I've actually heard people say they were pulling reviews both on Amazon and Goodreads. I wasn't clear on their reasons but it seemed they thought others would take offense at them. I noticed on one of my books recently it says there are 15 reviews but I can only find 14. I've stopped fretting about these sorts of things. As long as book sales stay decent, I just need to focus on writing and promotion.Caddy said:Perhaps those people have decided not to reviewe any books and took their reviews off, too. Who knows? I don't know why they would pull reviews they had already done, but then I don't know why people do a lot of things...
Maybe some of the "hilarious" mob takedowns are bad for business?1. Goodreads becomes a bookseller.
This one is a bit more than a prediction. I have spoke with three sources familiar with the matter (though none of them are at the company) that have given me credible background on the matter: Goodreads, the massive social network dedicated to books and readers, will turn into a bookseller in 2013. When I asked founder and CEO Otis Chandler about it earlier this year, he said "not yet." When I approached the company with my information and asked for comment, a spokesperson told me, "We don't comment on rumors or speculation."
Fair enough and time will tell but let's think about this for a second. Why not?
The company has more than 12 million registered users who are all there for books and reading - they share book recommendations, find out about new titles and build massive lists of books they intend to buy and read. It already drives a lot of book sales at partner retailers through affiliate links. And it has great relationships with publishers (aka, suppliers) that it can leverage to build stock. So, why wouldn't the company try to sell books?
Well, for one, it's risky. Goodreads would likely be giving up its affiliate revenue to go after this and what if people don't buy? Second, it doesn't currently sell an e-reading device, so for ebooks, at least, it needs to sell through an app (and give a cut to Apple or Google) or sell files that users will upload to another device. Not a great user experience, though some booksellers are doing it (unless it sold or gave away an e-reading device - not so far-fetched as the costs of those devices approach $0). And on the print side, there are a lot of logistics issues the company would have to solve.
That said, it's happening, folks. So get ready for a bookseller born of the social media era in 2013.
If you edit your details you can refresh the data on your ratings (link to do that is on the right side of the edit page). I do this like once a week. Sometimes that little graph updates correctly when I get a new review, and sometimes not. It takes like 2 seconds and then everything is current.Italiahaircolor said:The reviews I have on Goodreads are all messed up. It says I have 18 rating ... but if you click the "rating details" only 9 show up.
It's a quirky little site.
I put up samples just last night and it worked beautifully. You can adjust the sample percentage on the fly, too. It says in the FAQ that you will see the entire sample if it is your book. You need to log in on a different account and check. Where it says 'End of Excerpt', it really is the end of the excerpt that is viewable by others.Dalya said:hmmm
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremygreenfield/2012/12/21/three-predictions-for-book-publishing-in-2013/
Maybe some of the "hilarious" mob takedowns are bad for business?
eta: Indies can sell books there right now, I believe. I tried it last year, but had some serious issues with the sampling giving out the entire book, so I just gave up.
The system was buggy at the time we tried it. Another author (T.S. Welti, I think) had the same issue. It was at a specific time, so may have been temporary, but it was enough to turn me off. I am not against selling there, of course! I probably will, once/if they get going.Victoria Champion said:I put up samples just last night and it worked beautifully. You can adjust the sample percentage on the fly, too. It says in the FAQ that you will see the entire sample if it is your book. You need to log in on a different account and check. Where it says 'End of Excerpt', it really is the end of the excerpt that is viewable by others.
I was disappointed to see they were no longer accepting sellers. I hope they do indeed bring the option back.
