Fantasy Book Club discussion

I am creating this topic because many of our new members seem to be authors and many of the people creating new topics seem to be authors.

This group is for readers. It is not for authors unless they are joining as READERS! Please do not promote your books in this group, other than in the folders or topics specifically created for authors. Comments mentioning your own books outside of specifically designated areas will be deleted. If this behavior persists, you will be blocked from the group.

Any author whose book is lucky enough to be nominated for a monthly book read MUST NOT promote his or her book to people outside the regular membership of this group. If it is discovered that this has happened, the book WILL BE DELETED FROM THE POLL.

I've copied and pasted Fiona's list here for your edification. It's composed of great suggestions that you should follow!

FIONA’S list of Worst Mistakes Authors Make On GoodReads.com:

1. Trying to slip their own book into group nominations (to be read by every member of the Book Club Group) especially without even trying to be honest about it.

2. Throwing a hissy fit when they are asked/informed to read/keep to group rules, etc. (for instance, about self promotion and spamming the forums.)

3. Creating multiple accounts and pretending to be different people so as to pretend they actually have friends who have read the book.

4. Failing to use paragraphs, punctuation or spelling in their attempts to advertise their ‘book’. Obviously these people probably aren’t serious authors.

5. Only seeming interested in their book, only ever wanting to talk about their book, trying to twist every other group conversation into something to do with their book…(as in)… “This is an interesting topic… blah blah this is my book.”

6. Also, promising to give away £10,000 worth of free stuff if you buy the book probably doesn’t work very well either.

7. And people should introduce themselves first. You know, “Hello I am so and so, I like these books…” and try not to mention the fact they are an author for five seconds.

A.C.,

You can make a new group, but you might be better off just using one of the many that are here on Goodreads already.

If you are looking for groups where authors interact with readers as authors and not as fans of the genre, check out "Writers and Readers", "Author's Corner", "Indie Book Club", "Authors, Books, Blogs, and More", "Making Connections", "The Genre Underground" and numerous other Goodreads groups where the focus is more on authors and readers interacting with each other.

Search "author" from the Groups section and I'm sure you'll find plenty of groups. Most of these groups have sections devoted to different genres, and fantasy is one of the more popular ones.

I don't think there is any question that authors can successfully post here as readers without mentioning that they are authors.

Coming into an established group and telling them that they need to change their policies for you is a touch rude, and it is unlikely to make them feel more favorably toward authors.

Thank you, J.D. And especially when you use lousy grammar.

Well worded J.D.

I'm just a reader and guilty of not participating as much I want in the groups and book discussions -- the more active the more fun a group. BUT, what gets on my last nerves are the recent rash of marketing masking as group participation. Particularly what I suspect set this whole thing off with authors and interested parties having goodreads members joining the group just to nominate and vote on books to ensure becomes book of the month discussion.

I'm usually okay with authors saying briefly they are authors so long as they are trying to participate in the group as appropriate to the discussion topic. BUT, as Fiona said, not hammering in the book title every comment you make. It's just boring, not interesting and detracts from the discussion I am trying to follow; I can look under appropriate threads for your book, at your author page, etc. if interested. Most of my favorite authors are readers and I can understand a hard balance to make if you are wanting to participate as a reader (or that it might feel deceptive to not mention you are an author) -- the balance is whether you are hijacking the discussion thread to market your book or participating in the topic.

Actually, nominating my own book for everyone to read is a fantastic idea. LOL. But I will refrain. Currently reading Name of the Wind. Pretty good so far.

I get your points above.

I hope to finish and market a book soon and have a question not raised: As a reader, I feel quite comfortable telling you, "I like this book. Here's why..." I also will tell you, "I loathed this book. Here's why..."

As an author in the genre, how much concern should I have about making negative comments on books?

This is a forum for readers, and I'm joining as someone who enjoys reading fantasy. On the other hand, it's generally considered bad for an author to make negative comments about their peers (though me considering anyone you've ever heard of "a peer" seems the height of hubris).

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ethics of the issue.

I think all should express their opinions as readers. As an author(?) you have as much right to your opinions as anyone else.

