Cozy Mysteries discussion

GoodReads is all about sharing books, including those that you've written. I have no problem with authors making posts to promote their books, but I would like to set up a few guidelines.

1. If you want to promote your book, you must be involved in the community. If you join solely to promote your book and do not enter discussion(s), you are spamming. As of 10/3/10, if a self-promotion topic is posted and the author has not participated in any discussion, or has posted only the most cursory of comments, his/her topic will be deleted. If the author repeatedly posts self-promotion outside of the proper folder (i.e. in unrelated topics), the posts will be deleted. The moderator reserves the right to remove members who post spam comments without warning.

It is simply rude to join just to try to sell your books and not respect the community's rules by ignoring them OR the community's members by spamming them with book promotion and reviews. This will no longer be tolerated here at Cozy Mysteries.

2. All self-promotion topics MUST be posted in the Self-Promotion folder. This seems obvious, but I have had to move several posts from the wrong folders. From today on, all self-promotion topics posted outside of the Self-Promotion folder will be deleted.

3. Please create only one topic for each book you are promoting. In other words, if you've already made a post about one particular book, and you'd like to post a review or the like, post that as a reply to your topic. Don't make a new topic.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send me a message. Thanks!

My thanks to TDF Pamela at the Paranormal Romance group for coming up with these rules which I've borrowed from their group. She said very nicely what I wanted to impliment.

Edited 12/10/2013

4. I would ask that authors who do participate in our group discussions don't use large signature blocks promoting their books, on the bottom of each post. It's still advertising.
Clarification: I will allow a single line or bookcover. I'm not going to police everything. But when the signature lines are full paragraphs, often times larger and longer than the thread comment, then it becomes too much.

5. We have set up a folder for authors needing help where you can ask questions of our readers or other group authors. Feel free to use that. All self-promotions however, still need to go in the self-promotions folder. There is a difference between asking for help and pushing your latest release.

Edited 6/5/2017

6. If a poll states not to add your own novel (but you may vote for it if added by others), then please FOLLOW THE RULES. Your book will be disqualified if an author adds their own. Inviting friends to join Goodreads, just to make a profile, join our group, just for them to vote for your book is also prohibited. A group poll is for our group members, not to be used as a self-promotion blitz for your new release. Failure to follow this rule has already resulted in an author being booted from the group.

7. Authors will not add their own books to the group bookshelf. We've caught authors doing so, with the release date listed in the notes section. There is a very specific folder set up for self-promotions where you can list your new releases. We encourage authors to join in our various discussions, we just ask that authors only promote their books in the specific places we've allowed. To do otherwise, feels like you're pushing your books at our group members, which is upsetting.

Failure to follow our group rules will result in any offending threads or comments to be removed, and possibly the author removed. Most authors are nice folks, so I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but we've had a sorry few who've gone around the rules, pushed the rules or flat out broke the rules and upset our small community. This is what we're trying to avoid.

~Briansgirl
Cozy Mysteries Group Owner

Thanks for providing Goodreads, the Cozy Mysteries link, and the above information. I'm new to this and trying to understand it all. I recently went through the challenging, exhilirating, and liberating experience of making my novel, Moon Signs, available in paperback on CreateSpace and in Kindle format. Now I'm working at making other novels available there. The writing life is a constant learning experience!

Just a reminder that a few folks need to read this, as lately I've been moving new threads around to the approrpriate self-promotion folder that are promoting either their own new books or their own blog sites.

Thanks for the timely reminder. :)

Just a reminder for new authors that have joined our group need to read this. Instead of moving posts that violate our group policy, I am removing them now instead. If I have time, I am informing the author about our self-promotion rules and asking them to re-post in the appropriate folder.

It's not that we don't want authors to join our group or tell us about your books. It's just there is a place to do it that's appropriate.

Thank you

Hi Briansgirl, hope you remember me. On November 29th and 30 my newly released Bosom Bodies will be available as a free download on Amazon.com Would it be ok for me to post it under cheap or free book? I think that's the heading. Also, please forgive me but I'm clueless as to where the self promotion folder is located? I know there is one, I see it mentioned often. By the way this is the sequel to Love Thy Sister. Thank you so much.

You can find the self promotion/giveaway folder here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

And yes, it's fine for you to post about your book there. :)

Thanks, will do.

Thanks for the guidelines! Probably you have posted them before, but I might have missed them.

Hi-great group and very well organized.

One question: is it permissible to include the books I wrote when I add books to the group shelf?
Thanks!
Sandy

I created a new folder for authors who have questions for readers, needing help.

