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Goodreads

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
newbie question here: would Goodreads be a nice place to find beta readers and form non-pro writing groups?

The goodreads community is very large so one of its key features is a "Groups" system that I've found difficult to navigate. Communities of that size tend to fumble a bit when it comes to identifying which people you can trust.

I read once that successful leaders identify the right people and connect with them one-by-one throughout their lives and then reach out to them when they need to put together their team. That's just how difficult it can be to find the people you can trust. Short of that, you can try places like goodreads, but you're going to have to keep trying, with a lot of trial and error, to find the people who are right for you.
 

Rkcapps

Sage
I agree, Goodreads is such a large community, it's daunting and time consuming. I know interacting with your readers is recommended but you don't get readers without writing!
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
In truth, I spend more time on this forum than I do at Goodreads. The conversations there just don't draw me in. I always feel (I'm in several groups) that I'm at someone else's party. Here, I feel at home. I also feel at home over at Fantasy Faction and at SFF Chronicles, but the conversations there are briefer.

I also frequent Writer's Cafe on Kboards, but that place is more like meeting someone at Grand Central Station. It's pretty noisy.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
So let's turn this around a little bit . . . .

For those of you on goodreads, how do you use it? Are there blogs or groups or specific features that you'd recommend?
 

Chessie2

Staff
Article Team
I've tried to use it but readers seem to hate my books on there so...I...ran back out the door!
 

Rkcapps

Sage
I have the author page for reviews and I keep track of the books I'm reading/have read. I joined the forum but they're too huge to get my head around.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
There are a zillion groups, many of them moribund. I hang out in a few but have found them to be little more than marginally useful or interesting. I think they would be more so if I were an active reader of current fiction.
 
So let's turn this around a little bit . . . .

For those of you on goodreads, how do you use it? Are there blogs or groups or specific features that you'd recommend?

I just track what I read. Also I keep track of books I want to read in the future and follow authors I like.
 

Rkcapps

Sage
I agree Slipknox, although I'm not an active reader that, for me, doesn't mean I don't read, I'm just not as voracious as I once was. Most of my time I'd rather spend discovering my own stories. So, it needs to be one fine book to catch my attention! Makes me a hard taskmaster of my own work.
 

Chessie2

Staff
Article Team
Does anyone use it to post reviews?
Totally. I've heard from other authors that it's not a good idea to one star but I say jack that. We're still readers, aren't we? I do my best to leave reviews but am not going to like every book I read.

As an aside, if you guys are ever down for some entertainment, reading book reviews on Goodreads is a hilarious way to kill the time. Bad reviews/ratings on my work doesn't bother me and I've been decimated before. With that said, some readers leave entertaining reviews. J/s.
 
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