I have written a few books and I am a more avid reader than I am writing. I will not promote my books on here unless it is asked of. I joined this group because I love to read fantasy. I learn about books coming out that I am interested in better by being a part of this group.

I don't participate a lot on this site because I have five kids and a disabled husband that I take care of so time is limited. I do however come on and read about the books that are nominated, learn about them, and then vote for the one that I am most interested to learn more about.


There are groups on this site that you can join, if you are on author, so they don't have to spam every group. I just wanted to let you know that I am not an author that wants to spam because I am a reader first and foremost. It was actually this site that gave me the courage to try and write in the first place. A couple of authors on here were very inspiring.

@ Brian, I know amazon has recently been blocking author reviews because amazon feels they are gaming the system in all the competition for which book has a bestselling position on which list mess.

Other than there, seriously, I'm not seeing books in direct competition for anything. In fact, I'm used to seeing quotes from author/peer reviews right on book jackets and like to see what favorite authors are reading. And reading is a question of tastes. All books do not appeal to all and it's just such a personal decision that I really do not see the competition side of it that caused so many nasty problems on amazon.

I'd just make sure your reviews are honest, some indication of why you did or did not like, and nothing you'd be embarrassed to say in public.

The competition and gaming here usually not the problem that amazon has seen. If you do leave a negative review to someone and suddenly find wording similar to that author's writing style showing up on your book reviews and comments, I'd sniff something foul and alert goodreads staff.

Although, like the moderator mentioned, just because not as bad as at amazon, there has been some nasty stuff going on at goodreads that they're trying to prevent—like having the sockpuppets and trolls flood groups to take control of nominations and polls.

Another group noted that amazon sees more than 50,000 new books added each month. A great many of which are indie authors who will be doing their own promotion (some who won't care if they are annoying or what the group rules are and don't care how desperate they sound or that their writing style might be judged by how they write a post). An author acting as reader and politely following promotion rules is actually likely to be more of a standout :)

Debbie (Debbie Rice) wrote: "@ Brian, I know amazon has recently been blocking author reviews because amazon feels they are gaming the system in all the competition for which book has a bestselling position on which list mess...."

YES! That's it, Debbie.

THANK YOU. I'm an author and I approve this message. Seriously, though, get over yourselves. We're not the center of the universe, contrary to what you may believe. Stop SPAMMING Goodreads. We're readers first, then authors. Remember that.

LOL, you're welcome.

Currently reading Name of the Wind. Pretty good so far."

Name of the Wind... I really enjoyed it.

but... but... I swore a holy vow not to complete any sentence without plugging MY WONDERFUL BOOK. My only lament is that this group doesn't enable me to use 72point text when casually dropping MY WONDERFUL BOOK into the conversation.

Buy my book. Twice. That is all.

Mark wrote: "but... but... I swore a holy vow not to complete any sentence without plugging MY WONDERFUL BOOK. My only lament is that this group doesn't enable me to use 72point text when casually dropping MY W..."

LOL. We read your book as a group read, if you recall.

I love these sassy rules! Sassy but so so true. I haven't been on goodreads for a while and just noticed an author having a hissy fit in another group. It is such an ugly train wreck when that happens, like when you see a woman wearing a reeeeally unflattering tube top. She thinks it is a good idea, but everyone watching is thinking "oh no you ditn't!"

I love these sassy points! Sassy but so so true. I haven't been on goodreads for a while and just noticed an author having a hissy fit in another group. It is such an ugly train wreck when that happens, like when you see a woman wearing a reeeeally unflattering tube top. She thinks it is a good idea, but everyone watching is thinking "oh no you ditn't!"

Lol Poppy.:)

If I have enough money to offer £10k of free stuff I would be keeping the money:)

Quick question - how does this relate to blog posts? I am running author and reader interviews on my blog.

It doesn't matter either way to me but I was curious.

A.L. wrote: "Quick question - how does this relate to blog posts? I am running author and reader interviews on my blog.

It doesn't matter either way to me but I was curious."

I suppose you could post them under 'Fantasy News and Events' but this doesn't mean anyone can post a link to a blog post that promotes their own book, as recently happened.

