Discovering Books ~ Going Beyond Genre

Because of the unique nature of a relatively new discoverability tool, I’m reblogging a post I did back in February.

#Discoverability is a trending term in the BookWorld.

Image courtesy of wynand van niekerk ~ http://fgx.co.za/

Self-publishing has transformed the traditional way readers find their books.

Even those who prefer buying from a bookstore will check online to build a list.

Same thing for devoted library patrons.

Yet, even buying online presents a challenge of discoverability.

Let me quote David Gaughran, Irish writer blogging at Let’s Get Visible, from a Google Plus chat we had:

“Amazon’s recommendation engine is the best in the e-commerce world, but it’s far from perfect and can even make some elementary errors.

“The other retailers are light years behind, and many of them…are like walking into a bookstore where the genre shelves are totally hidden, and the entire store consists of front tables (and Big 5 books).

“I think (device owning) readers get recommendations these days from a broader range of sources. It’s not just friends, the bookstore, and the newspaper, but Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and thousands and thousands of book blogs and review sites…“

And, he summed-up with:

“The tools we have for discovering books can and will get better, but I think they are pretty good as is.”

So…

Readers have many more ways to find books and Authors have more decisions about placing their books where readers can find them.

In September of 2013, I wrote a post called, Readers Discovering Books ~ The “Best” Way?

It featured a unique platform for: 

Readers Discovering Authors

Authors Promoting Their Work

Book-Service Provider Advertising

Since that post was published, the platform I featured, iAuthor, has been making lots of improvements.

From the site:

Are you an author?

iAuthor connects authors to readers with unparalleled ease, speed and flair. Showcase all your books and literary apps ‒ for FREE! Reach readers in minutes. Build your fanbase. Go global.

Offer a specialist service to the book trade?

iAuthor connects book service-providers to a discerning global clientele: authors, bloggers, publishers, retailers, reviewers, librarians, speakers, teachers, and more. Whether you’re a freelance editor, run a book design studio or produce book trailers, iAuthor has you covered. Reach clients in minutes. Deepen brand engagement. Go global.

Are you a reader?

iAuthor is transforming book discovery. Through smart use of category filters and content-curation tools, iAuthor puts serendipity back into virtual book browsing. Discover eBooks and cutting-edge book apps. Buy in a format of your choice. Best of all, iAuthor lets you create your own book Themes ‒ crowdsourcing at its most potent.

Those Themes are one of the best features at iAuthor.

Here are just a few of the most popular Themes:

◊ Novels with a deeply flawed protagonist

◊ Books with unusual but effective covers

◊ Books straddling multiple genres

◊ Books with a vivid sense of place

◊ Children’s books that will also engage adults

◊ Epic fantasy books with magical worlds

◊ Books about book-writing

◊ Timeless bookish quotes

◊ Books to tie your brain in knots

And, you can sort the Themes—Latest, Most Liked, Most Followers, etc.

The two Themes I created, for my book Notes from An Alien, are:

Books that Champion Global Peace & Aliens Helping Earth :-)

From the site:

Do you feel constrained by genre? Want to go wider and deeper?

Meet Themes.

Whether you’re a reader, author, blogger or freelancer, Themes let you curate compelling content from iAuthor and beyond.

Themes transcend genre.

Themes unlock the imagination.

Themes start with you…

One last thing:

iAuthor is in Partnership with the literary charity, Book Aid International :-)
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How Do Readers Discover Books?

#Discoverability is a trending term in the BookWorld.

Image courtesy of wynand van niekerk ~ http://fgx.co.za/

Self-publishing has transformed the traditional way readers find their books.

Even those who prefer buying from a bookstore will check online to build a list.

Same thing for devoted library patrons.

Yet, even buying online presents a challenge of discoverability.

Let me quote David Gaughran, Irish writer blogging at Let’s Get Visible, from a Google Plus chat we had:

“Amazon’s recommendation engine is the best in the e-commerce world, but it’s far from perfect and can even make some elementary errors.

“The other retailers are light years behind, and many of them…are like walking into a bookstore where the genre shelves are totally hidden, and the entire store consists of front tables (and Big 5 books).

“I think (device owning) readers get recommendations these days from a broader range of sources. It’s not just friends, the bookstore, and the newspaper, but Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and thousands and thousands of book blogs and review sites…”

And, he summed-up with:

“The tools we have for discovering books can and will get better, but I think they are pretty good as is.”

So…

Readers have many more ways to find books and Authors have more decisions about placing their books where readers can find them.

Last September, I wrote a post called, Readers Discovering Books ~ The “Best” Way?

It featured a unique platform for: 

Readers Discovering Authors

Authors Promoting Their Work

Book-Service Provider Advertising

Since that post was published, the platform I featured, iAuthor, has been making lots of improvements.

