The End of Goodreads Giveaways as We Know It...and I DON'T Feel Fine
UPDATE 04/23/18: I have one giveaway left on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
Now when you go to the giveaway page they've set it to default to "Featured". This means that unless you know or think to change the category menu at the top (ending soonest, most popular, etc), you don't even see any of the other giveaways: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway
Enjoy!
-----
I hope you all are enjoying the diversity of the Goodreads Giveaway program for the time being as that is all going away.
As of January 2018, Goodreads has decided that it will no longer allow authors to give away books on its platform for free: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/pa... This means that as giveaways that were scheduled prior to that date (including mine) time out, there will be less and less variety - fewer and fewer opportunities to discover new authors. This also means that there will be fewer and fewer opportunities for readers to win. As the algorithms in use already limit who actually gets books and with the number of books on offer dropping significantly, this means that the majority of Goodreads users will likely NEVER win.
Other fun features: : "Entrants required to add the book to their Want to Read list " Giveaways will be open to US residents only.
With many competing platforms such as LibraryThing, Smashwords, etc. that DO allow authors to give away free material and AMAZON (Goodread's owner) that allows the same for only the cost of the book (from which the author still gets the royalty) this means that for the overwhelming majority of authors (especially indie authors) who currently offer giveaways on this site, Goodreads is no longer worth the effort.
Don't like this change? Complain: https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta...
Here is the reply I received from Goodreads:
"Hi Grea,
I'm sorry to hear that! We designed our new Goodreads Giveaways program based on feedback from authors and publishers, and we're now offering several features that authors and publishers have been asking for. The biggest benefit is the increased marketing and advertising benefits surrounding a giveaway. In many ways, we view a giveaway as a mini advertising campaign on Goodreads. As your giveaway is shared and promoted on Goodreads, this gets your book in front of more readers, helping build buzz about your book with readers.
We have several other free features for Goodreads Authors, including Ask the Author, which allows you to answer questions from your fans and readers, posting excerpts of upcoming publications on your author blog, and sharing your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans. As a lower-cost alternative, you also might want to check out Amazon Giveaways. I understand that these features don't replace giveaways for you, but hope you will take advantage of the many other ways to connect with readers on Goodreads.
If you have any additional feedback you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to let me know."
And my reply to their reply:
Good morning,
I find it hard to believe that authors and publishers all said: Hey, let's completely remove the option to give away books for free and exclude people who are not in the U.S.
It would be one thing to offer these options in addition to the standard free giveway but to remove the free option all together? Not worth it - especially when there are so many options to give away books for free.
All you're doing is alienating both authors and users. Let's see how well that works out for you in the end.
Cheers!
Grea.
----
That being said, I would like to thank everyone who has entered my giveaways and added my books. However, until this policy changes, I will no longer be running any new giveaways on Goodreads.
I have only 2 remaining:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
When they are done, unless the policy changes, there will be no more giveaways offered by Seamonkey Ink on this site. Rest assured; however, that I will continue to do giveaways via other platforms.
Despite the above, please feel free to review my work here.
I will make every effort to update this blog with my other giveaways.
For instance: I just set up a giveaway on Amazon for two kindle versions of Rebellion Book I: Book of Quay:
- Two copies
- Instant Win, Lucky Number
- Unfortunately only US entrants
- Enter here: https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/874fc3a...
To stay apprised of any future SeamonkeyInk giveaways: http://seamonkeyink.com/seamonkey_ink...
Cheers!
Grea.
Now when you go to the giveaway page they've set it to default to "Featured". This means that unless you know or think to change the category menu at the top (ending soonest, most popular, etc), you don't even see any of the other giveaways: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway
Enjoy!
-----
I hope you all are enjoying the diversity of the Goodreads Giveaway program for the time being as that is all going away.
