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Sunday 22 July 2012

A Special Occasion


This week was the first birthday of a very special group – The UK Amazon Kindle Users Forum on Goodreads. I first joined the group about eight months ago on the advice of a friend. I’m very wary about groups and forums I join, so generally wait for a recommendation before I go there.

Why so wary? If you’re not a self-published author, you might not aware of the anti-self-published mentality that exists out there in cyberspace. In some ways, it’s understandable. Having ninety-thousand authors popping into threads to say ‘buy my book’ must get annoying. But the mentality has got to the point where a person only has to admit to being a writer and they’re set upon like a magpie out of its territory. There are some places I just don’t go any more. Trolls are loathsome creatures and I’d rather stay away from them.

The UK Amazon Kindle Users Forum is not like that. Yes, they have their rules, but they’re not difficult to keep. These people are not only friendly, they encourage authors to join them, they actively buy, review and promote their books. For example, in April, Mark of the Dragon Queen was chosen as one of the Recommended Reads of the month having been given 2 Acorns in the Oak Tree Group Recommendation (a book group for members). The book was discussed, a quiz was run about it – and in the process, I sold lots of books, despite the fact that it was free for two days after the Book of the Month was announced. I also got lots of new reviews and got a swelled head into the bargain. (There are links to the threads in my links on the left.)

In addition to all this, one of the leaders of the group, Simon, is a bit of a computer wiz and has devised a group ‘site ring’ – that’s it there, in the top right-hand corner of my blog. Click on there and you can do a tour of members’ blogs or websites. It’s a great way for us to get to know each other. To encourage everyone to do a tour of the ring, Simon devised a competition asking a question about each site.

So this post is just to say Many Happy Returns to this wonderful group and to thank them for all their hard work and support.

A belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY UK Amazon Kindle Users Forum on Goodreads!

4 comments:

Grace Elliot said...

I'm a newbie to the group on Goodreads but I'm so impressed how friendly everyone is - and without shoving their books down your throat.
I found your blog as a result of joining the blog ring organised by the founder, Simon, and I'm having such fun discovering all the different blogs.
Great to meet you,
Grace x

Kate said...

Great to meet you, too, Grace!

Carol Hedges said...

Well, now I'm learning new stuff! Thank you Kate. Good to meet you in cyberspace. Will try some of your advice (I work as an Exam invigilator in local school - used to be a librarian too)

Kate said...

Nice to meet you, too, Carol. All the best people have been or are librarians!