Use Goodreads to market your author brand

Here are some easy ways to promote yourself on Goodreads without freaking out about reviews. It’s simple, easy, and might even be fun.

Authors seem scared of Goodreads. My guess is because 1.) It’s a place where people who don’t know you can judge your books; 2.) reviews on Goodreads lean to harsh – a book that might get 4 stars on Amazon will get 3 there. You can bank on losing at least one star, maybe two (that’s my thought on it); and 3.) you’re reading reviews by people you don’t know! Scary!

Goodreads is owned by Amazon, and they are now showing your GR ratings next to your Amazon ratings if you are signed into Amazon. So you may want to ignore Goodreads, but Goodreads isn’t going to ignore you.

If you are publishing as a hobby, fine, forget Goodreads.

Do realize that once you put a book out for public consumption, people WILL review it and they may not like it. If this really bothers you, I would NOT put it up at a public bookseller platform like Amazon and just distribute it privately to friends and family.

What can you expect from Goodread Reviewers?

At Goodreads you will find a lot of folks who love reviewing and will give their opinion about your book, whether you want it or not! If your book is on a public bookselling platform you are putting it out there for criticism, so eventually it will be reviewed on Goodreads. Unless it doesn’t sell, which is a whole ‘nother problem.

The reality is that Goodread reviews can be harsh and you may not want to wade into all of that. So I will show you how to keep your sanity as you navigate through the Goodreads platform.

Why does a book get low-starred reviews?

Do I get horrid reviews? Sure do, especially those hit-and-run throw out a low star rating but with no comment BS that Amazon now allows. But those are not the majority of my reviews.

If most of your reviews are horrible, I strongly suggest you review the most common problems:

The book formatting is wrong and makes it hard to read. I’ve even seen traditional publishers get it wrong and garble up the formatting. If this is the problem, get it fixed ASAP, and hire a professional if need be.
You never got the book professionally edited/proofread and there are obvious grammatical errors that are grating on a reader’s nerves. Using reign (royal rule) for rein (part of a bridle) drives me up a wall.
Your book didn’t meet the reader’s expectation because of the book cover and description didn’t match the content. For example, you have a sweet cover to your romance and it gets steamy. DING. Your book has a starship galaxy cover and it’s nothing but an erotic romance with no space battles. DING.
You didn’t get the genre tropes right, and thus didn’t meet expectations. I made this mistake with my College Fae series.
The book has structural problems that the reader can’t get over, such as it is poorly structured and plotted. I’m sorry, but bad writing deserves low star reviews.

Most of these things can be fixed easily – hire a proofreader or a formatter. Research book descriptions (I mean you ARE a writer, right?), and make sure your cover, description, and categories fit what readers expect. Go on TikTok or other social media and see what book trends and tropes reviewers are discussing.

If you have a badly written book, my recommendation is 1.) get into a writer’s group (that is the cheapest way to learn); 2.) find a mentor; 3.) use ProWritingAid (I recommend it over Grammarly); 4.) take a college course in creative writing (this can even be done online now); and/or 5.) be critical about your writing.

Okay, you’ve done all that, but you are still getting bad reviews: FORGET ABOUT THEM!

If reading reviews bothers you, install a gatekeeper, such as a PA (Personal Assistant), friend, or partner, to screen them. This is the easiest way to stay away from reading criticism about your book.

ARC groups on Goodreads

There are some groups on Goodreads where you can post about giving out an ARC of your book. An ARC is an Advance Reader Copy.

Each group has its own policies, so be sure to read up before announcing your presence. I also recommend searching the Goodreads Community for groups specific to your genre and interests.

After dipping into these groups, just be aware that some are no longer moderated, and that they are filled with authors looking for readers, and not as many readers as you might expect. Do check them out, but don’t rely upon only these groups to get the word out about your book.

Encourage readers to review you on Goodreads

Because Amazon has so many review policies, some readers don’t want to review on that platform, but they will review on Goodreads. I’ve run into many reviewers who simply won’t review on a bookseller platform but will post a lengthy article on Goodreads.

Be sure to let your readers and your ARC team know that you would love a review on Goodreads.
Link to Goodreads at the back of your book matter where you politely ask for reviews.
In your marketing materials about your new release (social media posts, news releases) be sure to encourage readers to review on Goodreads.
Mention Goodreads in your author newsletter and encourage reviews there.
If using NetGalley or Booksirens, list Goodreads as an acceptable place for reviews.

How to find top-starred reviews for your books on Goodreads

I love seeing my books pile up on Goodreads! On your profile page it shows how many books, ratings (these are star-only), reviews (with text), and the average rating of all your books together as well as individually.

The order they are listed though is based on the number of reviews and I do wish Goodreads gave you more control over this as the Madame Chalamet book series is all scattered.

Remember, once a book goes up on a selling platform you need to claim it on Goodreads.

First, realize your ratings/reviews may be higher or lower here than at Amazon.

People have their preferred places to review, so don’t get worked up about the numbers being different.

