Goodreads is for the People

It’s true. Goodreads is a platform designed for readers to come together to share their love/hate for the books they read. It was never intended to be a promotional platform for authors (though goodreads does have an author program). And when I first joined goodreads in grad school, I did so as a reader/academic, not author. I read books. I rated them. I reviewed some. But these were “safe” books because they were classic literature written by “the dead guys.” (They don’t care what I say.) Plus, I was a reader then. It was okay to have a voice.

Goodreads is not that same platform for an author as it is for a reader. And it shouldn’t be. It’s a reading community, not a writing one. It can serve as a great place to promote your work if you have some cash and the ability to shrug off unfavorable reviews. Sometimes downright nasty ones. The operative word there, however, is “shrug.” I think for me, I’m just tired of shrugging. It takes a lot to shrug, people! It’s hard work.

So I’ll no longer maintain an author profile. Let’s be honest: you sign up to follow my reviews, but I haven’t got any! Lol Why? Well, I don’t think many people are supportive of authors having opinions on fellow authors’ works. Plus, I’m reading James Joyce’s Ulysses anyway. I mean, seriously. Who gives a shit? But here’s the beauty of goodreads: the librarians will most likely set up a profile for me anyway—one they’ll maintain. So I’ll let them do all the work. Ha ha! Plus, I think it’s much fairer for you to be able to review/discuss/argue my books in my absence. I mean, I don’t get involved in discussions, but no one needs a hovering presence either. Know what I mean? It makes more sense for me to be out of the picture.

And there's no debacle. I know other authors have exited because of drama. I mean, I’ve heard of authors leaving, but I don’t know their stories because I have absolutely no idea what goes on in the book world. And I love being ignorant. *throws hands up* Hey, I just wanna write. So I’m bowing out because I’m tired. That’s the boring truth. And I'm telling you this because if you follow my non-existent reviews or are my friend on goodreads, you deserve to know where I've gone. That's polite, and I'm a mannerly person.

I’m currently running a giveaway for Good, so when that’s complete (August 27th), I’m gonna let the librarians take over. You can always keep up-to-date on my projects by visiting my blog (which will soon direct you to my brand new snazzy website!). You can also email me, too. xo