OK, this was an author interview for another author, but as the blog also promotes my book I will not bother, as it sounds like that is a thin line.

Thanks for clarifying :)

Sure.

An author started a topic asking READERS what they are liking/not liking in the genre right now and her topic got shut down even though she didn't in any way plug a book or ask for money or for writing tips, and I'm curious why, since I was going to reply. I tried to just send a message privately to ask, but since no messages are accepted I guess I'll just ask here.

Michele wrote: "An author started a topic asking READERS what they are liking/not liking in the genre right now and her topic got shut down even though she didn't in any way plug a book or ask for money or for wri..."

What was the message topic? Was it deleted or just relocated to a more appropriate folder?

To whom were you trying to send a private message? Some GoodRead-ers have their profiles hidden or locked down so that only friends can see them and/or send them messages. Most authors, however, leave open the ability to send messages to them.

Thanks, Jon

Michele wrote: "An author started a topic asking READERS what they are liking/not liking in the genre right now and her topic got shut down even though she didn't in any way plug a book or ask for money or for wri..."

If you are referring to this topic: "Dark Fantasy: What do you look for in a story?" then I have to agree with the other mod who closed the topic. If that author wants to go fishing for feedback, she can do it in her own group or some other location besides this group. That author was taking advantage of a 'captive audience' of our members. You are, however, free to reply to that author via her GoodReads profile or her website/blog.

Thanks, Jon

Yes it was that one. And Sandra was who I tried to message.

Thanks for responding.

Michele wrote: "Yes it was that one. And Sandra was who I tried to message."

I only accept messages from friends and Jon stated my reasons for closing the thread. This is not the group for those kinds of discussions.

I'm awful confused by this site... What is this thread for? Just got transferred here by the mod.

I'm an author just looking to introduce myself to the community.

We direct all authors to read this topic.

We are just making everyone aware of this group's rules.

Some group's on goodreads are more author oriented. This group focuses on reading whether you are an author or not.
:)

I'm an author, but I was a reader first.

These are fantastic rules. This is part of the reason why I refuse to become a self-published author; there's no shame or a limit to what they'll do to get one person to look at their lesbian vampire teen werewolf sex bondage auto-bio novel. Yes, such a thing exists. Which is why I publish the proper way.

*cough cough* So anyway, I'm reading Joe Abercrombie's Half A King. And yes, it is awesome/

Jeremy wrote: ... their lesbian vampire teen werewolf sex bondage auto-bio novel.

Where can I find a copy of this? :P

Thanks for the recent email regarding non-active members. I'll be honest, I'd forgotten I'd joined this group, and time constraints stopped me getting involved at first. I intended to discover, through the group, which books in the genre were popular, and what readers thought about them. Now that I've 'rediscovered' the group, I'll try to be a bit more active (though I am in the process of moving house at present, and that is taking up rather more time than I hoped!).
As an author, I like to interact with readers as much as possible. Let's face it, a writer without readers is pretty redundant.
I'm interested in many different genres and I generally review any book I read; reviews help other readers select from the huge numbers available. If I've read a book within the past 3 or 4 years but haven't reviewed it, that's generally because I didn't enjoy it and, as an author, I'd rather not be negative about the work of another writer: after all, it's hard enough to write, without having to deal with the negative opinions of others.
So, that's me. I'm relatively new to fantasy as a writer, but I've been reading and enjoying the genre most of my life.
Hi to all in the group.

I'm a reader, and I'm a writer. I mention my writing in any introduction I give about myself because it's what I do; and saying so helps the community I'm joining to get to know me. It's not a guilty secret. But that said... it doesn't need to be said again! If I was a teacher, or a plumber, or a librarian, or a policeman etc, I wouldn't feel the need to keep reminding everyone of the fact. Neither should authors. Readers can easily find you if they so desire... they only have to look at your Goodreads profile! So... I welcome the group rules (if I'm just a little sad they are needed in the first place).

Hi to everyone, and happy reading :-)

Jon wrote: "Michele wrote: "An author started a topic asking READERS what they are liking/not liking in the genre right now and her topic got shut down even though she didn't in any way plug a book or ask for ..."

