Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

So one thing I didn't really ever think about when I was working on getting published was the idea that I'd have opportunity to talk to people who read my book (that I didn't know). I knew it was out there but I just didn't dwell on it much. In the last week or so I've had opportunity to exchange emails with one of my Goodreads giveaway winners and it's been a wonderful experience. I include a note to the winners and give them my email address in case they have any comments or problems and it was wonderful to hear from this reader. The prospect of future conversations with readers is exciting to say the least.

Has anyone else had great experiences with readers like this?

There are two philosophies about this. There are readers who are happily discussing a work and then are disconcerted when the author suddenly appears. It inhibits them. The other end of the spectrum of course is when the readers happily hail the presence of the author and pile in with tons of questions and comment.

Yeah, this was a case of the reader actually reaching out to me. I think I'm too "shy" to go bug readers I don't know. I was invited to meet with a book club that read my book and that was really enjoyable as well, but I already knew many of those people. This email exchange felt different.

I think one of the most exciting things in this 'business' is having true fans that like your book so much they add it to a listopia and join goodreads and rave about it to their friends. Like J.D. said, it means more when you don't know them at all, for some reason. When it's personal friends it I usually feel like they're just trying to do me a favor, or I wonder if they would have liked the books as much if they didn't go into them already intending to like them.

I am proud to say, reviews alone from strangers that have no obligation to enjoy your book is a reward. I forgot all about my twitter account that I rarely use and decided to check it one day and found out that a reader had asked when book two for one of my series would be out. I was thrilled that someone contacted me and I replied giving them an expected time frame and they told me they were "begging for more!" I was on cloud nine at that moment and to top it off, they favorited my comment/tweet!

I have stopped leaving thank you comments on reviews (no matter what the star), but with all the bullying, I figured better safe than sorry.

I have a 'standing invitation' in the back matter of all my books for readers to contact me if they want to give feedback or just give unwarranted praise. :)

And, yes, I had contact with readers, even went for coffee with readers who came over to Amsterdam from Scotland, and it's incredibly gratifying to find your work appreciated by 'strangers'.

Vicki wrote: "Wow, Martyn, you have groupies. Well done."

Well, they don't want to have sex with me, so they're not groupies. Fans, perhaps. Followers, maybe.

That's cool. Let's not call them groupies, though.

Martyn V. wrote: "I have a 'standing invitation' in the back matter of all my books for readers to contact me if they want to give feedback or just give unwarranted praise. :)

And, yes, I had contact with readers, ..."

I'm not sure I could pull that off. I am a "people person." I like people, but I'm somewhat introverted and hate to be the center of attention, especially of an admiring group, which I would surely disappoint. Kudos, Martyn, on being able to handle it.

Vicki wrote: "I agree, bad choice. Its quite amazing that people came all the way from Scotland to see you though, or were they visiting Amsterdam anyway?"

Whole story:

I was contacted by a Hindustani woman who wrote me an email:

I don't usually write to authors but felt I had to after seeing your contact details at the end of Reprobate! I discovered your book after my Husband recommended it to me. He was on a website called cracked.com and read your comments about crime with interest, this was in response to someone else. After which, he looked up the details of your book on Google and showed me. I love Crime books but find the majority to be too formulaic, predictable and when you're reading a series, it can get boring. Not so with your book, I cannot wait to read the second one! It's really refreshing to discover an author and a series that delivers on so many levels!

She went on in detail about what she like about my books (I won't bore you with that), she'd been to Amsterdam several times and her husband would take her there soon to celebrate her birthday. She also suggested that I should think about giving 'Katla Tours' to the various locations from the books.

I thanked her for the compliments and offered to free up some time to take her and her husband for coffee if they'd be in Amsterdam.

So I met this lovely Scottish couple and we had a lovely afternoon talking about books and movies, and she asked my autograph, which was weird because nobody ever asked me for that. So I gave her an autographed Loki Enterprises business card, and she has since become one of my beta readers.

As I live in the Netherlands and I'm not able to go to these U.S. writer conferences, I enjoy talking to readers if they come over to Amsterdam.

A few months before I met the Scottish couple, a UK physician (who often visited Amsterdam) contacted me to tell me how much he loved my books and I enjoy talking to readers, so I had a coffee with him and took him around Amsterdam on my Vespa.

I guess that's also one of the advantages for readers that I'm not widely read with millions of fans, because at this moment in my life I will personally answer emails from readers. I can understand if you get tons of fanmail every day that you won't be able to respond in person anymore.

Ken wrote: "Martyn V. wrote: "I have a 'standing invitation' in the back matter of all my books for readers to contact me if they want to give feedback or just give unwarranted praise. :)

And, yes, I had cont..."

In that situation the best bet is probably to ask the 'supportive readers:)' about themselves and find out what they are into. It would impress them that you want to know about them and keep you from feeling awkward. They'd go home telling their friends, "Can you believe I had coffee with Ken! He was so down to earth and friendly!"

Ken wrote: "I'm not sure I could pull that off. I am a "people person." I like people, but I'm somewhat introverted and hate to be the center of attention, especially of an admiring group, which I would surely disappoint. Kudos, Martyn, on being able to handle it."

My 'other job' is giving courses and seminars in Pre-Conflict Control, so I'm used to 'public speaking' and teaching people 'assertivity', 'situational awareness', and how to fold people who become physically aggressive. Although I have to say that, while I'm not a shy person, people gushing over your work can be 'intimidating', because you don't want to spoil their perception of 'the author'.

What also amazes me sometimes is that I speak to people who are in the top of their chosen profession, who tell me how awed they are that I can create these stories they enjoyed so much. Meanwhile these people make more in a day than I make in a year and are highly respected by others in their field. I don't know how to respond to their compliments, other than with a simple 'thank you'.

R.A. wrote: "In that situation the best bet is probably to ask the 'supportive readers:)' about themselves and find out what they are into. It would impress them that you want to know about them and keep you from feeling awkward. They'd go home telling their friends, "Can you believe I had coffee with Ken! He was so down to earth and friendly!""

Exactly. Where is the 'Like' button?

Martyn V. wrote: "Ken wrote: "I'm not sure I could pull that off. I am a "people person." I like people, but I'm somewhat introverted and hate to be the center of attention, especially of an admiring group, which I ..."

That sounds interesting. Did you ever read . If so, is it a similar method? I know I'm getting off topic, but that kind of thing intrigues me.

Martyn V. wrote: "I don't know how to respond to their compliments, other than with a simple 'thank you'."

That's pretty much all you need, as long as you're sincere and make eye contact when you say it. I usually add: 'I'm really glad you enjoyed it.'

I get a fair bit of attention locally for my acting, so I've sort of learned to deal with it. Any interaction that follows that initial enthusiasm is usually pretty conversational. If it's someone who's talking about my acting, they ask how I learn my lines. If it's someone talking about my writing (VERY rare), they usually ask where I get my ideas. And I'm just as polite and friendly as I can possibly be, until they've had enough.

I go home feeling very elated, because I'm an awful show-off at heart, and I love all the attention. And as I love the attention so much, I like to think that they leave the interaction feeling good about having met me. It's pretty much the least I can do for them in gratitude for the ego boost.

R.A. wrote: "Have you read Verbal Judo?"

Yes, I have, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it.

My method is different, that's all I can say here.

In order not to derail this thread, you can PM me, or send me an email at [email protected]

Vicki wrote: "What happens when someone is not complimentary? Has anyone experienced that side? How do you deal with that face to face?"

If you mean 'not complimentary' about me being an author, I haven't experienced that. (My size can be intimidating, so people are rarely eager to antagonize me.)

I have been on the receiving side of non-complimentary remarks though, and if I'd say anything, it would probably be something like 'you're entitled to your opinion' or something like that. If it is actually relevant, like a critique of my writing, I'd thank the reader for their thoughtful analysis and that I will keep it in mind.
Which, of course, is also something you can say to someone who is abusive:
"You're an asshole and your writing sucks!"
"Thank you for your thoughtful analysis, I'll keep it in mind."
And give them a big shit-eating grin while you're at it.

:D

I had, and still have, a fiction blog that I update weekly and I can honestly say that without the readers that tune in every week, leave commentary, send in fanfic and fan art, and just generally continue to be awesome, I would probably have found a reason to quit this a long time ago.

I just dedicated my second book to them. No lie.

I do not respond to people leaving comments on Amazon, but I do thank them for reading and commenting on the blog only. Most of the comments on the blog are directed at me. A blog environment is a totally different scene than the comment section on Amazon. I do not want to give people the impression that I am breathing down their necks while they are leaving feedback on my finished books. The blog, on the other hand, is fair game.

It's become a regular joke among myself and the readers, for instance, that I can't count. "Hey, you screwed up your chapter numbers again!" has become a running gag on the site.

One time...and this still blows my mind...I had a death in the family and knew I was in no shape to post anything that week and a reader wrote me an incredible fan fic to post instead. "I can't exactly bring a casserole to your house, so I hope this helps you out in some way," she wrote to me.

This young woman is probably a better writer than I am. Truly. I had to sit there and cry and compose myself before I could respond to her.

That is just so incredible to me. These people are just amazing. They are the best thing to come of this.

Vicki wrote: "Thanks I'll try the latter."

Just be careful that you don't antagonize someone. ;)

A while a go, I tried guerrilla marketing.

I made a press, printed out the books, bound them with PVA and fag papers, and left them in chain bookshops. In the back there was my paypal details and the invitation that if they enjoyed the book to send what they thought it was worth.

One lady sent me £50....

Jeremy wrote: "A while a go, I tried guerrilla marketing.

I made a press, printed out the books, bound them with PVA and fag papers, and left them in chain bookshops. In the back there was my paypal details and..."

PVA and fag papers? Kudos! That must have taken you ages! :D I did once make a box for aromatherapy oil bottles out of PVA and matchsticks.

Lisa wrote: "Jeremy wrote: "A while a go, I tried guerrilla marketing.

I made a press, printed out the books, bound them with PVA and fag papers, and left them in chain bookshops. In the back there was my pay..."

Not really, the bound book was dry by the time the next book finished printing.

I've not had the pleasure of meeting readers previously unknown to me, as I've not had my book published yet. But once it's available (via the self-publish route), I've already decided that the feedback I get on the book -- be it in person, online, whatever -- will greatly influence how much time I devote to writing as a hobby in the future.
I used to have the opinion that getting published (in the traditional sense) was the main validation I could hope for as a writer. But I've changed my mind about that. I don't have any "magic numbers" in mind in terms of sales, but if within a year or so I've heard from 30-50 people who greatly enjoyed the book...well, that just might be enough to keep me going.
I'll close with a quote I recently saw attributed to John Steinbeck, as I think it's particularly relevant to this discussion:
"A writer out of loneliness is trying to communicate like a distant star sending signals. He isn't telling or teaching or ordering. Rather he seeks to establish a relationship of meaning, of feeling, of observing. We are lonesome animals. We spend all life trying to be less lonesome."

I don't think you should gauge your success by that, Joe, and here's why: Out of every one person that might communicate with you on a personal level, there may well be a huge number of people who quietly read your stuff, love it, keep coming back for more who you never realize are there.

I keep track of my hits vs how many commenters I have. Barely the tip of the iceberg ever comments. That's just the nature of things, I guess. And of those, they don't tend to comment every week. The number of blog "followers" I have doesn't reflect my weekly hit count, either. You just have to resign yourself to the fact that you may go a very long time indeed before anyone comments or gives you feedback.

The vast majority of readers consider your work to be something to be consumed and that's it. And that's fine, really. I mean, it is and they do. It's not personal. A few of them might want to connect with you on a more personal level. But those folks are not in the majority.

Good reminder, Regina. I doubt if many of us have done more than leave a review on books and movies that we enjoy, if even that.

I've been fortunate to become friends with a number of people who happened to like my first book and wrote to tell me.(I furnish contact info in the back matter.) All of them are wonderful people whom I never would have known otherwise. It's been a completely unexpected and delightful side benefit of publishing.

I've learned to put my email address at the end of my books. I get fan mail every month. If someone takes the time to email me, I usually email them one of my other books or maybe a short story.

That sounds like a good idea, Stan.

Regina wrote: "I don't think you should gauge your success by that, Joe, and here's why: Out of every one person that might communicate with you on a personal level, there may well be a huge number of people who ..."

Hi Regina -- you're right, the folks who take the time to write reviews are going to be a fraction of the total number of sales/readings. And if sales orders run into the thousands I'll be completely gratified, even if reviews are mixed.

But if it only sells a hundred or so copies...well, I'll be disappointed, for sure, but I'm not going to crawl into a bottle or anything. The qualitative feedback from individuals might cheer me up a little, but in the end, good word-of-mouth on a book ought to sustain itself. Especially in this day in age.

I just have some other ideas for creative pursuits that don't involve writing, and I may decide it's time to start one of those projects.

I used to comment and like people's book reviews, but I've stopped, as apparently there are some authors out there who give everyone a bad name by reacting badly to reviewers (I could start a regular blog feature called "Authors Behaving Badly" from all the stories I hear). I don't want to alienate anyone and stop them from reading my book, so I don't respond to anyone unless they post a question on my profile/thread/pm.

What I don't understand is when readers join groups like this, groups intended for authors and readers to interact, when it is clear they don't like interacting with authors. If you look around on these groups, you will find people who don't read indies at all and hate it when authors respond to them in any way. So why join a group that is meant for authors and readers to interact?

I always say you don't go looking for readers but merely speak and let them find you.
As for as interacting with readers on here goes I recently thought authors should not be allowed to comment on their own book page with a reader. One, the whole author/reader interaction relationship and Two, in the event a bad review is left it could get ugly.

Most blogs and articles that suggest ways to succeed as a sp author say that interacting with readers is one of the biggest perks of being an indie. So authors think readers want this.

Lena wrote: "Most blogs and articles that suggest ways to succeed as a sp author say that interacting with readers is one of the biggest perks of being an indie. So authors think readers want this."

I've both been contacted by authors and contacted authors.

I was contacted by an author whose book I shelved as a "want to read." He was perfectly pleasant, and we had a nice conversation. I also mod a GR group where there are several authors who are very active, and I enjoy all of them tremendously.

I have also initiated contact with authors a few times to tell them directly that I enjoyed something they wrote. They have always been very pleasant.

It is risky to contact readers. If the reason for the contact is positive, it is less risky, but even then, I can see how it would freak some readers out to get a random comment or PM from an author.

Patrick A. wrote: "I find this thread very interesting as a husband of an author. Anyone have thoughts about spouses being affected by the success of their significant others?

In terms of interacting with the public..."

Don't do what Emily Giffin's husband did. That's all I've got.

Patrick A. wrote: "Forgive my ignorance, but what did he do?"

Got into a review smack down with someone who posted a negative review of his wife's book. It got ugly.

No matter how much you want to go all caveman on a reader who says something negative about your wife's book, don't. :)

Patrick A. wrote: "I find this thread very interesting as a husband of an author. Anyone have thoughts about spouses being affected by the success of their significant others?

In terms of interacting with the public, I mean"

My wife doesn't even read my books. She reads my reviews when I show them (or share them on FB), but she wouldn't be interested to respond to them.

And neither do I. Readers write reviews for other readers. I enjoy reading reviews, and sometimes I even get some unsolicited feedback, which is nice. Although I have to say that most of the time I'm more interested in the private exchanges I have with readers, where they provide more in-depth feedback intended to help me improve my work. Since the readers who tend to contact me privately are positive about my work, I rarely get the sort of feedback that would make hesitate about posting my email address.

Patrick A. wrote: "That's interesting Martyn, I do differ from your wife in that I enjoy reading Nancy's works. From time to time though I do wonder that, in spite of my good intentions, my interest in her work somet..."

It's nice that you are supportive of your wife, and it sounds like you are making great decisions that work for you.

Patrick A. wrote: "That's interesting Martyn, I do differ from your wife in that I enjoy reading Nancy's works. From time to time though I do wonder that, in spite of my good intentions, my interest in her work sometimes gets in the way for her emotionally."

I wouldn't be too worried about that with my wife, but I do get puzzled looks from other writers sometimes who wonder about my wife's 'lack of support'. Which is untrue, since she is supportive. And while I love sharing my work with strangers, I prefer to wait until it's ready. I wouldn't want my wife hovering behind my shoulder eager to read every new chapter I bashed out.

If I need feedback, I have supportive beta-readers who tell me my flaws. Just so I won't become too arrogant...

Moonlight Reader wrote: "Lena wrote: "Most blogs and articles that suggest ways to succeed as a sp author say that interacting with readers is one of the biggest perks of being an indie. So authors think readers want this...."

With all the author bashing going on, I don't think I'd respond to anything except direct questions or pm from a reader.

I enjoy interacting with fellow readers of other books, though.

I asked the question of readers on Facebook, 'Do you like it when a authors says thanks for the review" because I'd read several articles on it being bad form. They overwhelmingly said yes. I had a reviewer who always gave my books four stars. Her reviews were complimentary, but she always had (to my shame)a legitimate criticism for each book. Finally she gave me 5 stars and I wrote to tell her how I'd taken to heart what she'd said and those 5 stars had me pumping my fist in the air in triumph. She was so pleased to hear it. She said she didn't think authors paid much attention to what reviewers had to say!
I, too, post my email address at the end of my books and I love getting notes from readers. I answer every one and have made some friends in the process.

Lena wrote: "I used to comment and like people's book reviews, but I've stopped, as apparently there are some authors out there who give everyone a bad name by reacting badly to reviewers (I could start a regul..."

I've been wondering that same thing for a little while. To me, it's pretty much trolling to come in here and complain at authors when you clearly don't like them to begin with. I mostly just avoid them and stick to more interesting conversations like this one. Getting involved with nice readers is fun. If they're not nice, well, I don't want to interact with them at all. I don't get paid enough for that :).