A
few weeks ago I finally joined the writing and reading website Goodreads, and I
really wish I had joined sooner. Goodreads is pretty much a giant online book
club full of many many groups of smaller book clubs. As a reader you can join
the groups that appeal to your tastes and join in the discussions on things you’ve
read or are reading. It also provides a platform for authors to share their work.
It took me so long to join because at times
I can be a cynical and non-progressive person and I find the bombardment of
social media and social websites a struggle. With the likes of Twitter,
Facebook, Snap-chat, Instergram etc etc I often wonder how anyone has time to
even look out the window. I understand the appeal of these fun and creative ways
of interacting, and their benefits for networking too, but from a social point
of view I would rather go visit someone or just have a call than get lost in
the ether of interacting through the variety of technology available. This is
why I tend to stay clear of most of the above mentioned ways of interacting. I
just feel if I try to keep on top of more than facebook and my bog I’ll lose
myself in the internet.
This is why it has taken me a long time to
join up to Goodreads, but it has proven worth wile from a social and marketing
point of view. I have already made a couple of new friends on there who are
like minded and this is nice. As an author it has also seemed to prove very
effective, but it is still early days. On Goodreads there are a number of tools to
help authors reach new readers. One of these tools is a book Giveaway. For my
birthday I decided to giveaway some copies of The Book of Prophecy that I hadn’t
sold yet. In about 48 hours the giveaway had 686 people enter. This is awesome
considering I was worried I wouldn’t even get 1 person enter. In a simple book
giveaway that’s 686 people who have now seen the cover and know the title of my
book. I have sent the copies to those who won and I
really hope they enjoy The Book of Prophecy. I do have an idea for a follow up giveaway
and promotion and I’ll put a post up of how that goes when I’ve done it.
It appears my fear of some social media needs
to be worked through as there are so many opportunities because of the amazing
technology we have. It’s just learning to give it a go and if it proves
effective stick with it and if not to move on.