As of January 2018, Goodreads has decided that it will no longer allow authors to give away books on its platform for free: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/pa... This means that as giveaways that were scheduled prior to that date (including mine) time out, there will be less and less variety - fewer and fewer opportunities to discover new authors. This also means that there will be fewer and fewer opportunities for readers to win. As the algorithms in use already limit who actually gets books and with the number of books on offer dropping significantly, this means that the majority of Goodreads users will likely NEVER win.
Other fun features: : "Entrants required to add the book to their Want to Read list " Giveaways will be open to US residents only.
With many competing platforms such as LibraryThing, Smashwords, etc. that DO allow authors to give away free material and AMAZON (Goodread's owner) that allows the same for only the cost of the book (from which the author still gets the royalty) this means that for the overwhelming majority of authors (especially indie authors) who currently offer giveaways on this site, Goodreads is no longer worth the effort.
Don't like this change? Complain: https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta...
Here is the reply I received from Goodreads:
"Hi Grea,
I'm sorry to hear that! We designed our new Goodreads Giveaways program based on feedback from authors and publishers, and we're now offering several features that authors and publishers have been asking for. The biggest benefit is the increased marketing and advertising benefits surrounding a giveaway. In many ways, we view a giveaway as a mini advertising campaign on Goodreads. As your giveaway is shared and promoted on Goodreads, this gets your book in front of more readers, helping build buzz about your book with readers.
We have several other free features for Goodreads Authors, including Ask the Author, which allows you to answer questions from your fans and readers, posting excerpts of upcoming publications on your author blog, and sharing your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans. As a lower-cost alternative, you also might want to check out Amazon Giveaways. I understand that these features don't replace giveaways for you, but hope you will take advantage of the many other ways to connect with readers on Goodreads.
If you have any additional feedback you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to let me know."
And my reply to their reply:
Good morning,
I find it hard to believe that authors and publishers all said: Hey, let's completely remove the option to give away books for free and exclude people who are not in the U.S.
It would be one thing to offer these options in addition to the standard free giveway but to remove the free option all together? Not worth it - especially when there are so many options to give away books for free.
All you're doing is alienating both authors and users. Let's see how well that works out for you in the end.
Cheers!
Grea.
----
That being said, I would like to thank everyone who has entered my giveaways and added my books. However, until this policy changes, I will no longer be running any new giveaways on Goodreads.
I have only 2 remaining:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
When they are done, unless the policy changes, there will be no more giveaways offered by Seamonkey Ink on this site. Rest assured; however, that I will continue to do giveaways via other platforms.
Despite the above, please feel free to review my work here.
I will make every effort to update this blog with my other giveaways.
For instance: I just set up a giveaway on Amazon for two kindle versions of Rebellion Book I: Book of Quay:
- Two copies
- Instant Win, Lucky Number
- Unfortunately only US entrants
- Enter here: https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/874fc3a...
To stay apprised of any future SeamonkeyInk giveaways: http://seamonkeyink.com/seamonkey_ink...
Cheers!
Grea.
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message 1:
by
Themountainbookie
(new)
Mar 26, 2018 12:45PM
I sent a message. I hope that the giveaways don't change too much. This is a great way for people to read books they can't get at the library.
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Sarah wrote: "I sent a message. I hope that the giveaways don't change too much. This is a great way for people to read books they can't get at the library."I agree - not just as an author but as someone who values neutrality, variety, fairness and opportunity for all.
I watch a lot of indie & foreign movies/TV as a general course of action. I couldn't even imagine if suddenly my favorite outlets decided to exclude U.S. materials/patrons and only carry bigger budget, mainstream fare.
How accurate this is, I don't know. But according to this site, Goodreads Giveaways has decided to alienate a good portion of users (non-U.S.) as only U.S. users will be able to enter giveaways once all the pre 1/2018 ones time out: https://www.quantcast.com/goodreads.c...
Here's a more detailed explanation of the program: https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1...
"New Giveaways created on or after 1/9/18 will initially be open to US residents only. Giveaways created prior to 1/9/18 will continue to run as scheduled, but will not benefit from any of the enhancements in our new Giveaways program. "