Like Chumlee would say, "Awesome." ;-)

ஐ Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen)ஐ wrote: "I created a new folder for authors who have questions for readers, needing help."

Sandra wrote: "Hi-great group and very well organized.

One question: is it permissible to include the books I wrote when I add books to the group shelf?
Thanks!
Sandy"

Yes, but only list them as Read. To-Be-Read and Currently Reading are reserved for group reads.

Robert wrote: "Kandy wrote: "I recently re-read 'And Then There Were None' by Dame Agatha. I enjoyed it even more this time probably because having tried my own hand at writing in the genre, I appreciated the mas..."

Robert wrote: "Kandy wrote: "I recently re-read 'And Then There Were None' by Dame Agatha. I enjoyed it even more this time probably because having tried my own hand at writing in the genre, I appreciated the mas..."

ஐ Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen)ஐ wrote: "Just a reminder that a few folks need to read this, as lately I've been moving new threads around to the approrpriate self-promotion folder that are promoting either their own new books or their ow..."

I do apologise, i'm a new author and i'm not used to all of this. I should have read through properly before i set up my account.I do promise to stick to the rules. I know i am going to love interacting with people who love a good read, and between us we can discover a whole new world

As I delve into the third book in my Cat Enright cozy mystery series I am inspired by this quote: “Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” ––Anton Chekhov

Well, having read the above instructions, etc., I'm really confused. Are there any discussions that are more current (Fall, 2014)?
Thanks.
Mary

Mary wrote: "Well, having read the above instructions, etc., I'm really confused. Are there any discussions that are more current (Fall, 2014)?
Thanks.
Mary"

What is it that you find confusing? These rules are considered current, but we're happy as a group to clarify anything or answer any questions.

Guideline #3. For some reason I'm a bit lost about posting a review as a reply and not making a new topic. ??? I think it's just the wording that I'm not sure of. Sorry to be such a ditz.
Mary

Mary wrote: "Guideline #3. For some reason I'm a bit lost about posting a review as a reply and not making a new topic. ??? I think it's just the wording that I'm not sure of. Sorry to be such a ditz.
Mary"

What #3 says is please do not create a new topic every time you have something to say about your book.

If you look at the group, it's broken down into Discussion categories. If you click on one of those categories, say Self-Promotion and Giveaways, you'll see a list of topics (the first one at the moment is "Virginia's Ghost Giveaways"). Anyone can create a topic - if an author creates one about their book, they need to only create one topic per book.

What you and I are doing right now is reading/responding to posts about a topic. So if you have more to say about your book, don't create another new topic ("My new book 'X' got 5 stars!") - just create a post on the existing one.

If you have another book you want to discuss ("I've written another book - help me pick a title.") then it's ok to create a new topic for that one.

Does that help? It's gets a bit confusing when you're new with the terms.

Thanks, Jennifer. It's much clearer now. Thank you for taking time to clarify.

Mary

Hi. I want to do a Cover Reveal for my upcoming Cozy Mystery, but since it's not published yet it won't recognize it as a book. How can I upload my cover before the book is published?

Thanks Jennifer for helping clarify the rules.

Deb, on the left of the post box is (some html is ok). Under that, you can link to photos posted elsewhere on the web. You may have to resize the photo. It's a pain, so I don't use that option often. When done, the photo appears right here where we're chatting now.

Alternately, you could upload it to the group photos section, then in your self-promotion post tell others where it is to peek, or put a link up to it to make it easier.

Hi. I tried this first way and couldn't get it to work. I typed href="http://www.goodreads.com">, then added the link to my website, then . It made two links out of it and added several symbols in the middle.
Then I just put my comment with a link to my website. That worked, but the cover doesn't show unless you follow the link and actually go to my website. That's disappointing. It would be great if Goodreads would figure out how to let an author share a photo of an upcoming book in these discussions.

Deb,

You can share a photo using basic html code. I'll demonstrate using [ ] brackets (you'll want to use < > where I use [ ]):


[img src="image source" width="200" height="150" alt="description"/]

Where it says "image source" you insert the image address. To find that, right click on the book cover on your website, click "properties" and then copy the code where it says "address" and paste it into the above code where it says "image source" -- make sure you paste it between the quote marks. You need the quote marks to make it work.

The code above is sized for small horizonal photos. If your image is vertical, as most covers are, reverse the numbers for height and width (that is, 150 for width, 200 for height). You can also note the "dimensions" of the image when you copy the image address.

