Dear Author | Online Groups

Last month I talked about safety on social media and what worries me for authors. This month we are talking about online groups.

On different platforms there are author/reader groups. These can be both a blessing and a curse to readers. Both Facebook and Goodreads have group as to other platforms. I mainly use these two platforms so will focus on them.

Goodreads Groups

I will start with Goodreads. Goodreads is a place where there are many author and reader groups. It’s easy to start a group. I have joined quite a few groups at different times and the ones I have enjoyed most have been multi author groups. While several of the groups are not a active now I did find them enjoyable. Many others I joined but was never active. A couple I am on are still very active but I personally am not participating.

Love Inspired Historical was an active group. The reason was authors interacted with readers and we felt and still feel like friends. There were often fun games, including writing fun stories. The one where you write a sentence or two and then the next one takes over. They were fun stories that could end up almost anywhere. Once a month the LIH authors with books out would take part in a Q&A with the group. We even had a readers retreat when I was visiting the USA. The only reason it isn’t active now is the Line ended.

The groups I joined and either didn’t participate or left were often author groups where the posts were mostly hard sell. There was the “tell us a little about yourself” when you joined but hardly anyone would comment including the owners of the group and it was just to push the author or authors books. I have to say I didn’t stay. Some groups start out active with author/reader participation, but it then just dwindles away.

Lets now talk Facebook groups.

The most important thing for both Authors and Readers to check on any group you join is if it the group is public or private. If the group is public I personally would not join. I made the mistake a couple years ago and got so much spam that was traced back to this group. A public group you don’t have to join to see who the members are or read the posts. These people can’t post but they can garner a lot of information.

Private groups have Administrators who moderate the group. The best groups will have questions to answer before you can join which weed out spammers. Some may still get through but most won’t answer all the questions. You also know that your information is much safer. I have had an owner say they want the group to have more visibility by being public. It doesn’t work like that. If you search for a type of group both public and private show up.

Reader Groups

There are quite a few Facebook groups for readers. Some have a large membership like Avid Readers of Christian Fiction which is a group for both author and readers. When I am looking for a book set in a certain place or genre I will ask there. Much easier than doing a google search. We also know all books have to be Christian Fiction which is a help with so many authors writing both Christian and Sweet or Clean books now. On the downside there are so many members that I often miss posts and can’t find the post I was looking for. I also get overwhelmed by all the posts. They also have some rules on what you can and can’t ask about books.

Then there are groups like ACW which is also readers and writers and shares the posts from the blog. It has a weekend book question and has a lot of writer articles. These are often of interest to both readers and writers. The group also limits self promotion which readers are grateful for.

A couple of my favourite groups are run by authors. Sharlene Maclaren & Friends is one of my favourites. There are fun post, as well as devotional posts. We can post prayer requests and know it will stay in the group. At times there have been fun games. It is a safe place with no hard sell. It is a real community that cares for each other.

There are also groups that are run by several authors for different genres, areas etc. Dienece Darling wrote on some groups here.

On the other hand I have joined groups where most posts are buy my book or info on their book. There may be an image telling the genre and all the tropes, where to buy but no real information just buy my book. Sometimes you don’t know what the group will be like till you join.

Author Takeovers

Some groups will have what is called an author take over. It maybe a week or a day. The author will host for the time period with several posts. Some groups only have Author takeovers. The better author take overs are those who have posts that actively engage readers. With games, fun questions, and activities that engage a reader. Most important is replying to comments. They will talk about their books but mostly in one post and will have links in the final post.

The takeovers I don’t enjoy is where every post is a hard sell. They may add a question but mostly its about trying to get sales. Most have a give away and where its an entry for commenting on posts if great. Where I get frustrated is to enter you need to follow me on all my social media and join my newsletter. Or you will get a free book if you join my newsletter. These I tend to not do unless I want to. By leaving the links on the last post you will get those who really want to follow you. It is so easy to join a list to get an entry then unsubscribe soon as the week is over.

The takeout is readers like to be involved. We like to feel that authors want to get to know us and want to engage with us and not see us just as a cash cow. If you foster relationships with readers, we can be your most loyal supporters and biggest assets.

If you have suggestions for Dear Reader subjects comment below.