTER the giveaway has ended to let them know of an upcoming Author Q&A? My giveaway has ended--very successful! and I want to let the participants know I'll be holding a Q&A soon. Any thoughts?
Nadine wrote: "Patrick, is it possible to let the group that entered a giveaway AFTER the giveaway has ended to let them know of an upcoming Author Q&A? My giveaway has ended--very successful! and I want to let t..."Messaging or otherwise interacting with the entrants of a giveaway is frequently requested, but not currently possible. I usually recommend that if you want to do something like that -- use a giveaway to promote a Q&A group -- that you plan very far in advance so that your group is set up prior to listing the giveaway. That way, you link to the group in the description of your giveaway (and maybe vise versa). But unfortunately, once the giveaway is over, that ship has sailed, so to speak.
Right-o. Thanks. When I set up the giveaway I was still feeling my way through the options. I'll hold the Q&A anyway. I let the winners know that one was coming at the beginning of November. Even a small group would make for interesting discussion.Cheers,
N
Hi Patrick,I've been wanting to do a promotion for my DTP books, but so far, have seen where you don't patronise this for Authors. Do you know if this is something you'll provide for us in the future? I have a new novel making its debut on Thanksgiving Day, and wanted to offer a promotion to hype it to get people interested NOW, before it's time.
Also, are there other ways I can get the public involved that don't require a giveaway?
Thanks.
Carla wrote: "Hi Patrick,I've been wanting to do a promotion for my DTP books, but so far, have seen where you don't patronise this for Authors. Do you know if this is something you'll provide for us in the..."
I'm not familiar with the term DTP. Is that a kind of ebook? If so, then, yes, the giveaways are off-limits for now, unfortunately. We are exploring ebook giveaways, but I don't have any kind of timetable for when they might become available.
As for alternative methods of promotion, you could always run your own giveaway and promote it via your blog. You could also create an event and invite people to it. Events don't have to actually happen in the real world, they can be online only, so you could do a pre-launch online thing.
You could also take out a small self-serve ad (like the Sponsored Book ads you see on the side of most pages) and direct people to your book page where you can offer a free preview of your book. Previews or excerpts are a really great tool to stoke interest in a book, especially now that you can read them in our iPhone app.
(If I've misconstrued the term DTP book, please let me know what it means, and I can offer some more suggestions.)
Patrick wrote: "I'm not familiar with the term DTP. Is that a kind of ebook?"Sorry. DTP (as opposed to DTB--Dead Tree Books) is Digital Text Platform, and is the new buzz word for any kind of digital book, which can be differentiated from the old form, eBook. I only have an eBook format through the Meatgrinder at Smashwords, but other than that, my books are available in nearly every platform for digital: Kindle, Nook, Blackberry, Android, iPhone, iPad, .pdf, javascript, .html, etc.
I already have blog postings fed here, so perhaps a free preview would be a good idea.
But, any other suggestions I'm open to.
Thanks.
Hello Patrick and anyone else who can read this (grin).Yep I'm an author and my work is published. I would like to learn more about the site and this group.
Any help in moving around here would very much be appreciated.
Geri
My co-author and I would like to somehow link our author pages so that we can both read posts by our readers. Is this possible? Please advise!
Susan wrote: "My co-author and I would like to somehow link our author pages so that we can both read posts by our readers. Is this possible? Please advise!"Unfortunately, no, there isn't. Each author profile is for an individual only. But both of you can be listed as authors on the same book, that way you can both see the stats on how many people have added, etc. Is that what you're talking about? You should both be able to read reviews of your books, just as any user can.
I just created a Q&A group about our book. I will invite my co-author to join and then she will be able to read others' comments. We want to use this as a vehicle to respond to our readers.Thank you for your quick reply Patrick.
Susan wrote: "I just created a Q&A group about our book. I will invite my co-author to join and then she will be able to read others' comments. We want to use this as a vehicle to respond to our readers.Than..."
Yep, that will work. You can also both be moderators of the group, if you like.
Ah - how do I add my co-author as a moderator of the Q&A group? Please advise!
Ah - how do I add my co-author as a moderator of the Q&A group? Please advise!
Once she's joined, if you go to the page to "members" (over on the right-hand side of the page), you should see a little link under every member that says "make moderator." Click that and you should be set.
As a newcomer to the digital age I am grateful for the information that has helped me set up a page. It took a few tries so I sympathize with other messages of frustration!