To demonstrate using the code above, this is the image posted to my blog today:




And a cover from your website, using image dimensions:




Also, when trying to hyperlink to your website, make sure the code is inside the < > brackets. To demonstrate:

[a href="site link"]your text[/a] -- except where I've used [ ] here, use < > and note that there are no spaces between the bracket and the letter a. If there are any extra spaces, your link won't work.

I keep this code and a several others I use most frequently in a document so I can simply copy and paste whenever I need it. It saves trying to remember the exact code.

I hope this helps! ☺

Thank you SO much! On my computer it didn't work quite that way. When I right clicked on the book cover, nothing said "properties" but I right clicked on "elements" and took the part of the address that corresponded to what you said, and it worked! I will keep your instructions on file. I still have trouble working some aspects of Goodreads and am so grateful for help!

I'd love to post a couple photos etc. but cannot figure out all these symbols. I recall an easier, user friendly option at other communities where we just picked a file, posted it and done. I know, I know but it's frustrating not to be able to participate like we'd like to. :-(

I get frustrated too, but I followed the instructions that Heather gave here and they worked. I'm sure we're not the only ones who hope they will make things easier some day.

Deb wrote: "I get frustrated too, but I followed the instructions that Heather gave here and they worked. I'm sure we're not the only ones who hope they will make things easier some day."


Yay! I'm glad my instructions helped. ☺

Thanks Heather. I've put a picture in a post, but it isn't easy telling others exactly how to do it in html.

ஐ Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen)ஐ wrote: "GoodReads is all about sharing books, including those that you've written. I have no problem with authors making posts to promote their books, but I would like to set up a few guidelines.

1. If yo..."

This is great - thanks for the clarity! I'm an author who writes Culinary Cozies under the pen names Carol Durant and Summer Prescott. My goals for joining this group are pretty straightforward. Based upon the reviews from readers, the Cozy crowd is a sweet and supportive group that loves good, clean entertainment. I'm a Mary Higgins Clark fan, and while I don't claim to even be breathing the same air as she, I like to think I provide some entertainment value with my novellas. I'm interested in reading and participating in discussions - I can enjoy myself and call it research, lol. Anyway - I'm glad to be here! :)

Welcome Lori. Be sure to check out our author section where authors ask for help, ask readers questions, etc.

Will do - thanks :)

You're welcome.

Just a reminder 36 days to the Save Our Cozies Readathon - a fan organized event. 24 hours to read, review, post and participate in fun activities about cozies on the social media of your choice. If you'd like to sign up, please go to the Save Our Cozies Readathon group here on Goodreads or our website https://saveourcoziesreadathon.wordpr... or you can email us at [email protected].

I'm new to this group but I love a great cozy. I'm reading one right now by Anne George. Although it is an older book (published in 1999) it is so entertaining. Has anyone read any other books by this author?

Hi Beatrice,

This thread outlines rules on self-promotion. Please join discussions on books either in the Cozy Corner, Books and Series, or any other sections of the site.

Heather
Co-Moderator

Author self promotion rules updated.

Thanks for explaining the rules! I'm happy to be part of the group.

Mary C

I have a quick question. I am starting a Cozy Mystery type of series on my Youtube channel, and I would love to have some feed back from people who love Cozy Mysteries as well. Is it okay for me to post a link to my "What is a Cozy Mystery?" video and people can comment and let me know what they want to see?

Apologies if I haven't been following the rules .... I'll stay out of this month's discussion, since it involves my books. Thanks for clarifying!

I thought we have had authors discuss their books when their books are part of the monthly read. It usually enhances the experience for the readers. Hopefully, one of the moderators will clarify.

Lea,

Authors are welcome to participate in discussions of their books. Please feel free to stick around! 😀

This is a message I keep getting on different threads on different groups tool It's very annoying. I couldn't remember where to report spam.

Comment from JMD&Fast
Wed, Mar 7, 2018 4:02 am
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Hi!

I have a Goodreads Giveaway running at the moment. Is it okay to post that somewhere so people can enter? (It's a cozy mystery of course!)
I don't want to break any rules :)

x

Rosie

Hi Rosie,

We have a “Self-Promotion and Giveaways” section at bottom of our group homepage.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Dear Brainsgirl: I just joined the group and have a question. I am an aspiring novelist and I do not want to break the rules. The reason I joined is I would like to offer to send free a WORD copy of my Historical Mystery manuscript. I am seeking comments and critique not sales since my book ain't published yet. I'm just asking for a few avid readers to tell me if they like/hate/yawn it. Would that be acceptable?

I'm here to talk. If anyone wants to, can check my books on the profile :)