Don't Let New Releases Sneak Past You

If you're like me, you have authors who are on an auto-buy list. I want to know as soon as they have a new book out, so I can devour it. Goodreads has a nice feature with their New Release Newsletter, which you can set to let you know when an author whose books you've read has a pending release.

At least, that's how I thought it worked. Turns out that's not quite true.

When I contacted Goodreads, inquiring how an indie author could get in the newsletter (because indie and small press author's don't have the option of setting their releases up for pre-order on Amazon so how would GR know when they have a pending release?), this is what they said.

When we make decisions about the new releases mailer, we look at the site activity around those titles to determine what to include. We look at how people have shelved the book to determine the genre, and then we look at how many people have added it to their to-read list or rated the book. We take the top few from each of the selected genres and include them in the newsletter.

So as it turns out, if I'm waiting for a new release that's not by one of Goodread's "hot" authors, I'll only know it's out when I stumble across it. As a reader, that's not good enough.

As a writer, it really annoys me because, once again, those who need exposure most are getting cut out. Goodreads will, however, let you buy an ad in the newsletter. It really does feel like the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

So how do you know when your favorite non-best-selling author releases a new book?

There are other alternatives. There's Edelweiss, a site that wants to be your book discovery service, but they don't appear to include indies, so you won't see new books by authors like Courtney Milan, who decided to strike out on their own. Since Courtney's an auto-buy author for me, Edelweiss isn't a satisfactory option.

So who can give me the service I'm craving?

Are you going to be surprised when I say Amazon?

Love them or hate them, as with so many things, they do this particular service well and with a simple elegance.

You go to the author's page on Amazon (click on the author's name below any of their books to get there) then click on their Stay-Up-To-Date feature. 

And voila. 

As a reader, you'll now know as soon as it comes out. 

As a writer, you'll always have fans who don't want to be on your mailing list. You can point them here. Everyone wins.

If you want to jet over to my author page on Amazon to avail yourself of this nifty feature, click here.

Happy reading. 

Who are your auto-buy authors?