There’s been much discussion among authors regarding Goodreads. The essence of the chatter seems to come down to the question: is this site good or bad for authors?

The writers who dislike Goodreads have apparently been burned by bad reviews. Some go so far as to label them “author bullying” when they focus on the writer rather than the book. Even a non-writer called some reviews “vitriolic.”

http://bit.ly/DesireVamp

The pro-Goodreads authors are those, like me, who feel that any publicity is good. We know that some folks will read a negative review and think, “Well, I won’t bother with that,” while others will respond with, “I don’t believe everything I read, and I like this sort of book so I’m going to check it out.”

A while back, TPTB at one of the Goodreads groups were kind enough to feature one of my books as their group read. I had high hopes for this venture, envisioning hundreds of faithful Goodreads followers snatching up my book (thus elevating my royalties and enabling me to pay my VISA bill) and starting lively online discussions about the characters, their conflicts and, of course, about my fantastic writing.

What I got was…nothing, nada, zilch. I don’t remember observing either a jump in sales or any meaningful discussions. (But heck, that could be due to memory loss LOL).

A number of people think that Goodreads is a real influencer. Jeff Bezos must, as Amazon recently purchased Goodreads (which is more of a commentary on Shelfari than anything else IMO).

We’ll see. As my British-born mom says, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

So, while I’m delighted and honored that Desire in Tartan is this week’s group read, I’m keeping expectations lowered while hope is rising. After all, hope springs eternal, right. Or is that…infernal?

Your blog hostess:

Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal,

Suz deMello

mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.

Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.

A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.

–Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com

–For editing services, email her at [email protected]

–Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sueswift, and visit her group page at  https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe

–She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello

–Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/

–Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads