Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Holly wrote: "This conversation string on only wanting to read for free makes me want to cry. 99% of people who write books don't write as a hobby. It is our JOB, it is a way to make money to LIVE ON."

A person does not have to buy books to read. It’s their choice. If I can get free books from Amazon, IBooks or Playbooks, I will do that. If I want to borrow books from the library, I will do that. If an author doesn’t have a problem with having a free book on Amazon, IBooks or Playbook, why should I?

” And don't even get me started on the trend of returning books read that were paid for. People who do this think they are only sticking it to Amazon. Wrong. Amazon takes the money back from the authors. And when I look at a statement showing purchased and returned numbers it is obvious.”

That’s the reason why I think that books should have warning/rating system. People are going to put their money over an author. I like trying new authors to me and if I was to pay, say $7 for a book and started reading it and the hero and/or heroine has a foul mouth, something I don’t care for, why should I keep that book? I’m sure authors have return things back in their lifetime.

” A lot of time and energy goes into writing a book. If you enjoyed what you read, if a book gives you a couple of hours of relaxation and enjoyment, isn't that worth something?”

I’m a writer, not an author. I know what it takes to write a story.

” Despite what headlines you might read about authors making over 6 figures, most authors have to have a second income, they can't live on writing alone.
If you like to read, support the authors whose books you like to read by buying their books.”

No author should depend on writing to take care of them. An author should not write to get rich. They should write, because they love doing so. It’s not the readers’ fault that authors have to get an extra job. If readers have to worry about how an author is taking care of themselves, then authors need to worry about how readers are taking care of themselves. Every reader is not rich; some readers are working multiple jobs too.

If the library carries the books that a reader like to read, they can borrow the books from the library. Everyone can’t afford the high prices that books are selling for.

Aaron wrote: "Doesn’t Amazon owns Goodreads? Arch, see what you did there, you were asking a question but yet tend to argue with logic. Why not just say that Amazon owns Goodreads. Question mark means asking and period means the end of sentence."

Aaron, don’t try to correct me. Look over your comment and pinpoint your errors.

My one and only novel was published on Aug. 9, 2011 and remained commercially available until Dec. 31, 2016 when the publisher declared bankruptcy and went out of business - perhaps due to sigining too many writers like myself.

During its approximately 5 1/2 years of commercial availability, 1,029 units were sold (485 paperback - 480 e-book - 36 audio books on CD - 28 audio downloads). Total royalties paid to me by the publisher = $2,358.34 (Before taxes).

Although not a commercial success, I have the personal satisfaction of knowing that more than a thousand people took the time to purchase and read a story that had been fermenting inside my head for years until, having retired, I finally had the time and resources to write it and have it published. No regrets!

Novice authors should not allow my experience to discourage them. Who knows? Perhaps someday I will be able to say: "I interacted with so-and-so before they became a best-selling author".

Holly wrote: "This conversation string on only wanting to read for free makes me want to cry..."

So you are anti-libraries? Because I read for free there too.

Holly wrote: "For an author to use the services of BookBub, where you get your list of truly free books, the author makes nothing for pages read.."

That’s not true. I have spoken to authors who have had books featured in the BookBub email and they tell me they make significant money from running a free book - up to 5 figures due to readers going on to read other books in their series. Spending a few hundred to make thousands back seems like a good return on your ad spend to me.

Holly wrote: “If you like to read, support the authors whose books you like to read by buying their books.

Since you obviously skimmed my reply, I’ll repeat this again…I use the BookBub email as a discovery tool. I download loads of free books (as I read a couple a week). When I find an author/book I enjoy, I will pay full price to continue their series.

If you are offering your first book for free, and readers don’t go on to buy other books you have written…that is not an issue with our reading behavior, it’s an issue with your storytelling.

Michel wrote: "instead of poo-pooing books you haven't even looked at?”

I did check them out - feel free to apologise now. That’s why I said that site looks like a scam, especially with the aggressive pop ups and garish colors.

Your covers put me off in the first instance. They look amateurish and like you did them in Microsoft paint. The blurbs aren’t compelling and don’t contain any characterisation, tension, or stakes. Grammatical errors and problematic sentence structure are always a hard no from me. Plus I don’t read erotica. You say they are supposed to be highly rated, but of the bare handful of reviews they have, they are mostly 1/2 stars. The red flags in covers/blurbs would indicate there are also fundamental issues with the stories.

Mellie wrote: "You say they are supposed to be highly rated, but of the bare handful of reviews they have, they are mostly 1/2 stars."

Just that remark of yours tells me that you didn't truly review my books ratings. If I would have mostly 1/2 stars ratings for them, then I couldn't possibly have an average rating of 4.09 out of 314 ratings and 100 reviews on 33 distinct works on GR. You just confirmed to me that your claims and opinions are B.S., made under the cover of a 'private' profile.

Michel wrote: "Just that remark of yours tells me that you didn't truly review my books ratings..."

I dug into your ratings enough to see the 1/2 stars looked to be from genuine accounts, whereas the 4/5 stars seemed to be fake accounts (ie: no activity apart from highly rating your books and none other). Such behavior is, unfortunately, a common tactic of "authors" who don't sell enough books to genuine readers to see organic reviews. They solicit fake ones to manipulate ratings and try to make their books appear better rated than they deserve. One positive about such "authors" is they tend to inhabit their own eco-system and then chances of a true reader stumbling upon their books is slim. Even better when they keep their amateurish scribblings (and disturbing tales penned by middle aged men of the "sexcapades" of teenaged girls) off Amazon. I should thank you for not further polluting their pool of available books.

Michel wrote: "made under the cover of a 'private' profile..."

You keep belabouring the fact that I am a reader with a private account. What, exactly, is your point? I am under no obligation to make my friends, shelves, ratings, and reviews public and open for your scrutiny.

I read alot (2-3 books a week). I will 1-click/preorder the books of authors I follow, and who craft worlds and characters I want to continue reading.

What is it about encountering a reader who wants books with a minimum standard of cover, blurb, editing, and craft, that so incenses you? Or is it because you know your books are subpar, and could never compete in an open market?

Mellie wrote: "Michel wrote: "Just that remark of yours tells me that you didn't truly review my books ratings..."

I dug into your ratings enough to see the 1/2 stars looked to be from genuine accounts, whereas ..."

So, you claim that 1/2 stars ratings were from genuine accounts, while saying that my 4/5 stars ratings are from fake accounts? How convenient and easy a claim to make. I will let other readers on GR judge how 'fake' the accounts of the readers who rated my books 4/5 are. They will quickly see the worth (or lack of it) of your declarations.

Michel, I have checked out your ratings on here and noticed that you basically have the same people rating your books and the few that writes review tends to be the same people. You have a lot of mark to read.

Speaking as a reader, if a book is good enough to get a 4 or 5 stars from me, it will get a review. I will express why I have given that book that rating. You have a lot of 4 and 5 stars ratings with no reviews. Wouldn’t you like to know why those readers gave your book such a rating?

I have noticed that you have 5 star ratings from people that didn’t read your book. They have added the book/books on a certain date and marked them as Want To Read

Ed Cifelli gave the following books 5 stars on April 23, 2014.

1. Timeline Twin
2. Timelines
3. Destinies

On Marco 29, 2014 and August 14, 2015 Mark Reardon gave the following book 5 stars.

1. Adventures Through Time

On October 9, 2018 Martin Girouard gave the following books, 5 stars:

1. Destinies
2. Eternal Sinner

On August 23, 2017, Prue marked Destinies as currently reading, but yet, she gave it 5 stars.

One reader, Leslie, who has her profile set to private has rated your books 4 stars. Since, her profile is set to private and she has that right to have it set to private - I don’t know if any of your books are on her to read shelf.

As a reader, if I’m checking out a book and see 4 and 5 stars ratings, I want to read why the reader gave that rating. If a reader is giving the same author 4 or 5 stars ratings without a review, other readers might think something is up.

Aaron wrote: "this is now a fighting group, Arch, I'm calling you bluff."

I am not going to entertain you. I know what I must do.

I want to make it clear that I am not here to fight with anyone. I will not entertain anyone that wants to fight. I know what I will do and they will figure it out, sooner or later.

I must say that I am learning a lot from this discussion, sort of the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of publishing.! Also cautionary notes about Goodreads.com

Michel wrote: "...while saying that my 4/5 stars ratings are from fake accounts? How convenient and easy a claim to make..."

Actually it's really easy for readers to spot the fake accounts 5-starring "authors" (in brackets since you aren't actually published). Sadly we have had to learn all the tells since the practice is so prevalent.

It only takes a little digging to spot the fake profiles 4/5-starring all your books, while oddly they don't read any other authors. Like Martin here, who since he joined in 2018 has only 5-starred whatever you spit out.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

There are many more of these suspect accounts who are so enamoured of your books they only come to Goodreads to 4/5 your works. They are either fake accounts, or you have told friends and family to 4/5-star eveything to manipulate ratings.

Again, since your books aren’t published and are not available on any retailer platform or libraries, the odds of a genuine reader stumbling upon them are incredibly slim. So it doesn’t really matter what strings you pull behind the scenes, GR users know how to discard the ratings that aren't genuine and look for reviews/rating from true readers.

Mellie wrote: "Michel wrote: "...while saying that my 4/5 stars ratings are from fake accounts? How convenient and easy a claim to make..."

Actually it's really easy for readers to spot the fake accounts 5-starr..."

Mellie, you really talk in both bad faith and ignorance. For your info, those 'fake accounts' are real people who happen to genuinely like my stories. They sometimes correspond with me via private messages or emails, not to plot some nefarious ratings boosting schemes but simply to exchange news and views from around the World. Second, GR is only a very secondary site for my ebooks and I use it mostly to participate in forum discussions, like this one. Third, the vast majority of my readers are to be found at Free-Ebooks.net, where I have accumulated over 150,000 downloads by my readers and received over 600 ratings over ten years and where I am listed (according to the editors lists) in the top ten popular fiction writers on the site, simply because people like my books. I suppose now that you will claim that all those ratings are fake? Before criticising authors, try your hand instead at writing a book yourself and see how easy it is or, better, do it in a second language. I see that discussing with you is utterly pointless, so BYE!

Michel wrote: "...you really talk in both bad faith and ignorance..."

I've been a member of GR since 2012, I assure you I am not ignorant to the ways of authors and their attempts to manipulate ratings. But it is the way of some men to resort to belittling when they encounter someone who stands their ground and lays out the facts.

I linked one account whose only activity is to highly rate all your books. There are more. But at least you now acknowledge they are all your friends.

Michel wrote: "...I have accumulated over 150,000 downloads..."

Supposed free downloads on a suspect site. How many books have you SOLD? None!

Michel wrote: "...I am listed (according to the editors lists) in the top ten popular fiction writers..."

Can't find you as a top 10 author on Amazon. Or AppleBooks. Or Kobo. Or GooglePlay. Or Wattpad. Or Radish.

Oh, wait. What do all those sites have in common? They are legitimate places to buy books, or well known apps to read for free.

Michel wrote: "...try your hand instead at writing a book yourself and see how easy it is..."

Judging by what you have up on that site, its incredibly easy. You just throw something on a page and slap it up on an obscure site. No need to worry about craft, editors, professional looking covers or other quality standards. What I'd like to see is you trying to SELL a book.

Back to the original question, I did not submit my books for consideration by traditional agents or publishers and went right to kdp. My paperback says, "Independently published." That might have been added by the person who formatted the paperback for me (very well-done and affordable on fiverr). Just to say that because a book is self-published, it isn't necessarily rejected by traditional publishers any more; it might not have been submitted at all. I wrote my first book in November, and it was set at Christmas, so I just self-published and have enjoyed the experience.
In case you are curious, I made the book free for five days, and 120 copies were downloaded, even though it was my first book.

Thanks Leslie

Why would you want to know if an author is an Indie author? An Indie author can be good or bad, and a mainstream publication authors can be just as good or bad as far as the reader is concerned. I've read brilliant Indie author books, and found so called "Best Sellers" mainstream published awful.

Catherine wrote: "Why would you want to know if an author is an Indie author? An Indie author can be good or bad, and a mainstream publication authors can be just as good or bad as far as the reader is concerned. I've read brilliant Indie author books, and found so called "Best Sellers" mainstream published awful. "

Because I want to know. Why have you assumed that I would think that indie author equals bad writing? Just because a person is an author doesn’t mean they know how to tell or even write a story. So many people write, some are writers and some are author, but writing isn’t everyone’s talent.

Again, my answer is because I want to know. You can accept or not accept that answer.