What's With Goodreads?

 

I had a never-used Goodreads reader account for years. I don't remember why I set it up, but possibly because a friend recommended it. Its usefulness was puzzling. I didn't need fellow readers' book recommendations because I'm capable of forming my own thoughts. And generally I hear about a book I might want to read via a podcast host or guest whose opinion I value. 

It wasn't until I began self-publishing that someone online mentioned Goodreads (perhaps with regard to its giveaways), so I signed up as an author. On the one hand, I like that the entirety of my catalog is presented on one page ~ a nice, compact overview of my professional life ~ and I suppose I appreciate that readers can leave reviews. 

But the site itself can be aggravating. It tolerates so much spamming and rarely seems to address it. I haven't experienced a spam review that I know of (I've stopped reading my reviews), but many authors have. And then there are the phony ARC requests, which I have experienced. 

The one time I offered ARCs, the same person kept asking for one and I would send it, even though the email address looked odd ~ periods in places where they shouldn't exist, like "g.oober.fu.nutjob@gmail.com". Then a day later the same person would again request an ARC, and once again I would send it, assuming the first landed in their spam folder. This happened three times before I simply gave up. Recently another author posted about this same type of request and sure enough, the goober who'd contacted me also contacted her. Goodreads is apparently a big lure for spammers/scammers, and I don't know why, nor do I know what the game is. And Goodreads is mostly unresponsive to complaints.

I've experienced its intransigence. When I unpublished one of my novels I asked a "librarian" if Goodreads, too, could remove it, just as it had been removed from Amazon, its partner. The guy voiced confusion over the term "unpublish" and ultimately refused to delete it. I ended up simply changing the book's description to "THIS TITLE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE". 

It's also impossible to change an existing book's cover. I doubt that many authors strive to have their cover images changed, because most of them have paid good money for the cover they have, unlike someone like me who designs her own. Thus, I don't think the librarians (fancy name for customer service reps) are inundated with cover change requests. They won't do it. The best they can offer is to have two (or possibly more) listings for the same book, only with different covers. Frankly, this process is puzzling. I can change my covers on KDP as many times as I like, yet Goodreads does not allow authors to change their own. 

Back to scammers, I've joined a couple of Goodreads groups, mostly to have something to browse when I'm bored, but also to occasionally find some useful tips. Blatant scammers love these boards. I noted a while back that someone posted that he (she?) had created an online store and solicited authors to submit their books to stock its virtual shelves. Tons of writers eagerly jumped, yet when I asked for a link to the store, I received no reply. Eventually a couple others posted the same request, which led to the OP including a link, which was dead. Again, I don't know what the scam was, but there obviously was one.

Too, someone out of the blue will offer to review books for free. One will find page upon page of author responses that go nowhere. The OP is long gone. I've seen a thread like that continue for years. Authors are hungry and I don't blame them, but naivete never pays off.

The fact is, Goodreads is geared toward the reader. Again, I don't understand why or how it benefits a reader, but maybe a lot of people simply like following the pack. If a bunch of people like a book, then surely I'll like it, too. 

Sites like these can't serve two masters; not well. Promo sites that want authors to pay for ads rarely have a huge reader base. Their business is selling ~ themselves; not books. But most of those author services, with a few exceptions, just aren't large enough to serve both writers and readers. Goodreads, however, is. Its owner, Amazon, has plenty of capital. The lack of focus on authors isn't "we can't". It's "we don't feel like it". Yes, its purpose is to drive Amazon sales, but believe it or not, some indie books sell, too. Amazon also makes money off those. 

I'm not exactly upset over Goodreads' deficiencies. It's not a site that I rely on to advance my career. Yet it's impossible to miss the components that are lacking. I come from an industry that constantly pushed efficiencies. It was ingrained in me. So, it's immediately plain that with very little effort, Goodreads could step up its game. Too bad they're not interested.