Space Opera Fans discussion

Helpful SOF Self-Marketing Info for ***AUTHORS!!!***

Space Opera Fans is a reader-oriented community that wishes to accommodate our author-readers when we can. Due to the behavior of a few bad actors on Goodreads, most readers now meet an author's excited statement of 'Hi ... I wrote a book!' with 'groan ... another author is spamming me' and your friend requests with 'Who is this person and what are they trying to sell me?' Let's reverse that unfortunate trend by laying out some clear rules so that Space Opera Fans remains a place where authors and readers can get together to discuss the thing they love most ... awesome galactic-spanning science fiction ... without stepping on anybody's toes.

If you are an author and would like to make Space Opera Fans members aware of that fact, here are some suggestions on how to go about doing it:


1. Be a reader first: Visit the threads. Comment on something other than your own book. Get to know people. Make friends and, instead of trying to pitch your book, subscribe to their reviews and see what books they like. Not only will this help build a sense of community, but it will make you a better author because you'll get a good grasp of what catches reader's eyes. And ... it's just plain fun. Friends are interested in what their other friends like to read.


2. If you're a brand new member, drop into our Introduce Yourself thread and tell us a little about yourself. Remember, this is the place to introduce yourself as a READER. It's okay to say you're a Goodreads author, but please don't post excerpts or links to your books because members will simply roll their eyes and we will delete your posting.

Introduce Yourself is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


3. Get to know the other authors and bloggers: We have an Author & Blogger Shop-Talk folder which is designed to be a place you can get together and discuss issues related to writing, publishing, connecting with readers (but not self-promote!!! Self-promotion can only go in the Self-Promotion folder!!!) and blogging. Peruse the threads and be helpful to your fellow Space Opera Fans authors and bloggers. Just keep in mind that most reader-members avoid authors/bloggers corner like the plague because, let's face it, discussion of smiting adverbs or blogger search engine optimization bores the average reader to tears.

Author & Blogger Shop-Talk folder is HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Author & Blogger Shop-Talk *RULES* are HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


4. Are you running a *FREE* ebook promotion or perma-free? You can post a link ONCE per month per book under our We Found Free Ebooks thread located in Contests and Freebies. You can just drop in the link, or you can add your book cover (click add book/author at the top-right of the comment box and then click cover) and a BRIEF book description of less than 300 characters. Don't just put in links for Amazon if you have them. Space Opera Fans members hail from all over the globe and read on many different e-readers besides just the Kindle.

We Found Free Ebooks is HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

If you leave long, rambling write-ups, your notice will be deleted and, if it persists, you will be prohibited from posting, so please don't abuse this thread.


5. Do you need reviews [R2R]? Our R2R program is now up and running as a lightly moderated self-help program! Read the rules:

R2R is HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Remember proper review etiquette. Readers may leave a good review, a bad review, a snarky review, or request to be withdrawn if they don't feel they can give your book a fair review. Negative reviews hurt (ouch!), but this is not the place to blast a reader.

Goodreads Review Guidelines are HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/review/guid...


6. Book of the Month [BOTM] Club: Around the 20th of each month a mass email will go out requesting nominations in one of four book categories for the following month as our SOF group reads. The first category is reserved for traditionally published books that readers can buy in a traditional brick and mortar store or library, but our INDIE PICK category is designed to nurture new voices in the space opera genre. We use Random.org to pick a winner from the list, so it -is- permissible to nominate your own book.

Don't be a jerk ... nominate in the other categories! It will give you something to talk about with the other SOF readers!

BOTM club is HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

HERE is how to make your BOTM nomination pretty: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

If your book is selected for a monthly group read, your book cover be featured near the top of the community landing page as well as have its own BOTM discussion thread. Most genre readers just snag a book and rate it, but if you check back for comments or questions, it is a priceless opportunity to enter into a dialogue with genuine readers.


7. Author of the Month [AOTM] Interview. If your book is one of the ones selected for a monthly group read, you are welcome to contact MOD-Anna with answered Awesome Author Interview questions and she will post it and send out an email announcing the community has a new author interview to read.

AOTM interview questions are HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


8. Announce a Goodreads First-Reads Giveaway! Are you running a Goodreads First-Reads Giveaway contest for a free, autographed copy of your book? Once you set it up on your author page, why not drop an announcement in our Goodreads First-Reads Giveaway announcement thread under our Contests and Freebies folder?

Giveways is HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


9. Join a Challenge! Let's face it ... many of your friends are authors and all of them have books they'd like for you to read and review. Why not gather up all the books you have no time to read, make a special shelf for it, and join one of our challenges? It's a great way to connect with other SOF members doing something you need to do anyways and it will support your fellow SOF authors.

SOF Challenges are not yet up and running because they depend upon community members offering up a prize, but they will be in the near-future, likely sometime after we get the R2R program up and running as that's a good time for me to exhort [*cough*] ahem ... I mean request autographed copies of books for prizes. 3:-)


10. Donate to/Sponsor a Challenge: We're still on the fence about reading challenges only because it takes a lot of time to moderate, but if you have something, contact us? If you would like to sponsor an entire contest or challenge with a much more lucrative prize (such as a Kindle loaded with your backlist or a hefty gift card) as a means to advertise an upcoming book, PM me and I'll see if we can work something out.


11. Add your space opera book to one of our Listopias! Our current Listopias we either sponsor, or enjoy, are here.

HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

These Listopias are highly searchable by Google. The more overall genuinely space opera books we have on our list and more members rank their entire space opera libraries, the more likely it is that -your- book will show up high on the list if you do the things I recommend in this community. List and rank your own books first ('cause who doesn't love their own 'baby' best?) and then rank the other space opera books you've read, reviewed and love.


12. Don't cut and paste excerpts from your books or otherwise chant my book, my book, my book in the discussion threads. Readers HATE that and your fellow authors will roll their eyes. For a more in-depth discussion, see HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


12. NO SELF-PROMOTION ALLOWED except as stated above!!!

*

Your Space Opera Fans MODS hope you enjoy your stay in this community, and that you meet lots of great readers and fellow science fiction/space opera authors and bloggers. Remember ... we're here to talk about great books, but if you get to know people and they grow to like you as a person first, our awesome readers can become some of your biggest supporters.

Welcome to Space Opera Fans!
SOF MOD-Anna

Other SOF Listopias:

Young Adult Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...


Middle-Grade Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

At one time they could. It was changed recently, I assume.

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