Help for authors timid about technology
Quick, what was the last book you read?
Not the last book you wrote. The last book you read.
If you can’t remember, you need to get online. GoodReads is a community of almost seven million readers who use the site to track their reading, share their reviews, and discover new favorite books. If you’ve written a book, it’s probably been mentioned, ranked, and reviewed on this site. As an author, you can list your works on your profile. It’s a great soft-approach to marketing your books that is natural and welcomed by most readers.
One favorite feature on GoodReads is the reading challenge. Members are encouraged to set a reading goal for the year. Every time they review a book or mark another one as read, the count goes up.
There are no prizes. No pats on the back. Just a broader knowledge base and the confidence that comes from hitting your goal. Any book counts – textbook, ebook, and good ol’ fashioned hardbound editions.
Three of our employees are on GoodReads. They serious about hitting their reading goals for this year.
- Thomas Umstattd, the CEO of Author Media has a goal to read 60 books this year.
- Sam Fagan, our lead designer, is keeping her goal secret for the time being.
- Caitlin Muir, our Social Media Specialist, wants to read 104 books this year.
At Author Media, we encourage reading within our community. There’s a bookshelf at the front of our office, full of books our employees are encouraged to read. Some of them are by business pundits and others by the authors we’ve built websites for. Why is there such an emphasis on reading? Reading helps your career. It doesn’t matter if you read fiction or non-fiction. When you read, you surround yourself with some of the best ideas.
As an author, reading sharpens your writing while teaching you about imagery, marketing, and the book publishing industry. If you don’t have a list of books to read, ask our Social Media Manager for her list of recommended reading.
What’s your reading goal for this year?
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60 is good. About 1 a week. If everyone read that many, I’d be happy.
Last novel book I read was Marcia Muller’s “Coming Back.” Also currently reading the non-fiction book, “The Writers Workout” by Christina Katz..It’s more a “few pages a day” kind of book.
I’m actually a member of Goodreads but I have no time to write down what I read. They fly by too quickly. I’d guess 200 or more. Seems crazy, but I always have a book going. Now some, I skim read because they aren’t great. And occasionally, I’ll do nothing but read for a week or two.
Reading re-energizes me.
Reading is a wonderful way to recharge, especially after a day in front of the computer screen!
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