Goodreads is the social networking site for book authors and readers. This is where they meet to satisfy their common interest - books. Having said that, check these benefits on how Goodreads can help the independent author.

1. Profile

As soon as the author registers in Goodreads, he can participate in the Author program. He can then add his contact information, photo, biography, and books. He may also upload his eBooks and add friends. Be aware that a basic Goodreads account has limited functionalities. Everyone who registers should pass this level of membership first before applying for an Author upgrade.

2. Events

This enables authors to advertise events such as book tours, book launches and writer appearances. What makes these events even better is that it can also be used to share free eBooks. Authors can arrange a Goodreads Event with all the specifics, including a link to the marketing page on the weblog. This can help direct guests to the author's website for all these types of book events.

3. Giveaways

Goodreads Giveaways are another means of helping independent authors. It is an incredible program where authors can easily give printed copies of their books to readers at no cost. In turn, they hope to get reviews of their books on Amazon and Goodreads. This free gift is available only for a period of time specified by the author. By the end of the program, Goodreads will select winners at random and will send the winners’ names and addresses to the author. It is now the author's obligation to actually mail the books.

4. Book Listing

Goodreads authors are able to include their books in their Bookshelf. They can do it by making use of the Add function that finds the book from a number of book stores on the internet or by providing all book details to manually add it. Once books have been indexed on the bookshelf, visitors are now able to rate the books and write a review immediately on the author's Goodreads page.

5. Groups

How Goodreads can help the independent author with this feature is fairly simple. These groups comprise communities of bookworms who share the same passions. This feature is strictly intended for interacting and connecting with fellow readers. This is where people may try to get to know one another and their love for a specific genre.

6. Featured Groups

Featured Groups must not be confused with Groups. The former is a method in which authors can communicate with readers and build hype for their existing or upcoming books. In Featured Groups, authors can form a Q and A group and agree to respond to queries in relation to their books for a given period. Goodreads will help market such groups by utilizing its word of mouth methods. This is the easy way Goodreads can give assistance to independent authors through the Featured Groups function.