Another thing to realize is that I’ve seen mainstream, popular authors get an average of 3.5 on their books on Goodreads. The MORE reviews you get, the more likely your average will go down. Understanding that upfront makes it a bit easier to deal with it.

There is an easy way to find the latest reviews from anyone, and AVOID looking at low star reviews.

Go to your profile page and click on one of your books. At the top, click on reviews.

Ratings are star rankings given without a written review. You want to click on 5 stars.

After you click on 5 stars, it will give you a pop up asking you to set your filters. Once this is done, all you will see is 5 star reviews, which you can scan through without crying.

Don’t bother with the 3 star and under. Those people are not your fans.

When to respond to Goodread Reviews of your book

Repeat after me, I will only reply to Goodread Reviews that are four and five star. PERIOD.

Now you can scroll through the good stuff, and hit “like” and make short, positive, comment to readers on the 5 STARS. I do like the 4 STARS but I often don’t comment. That’s a personal choice to make, however, realize that SOME reviewers only give 5 star ratings to PERFECT books, so often a 4 star rating can be just as good as a 5 star when they write what they loved about your book.

Why go to all this time and trouble? Because they reviewed you! You want to build that relationship with those fans. Real relationships build business for your books!

BTW this doesn’t need to take up your day. I check about twice a week for new reviews and respond if need be. Once I respond that shows up in my feed, letting followers know that I interact with my fans. As well as giving them more reviews of my books to see!

Networking with Goodread Reviewers (caution!)

Goodreads reviews can be harsh. If you are ready to wade into the water, here are some ideas on finding reviewers. Scrolling down, I do the same as I did for my own reviews and so select reviews, 5 stars, and see who I want to follow OR see who they are reviewing to find MORE COMPS.

Tips on finding Goodread accounts to follow (not friend):

Find a comp book – a book your readers would like that isn’t written by you.
Preferably these are well-reviewed, written by mid-to-big sized authors who have a good following;
Books with over 500 reviews are a good starting point. I prefer 1,000s as it improves the algorithm of what you will find.
Select the 4 and 5 star reviewers (like I showed you for my own book).
Scan down and investigate the accounts that leave TEXT REVIEWS.
Don’t look at everyone. Pick reviewers who would like your book.
Especially find ones that are active on Goodreads. Some accounts go dormant.
If they seem to review a lot of books like yours, FOLLOW THEM (please don’t Friend them!).
Start interacting with them by commenting on their reviews (only post honest and positive comments).
If you immediately ask for a review, you will probably see seen as a pushy shark and be ignored or earn ill will.
AFTER building a relationship with them between weeks to months, ask if they would be interested in reviewing something of yours.

Finding Comps and networking with other authors

Goodreads is a good place for finding Comps. These are other books or authors whose readers would like what I write.

One way you can research this is to look at your own book and see what the “also read” is up in the right side. Goodreads no longer does this. Bummer. But you can find something similar at Amazon when you look below our book, you’ll find “buyers who bought this book also bought.” Not always very accurate, but a place to start if finding comps confuses you.

What is more helpful to me is finding a book which I think is a Comp and look at who reviewed it. I only scan through the 4 and 5 star reviews.

This is a book that I’ve read and enjoyed. I think it is comparable to my Historical Fairytale Romance series:

Some guidelines when networking with other authors:

Form a relationship by liking, commenting, etc…
Read and review their books (if you can honestly give 4/5 stars)
Don’t ask them to read or review your book.
Be real and friendly, not fake and demanding.
If you REALLY know them, politely approach about recommending each other.

Reviewing other Authors on Goodreads

Like Bookbub, your author name is attached to any reviews you do of other people’s books. That is why, to preserve your reputation, do NOT post book reviews unless you can HONESTLY give them 4-5 stars.

Like Bookbub, I try to review on Goodreads books I think my readers would also like to read.

This helps me establish myself as an authority, and helps with networking with authors who may write things that have the same readers as I do. On Goodreads, I give my longest reviews. I take a shortened version, change a few words and use it at Bookbub. This gives me a twofer on social media with little effort on my part.

Join groups on Goodreads aimed at uniting Authors with Readers

If you are ready to wade in deeper with Goodreads, they have a Community with online forums (under Community > Groups. Some are geared towards distributing Betas and ARCs to readers or are specific to a type of genre.

Like all online groups, be polite.

Read the group rules and follow them.
If you don’t like the rules, or the group won’t work for you, leave. You don’t have to announce leaving.
Take some time to feel out the group before jumping in with your comments or needs.
I usually post replies for about a week or two before starting a new post.
Don’t get into fights with readers (do I need to remind you of this?)

Goodreads is where the readers are at! Especially those that review and are willing to share their reading habits. It’s full of treasure and will help you find Comps, engage fans, and find reviewers. Shouldn’t you be there?

How to set up your Goodreads Author page and what you can do with it is dealt with in a previous blog.

Need more advice for writing, publishing, or marketing your book? Check out my Writer’s Life blog posts. You can also subscribe to the blog to know when I publish another one in the Writer-help series.