Goodreads? Good Idea

I'm on Goodreads, but I found an article on Twitter about all you can do, and realized how greatly I have underutilized this site. And why is that? Unlike Facebook, it's an intimidating site which is not very user friendly. An author on Facebook can join groups, promote their books, request reviews, and network with publishers, other authors and readers. There are groups for all these purposes with thousands of members.

What can you do on Goodreads?

Build relationships. Network. Participate in groups, but not to hawk your wares.

Find friends. Goodreads has a maximum capacity of 5,000 so choose wisely.

Use Listopia. Basically categorizing books like a library.

Goodreads is also a place to rate and review books, get book recommendations, and ultimately find readers. It seems like authors need to be on Goodreads.

So all the functionality is there, but the only way to get used to it is actually use it. I have used Facebook more, for both personal and professional use, so I am more comfortable with it. But there was a time, not so long ago, when I didn't use Twitter either. The whole 'practice makes perfect' adage is true. I must be more active on Goodreads.

Adding another social media outlet to monitor and use to an already busy schedule seems daunting. If I spend all my "free" time on the Internet, when will I have time to actually write? It's a balancing act for sure and I constantly refer back to my daily marketing plan to keep me on track. Because if you want to sell books, you need to be out there where the readers are.

Where are the readers? They are on Goodreads, an intriguing book networking site.