Goodreads Goodness: Encourage Reviews

As an author, I am increasingly impressed with Goodreads as a promotion site. I noticed this more as a reader than a writer. As someone who encourages readers to leave reviews of the books they read on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads, I find as a reader the easiest way to do so is by taking advantage of the tools on my Kindle Fire.

First, I choose a book on my reader.








 Once I open the book, the following About This Book message shows in the right-hand corner. Sometimes I need to scroll down to find the Goodreads button. But, it is a favor to the book's author when I click on Mark as Currently Reading. It not only shows on my Goodreads feed that I am reading the book, it triggers email notifications to all my Goodreads followers about the book I am reading.

Have I ever bought books based on what another reader among my Goodreads friends has chosen to read? You bet.

Sometimes the information in the window will give an indication on how long the book will take to read. Even if the book is a six hour book and I decide I want to read a book that is estimated to take me about two hours, I still select Mark as Currently Reading because if I close the book and open it again later when I'm prepared to delve into a longer story, that About This Book window does not reappear.  

If I then go over into my Goodreads home page -- Ta! Da! -- there are the two books I marked as currently reading on my Kindle Fire.

It does not end there. Once I finish reading the book, it is an easy process to get my book review up on Goodreads as well as Amazon. At the every end of the book, I keep scrolling until I reach a Before You Go... page that looks like this:

I activate it to leave a review by first clicking on the STARS to give the story I just read a rating:

 

Once I do that, up pops windows for a review title and the review itself along with a keyboard. 

All Amazon requires for a review is twenty-five words. Not many. That is within the capability of those readers who don't consider themselves good writers. Yet those twenty-five words mean so much to the author of the book the reader just read. That review not only goes on Amazon, but it goes on the author's Goodreads account. 

It doesn't stop there. Next week I'll discuss some other benefits of authors and readers having and maintaining a Goodreads account.

Please visit and follow Zina Abbott on Goodreads by CLICKING HERE.

Zina Abbott is the pen name used by Robyn Echols for her historical novels. My novel, Family Secrets, was published by Fire Star Press.

Please visit and follow the Zina Abbott’s Amazon Author Page by CLICKING HERE.  

And, please, when  you finish reading my books, leave a review.