If an author wants to find out what people like in the genre, just ask people what their favorite books are and why they like them.

As a reader, I don't go looking for things in a story. There are so many books I'd like to read, that often what influences my reading list are factors external to the story, like awards (including nominations), critical buzz, and my existing relationship with the author's works.

I have trouble even making sense of the idea of looking for things in a story. Fantasy is a branch of speculative fiction, maybe all speculative fiction is based around the sense of wonder? The answers that do come to mind -- effective use of language and imagery; deep, realistic characters; an engrossing setting -- seem way too general to be helpful.

Wow!!! Just joined this group (AS A READER OF FANTASY) and decided I better read this discussion before posting anything. I'm sorry some of you have had such bad experiences with misbehaving authors in this group and others. However the virulent unfriendly attitudes in some of the posts by members here makes we feel unwelcome and intimidated. To be honest I'm afraid to post anything, just because I'm an author. It's incredible to me that people who love reading and have loads of books that they love on their shelves are so hateful toward authors, especially new Indie authors. Where and how do you think best-selling authors came from? They don't grow on trees nor were they hatched from best-selling author eggs. It's tough being an Indie author. I don't beg or spam for people to buy my books. Hell, I'm giving them away. I just think we (new authors) need some love, not hate!

Sorry for the rant. I'll be quiet from now on. If this post annoyed the mods, go ahead and kick me out (sad face).

Hi, we have many authors in the group; famous, not so famous and indie. This is the first post in this thread by a current mod. I believe, as a group, we welcome authors as they like us are readers too and many joined to find books. Like yourself.

This group has attracted some very aggressive authors over the years which led to previous mods and current members and mods becoming very unhappy. We've been insulted, threatened and made unwelcome in posts and messages.

I'm sure if you chat to members, you'll see that we are friendly and welcoming however, (not suggesting you would do this) when someone asks us to get their book without so much as a hello- not so friendly.

J. wrote: "Wow!!! Just joined this group (AS A READER OF FANTASY) and decided I better read this discussion before posting anything. I'm sorry some of you have had such bad experiences with misbehaving author..."

I just reread the thread because of your view that posts were virulent and unfriendly. I'm not seeing it. Sorry you feel that way. I hope you'll find us friendly.

J. wrote: "Wow!!! Just joined this group (AS A READER OF FANTASY) and decided I better read this discussion before posting anything. I'm sorry some of you have had such bad experiences with misbehaving author..."

Okay Helen, thanks for the background info. Another fantasy group I belong to is berating ALL authors, even established ones, who use maps in their books!!! I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion but that group even hates Brooks and his Shannara stories.

I read more than I write. It's necessary for my genre because it requires a lot of research. I don't read fluff fantasy and I don't read books that take classic legends and get the story all mixed up. Divergence from what has already been written about a legend is necessary but making famous characters into something they never were in other stories is not good, particularly when there is real historical evidence refuting the strange divergence. I could cite examples but don't want to disrespect any other author, particularly if they are selling books. More power to them!

I'm just wanting to point out that, although I read a LOT, I am very picky about what I read. I read with very focused purpose, books that relate, at least in part, to the genre in which I'm writing - adult, erotic, epic, historical, fantasy. It's an important part of my full time job. I will need some guidance as to how I can discuss these books meaningfully without touching on why I read them.

J. wrote: "Wow!!! Just joined this group (AS A READER OF FANTASY) and decided I better read this discussion before posting anything. I'm sorry some of you have had such bad experiences with misbehaving author..."

i couldn't agree more! I'm sure both authors and readers have 'misbehaved' in some way. They'll have read somewhere that talking to people on forums is a good idea. I think the only way to approach forums is to have fun and connect to the people you're writing for and alongside.
I'd also put in that goodreads can attract some very passionate people, both writers and authors. I think that leads to either very positive or very negative experiences. Hopefully mine will be the former!

I don´t befriend authors no matter what but to be honest, I love when you post where the "other" members are. It´s just makes it more fun. However I do think we need some balance here and that´s what Brenda and Helen are trying to do.