No matter what type of books you write an author's greatest need is to connect with readers. They're out there, but helping them get to know you and your books is another story. When people walk into bookstores, they usually have a goal. They're looking for "Famous Author" 's last novel or a book on how to build a shed. Readers search for books and authors they connect with. Although most authors are familiar with the many social networks available to them on the Internet, you will benefit from knowing how to network with readers.
A variety of reader communitites are available on the Internet that can introduce your books to new readers. It takes a short time to set up your profile page and then to update it occasionally. Don't try to connect with every reader's community, but find the ones that fight your genre and chose two or three.
Dana Lynn Smith, book marketing coach and author of The Savvy Book Marketers Guide to Successful Social Marketing http://www.savvybookmarketer.com/ provides a list of some of the most popular reader sites. Below is a list that you can view to see where you and your genre fit best.
I have been connected with two of these venues and have heard from readers who are connected with others. They do work to connect you to those who read your books.
Why not give it a try and start making connections.
Goodreads one of the largest social network for readers with 1.8 million members who have added more than 41 million books to their bookshelves. You can promote your books in a variety of ways. See http://www.goodreads.com/author/program for details.
LibraryThing connects you with 600,000 book lovers who have cataloged 35 million books. Registered on this stie you can promote book readings and events, participate in author chat, offer review copies, and add photos and information to your author page. See http://www.librarything.com/librarything_author for details.
AuthorsDen is one of the oldest reader connects. You can build profile pages and interact with readers.
Nothing Binding is mainly for independent publishers.
Shelfari is owned by Amazon and it’s popular with Facebook users.
Red Room at is another popular site for authors with the ability to tie in multi-media.
JacketFlap focuses on children’s and young adult books
Big Universe is devoted to children’s picture books.
Try one first and see how it works, then add another, but beware of connecting with too many network groups. You'll find your time being eaten away with connecting and no time to write.
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