GoodReads and Real Bookstores
Shop local!
I am a terrible local Cambridge resident. This becomes more apparent every day, as I am continuously discovering things I knew were there, yet I didn’t really know were there. Like the independently owned bookstore under a mile from my house.
The store in question is called Porter Square Books, they have been in the same spot for a while, and I don’t believe I have ever made a purchase there. Worse, while perusing their shelves on Saturday I spotted three or four books I had to order online from Amazon because I couldn’t find them anywhere else. They also sell locally made pastries and coffee, promote local restaurants that serve locally-grown food, and there is a better than even chance the owner’s kids went to school with mine.
I was in there Saturday because I have a book to promote, as you may have heard. Which means I am not just a book-reader that ignored the local bookstore, I am the author that only walked into the local bookstore when there was something in it for him. I am a terrible person.
Anyway. I was hesitant to discuss Immortal with them initially, because the book will only be available from Amazon initially (on 10/1/10, did I mention? I did? Okay.) and won’t likely end up on shelves until a month or two after that. And while I’m sure the local bookstore wouldn’t mind promoting the local author, promoting the local author who says “yes, you can buy a copy online” probably wouldn’t fly.
Still, I asked: do they have a local author program? The answer, amusingly enough was, “it seems like one in four Cambridge residents are poets. Are you a poet?”
He seemed excited that I am not.
I’ll be looking into having Porter Square Books carry copies on consignment. More on this later.
GoodReads
Following one of the suggestions made on a blog last week about promoting myself online, more than one reader suggested setting up promotional giveaways on GoodReads. Great! I thought. What in the holy hell is GoodReads?
GoodReads is my new obsession. I’m just not sure I’m using it correctly. For instance:
DO list every book you’ve ever read, a process that can take months and annoy all of your Facebook friends when GoodReads starts randomly posting your listings without asking permission from you first;
DO sign up as a GoodReads Author so your readers can find you through your books;
DO NOT pimp your own books everywhere, as this is apparently tasteless on GoodReads despite being expected everywhere else on the Internet;
DO create a listing for your not-yet-released book to drum up early interest (add Immortal to your bookshelf here);
DO NOT write a review of the book yourself, even if that review is just a copy of your own website description and obviously so.
I’m getting the hang of it, though. DO follow/friend or fan me, or whatever it’s called there. I am set up as a GoodReads Author and welcome fans and friends, and I’m sure once we get closer to publication I’ll be hosting a few giveaways.
Ha! I’m wondering where you got your “DO NOT” list. If nothing else we get immediate feedback online.
Meanwhile, Porter Square Books sounds lovely.
My “DO NOT”s came from feedback I got after DOing them…