Goodreads has become one of the very best and most effective ways for authors to promote their books.   It is a way to engage with your readers – or possible readers – that few other social media sites can offer.   Here is a sheet of important advice on best practices for authors, compiled by Goodreads.

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Best Practices for Authors

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1. Claim your Goodreads Author profile.

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This is the first step  to take control of your profile, promote your work, and connect with readers.

• Create a user account, then find your author profile.

• Scroll to the bottom of your author profile page.

• Click "Is this you? Let us know" to submit the application.

• We will verify that it's really you and notify you when you're approved.

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2. Set up and edit your profile.

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Make a great first impression and tell readers who you are. The five fundamental things to do here:

• Upload an official author photo.

• Add a bio to tell readers about yourself.

• Add your Twitter username.

• Create or import a blog.

• Ensure your book metadata is correct. (If it's not, email us at support@goodreads.com).

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3. Visit your author dashboard: www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

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This is your home base for your entire author program needs - Ask the Author, stats, widgets, giveaways, advertising, how-to pages, groups, and more. Check in on this weekly.

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Six Ways to Have a Great Goodreads Experience

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1. Take questions from readers by enabling the Ask the Author module on the dashboard.

2. Talk about books (and not just your own!). Readers love to see what their favorite authors are reading, so rate, review, and shelve your favorite books on a regular basis.

3. Schedule a giveaway to drive awareness of your book.

4. Join a group that interests you and start connecting with readers. Be sure to join as a reader and not simply to talk about your book.

5. Invite friends to join you on Goodreads. Use the import tool to find people you already know from Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, and more.

6. Be gracious to your fans. Do net engage in activity that might be perceived as spam.

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Read (and Watch!) These Resources

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Help link: www.goodreads.com/help/list/author_program

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How to link: www.goodreads.com/author/how_to

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Guidelines link: www.goodreads.com/author/guidelines

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Marketing on Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/videos/70533-marketing0-your-book-on-goodreads

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For questions about the Author Program, contact Cynthia Shannon at scynthia@goodreads.com

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