From the site:

Are you an author?

iAuthor connects authors to readers with unparalleled ease, speed and flair. Showcase all your books and literary apps ‒ for FREE! Reach readers in minutes. Build your fanbase. Go global.

Offer a specialist service to the book trade?

iAuthor connects book service-providers to a discerning global clientele: authors, bloggers, publishers, retailers, reviewers, librarians, speakers, teachers, and more. Whether you’re a freelance editor, run a book design studio or produce book trailers, iAuthor has you covered. Reach clients in minutes. Deepen brand engagement. Go global.

Are you a reader?

iAuthor is transforming book discovery. Through smart use of category filters and content-curation tools, iAuthor puts serendipity back into virtual book browsing. Discover eBooks and cutting-edge book apps. Buy in a format of your choice. Best of all, iAuthor lets you create your own book Themes ‒ crowdsourcing at its most potent.

Those Themes are one of the best features at iAuthor.

Here are just a few of the most popular Themes:

◊ Novels with a deeply flawed protagonist

◊ Books with unusual but effective covers

◊ Books straddling multiple genres

◊ Books with a vivid sense of place

◊ Children’s books that will also engage adults

◊ Epic fantasy books with magical worlds

◊ Books about book-writing

◊ Timeless bookish quotes

◊ Books to tie your brain in knots

And, you can sort the Themes—Latest, Most Liked, Most Followers, etc.

The two Themes I created, for my book Notes from An Alien, are:

Books that Champion Global Peace & Aliens Helping Earth :-)

From the site:

Do you feel constrained by genre? Want to go wider and deeper?

Meet Themes.

Whether you’re a reader, author, blogger or freelancer, Themes let you curate compelling content from iAuthor and beyond.

Themes transcend genre.

Themes unlock the imagination.

Themes start with you…

One last thing:

iAuthor is in Partnership with the literary charity, Book Aid International :-)

Tell Me What You Want To See On This Blog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com
* Google Author Page
GRAB A FREE COPY of Notes from An Alien

Readers Discovering Books ~ The “Best” Way?

I’ve approached Considerations of the Author Platform on this blog a number of times.

The concept is still evolving—some say the platform is social networking, some shout about Marketing, some do it the old fashioned way…

Far too many people are pushing Platform as a device to stand on and shout.

What about standing up to be seen without the hype—a Space where readers and authors work together.

It all boils down to “Organic Discoverability”.

Back in July I published a post with 12 Author Profile Sites to Boost Your Discoverability—worth considering but not quite the friendliest way to have books found…

Also last July, a new site came out of Beta—a new way to deal with the Discoverability Challenge.

I registered at the site last night and got a wonderful surprise—this place was Fun :-)

The reason behind the creation of iAuthor is well explained in a piece on VentureBeat:

“The Internet has made it easier for authors to bypass the traditional publishing process and publish their own work. This has also caused a flood of content that makes it difficult for authors to stand out, particularly without access to the same marketing resources as established publishing organizations.”

The man behind iAuthor is Adam Kolczynski.

That last link was his Google profile—here’s iAuthor‘s Google prescence.

Adam also has two publishing companies—Polybius and Ignis.

Naturally, on iAuthor, books can be categorized by Genre.

But…

One of the most intriguing features of iAuthor for me was Adam’s creation of the facility for authors and readers to create Themes:

“Themes transcend genre. They reveal a book’s secret layers in a way category labels cannot. Here, you’ll discover books you won’t find elsewhere – and meet like-minded booklovers in the process. Themes can be as big as your imagination.”

Again from the site:

Your Books

Add your own books to an existing Theme. Forge your brand and expand your reach.

Can’t find the perfect Theme for your book? Create your own Theme in seconds.

Other Books

Add other books to an existing Theme. Help others expand their reach – and raise your own profile fast.

Can’t find the perfect Theme for a book? Create your own Theme in seconds.

Like & Follow

See a Theme that resonates with you?

Give it a “Like” and hit “Follow” to help propel it to the top.

Yet more from the site:

Are you an author?

iAuthor connects authors to readers with unparalleled ease, speed and flair. Showcase all your books and literary apps ‒ for FREE! Reach readers in minutes. Build your fanbase. Go global.

Offer a specialist service to the book trade?

iAuthor connects book service-providers to a discerning global clientele: authors, bloggers, publishers, retailers, reviewers, librarians, speakers, teachers, and more. Whether you’re a freelance editor, run a book design studio or produce book trailers, iAuthor has you covered. Reach clients in minutes. Deepen brand engagement. Go global.

Are you a reader?

iAuthor is transforming book discovery. Through smart use of category filters and content-curation tools, iAuthor puts serendipity back into virtual book browsing. Discover eBooks and cutting-edge book apps. Buy in a format of your choice. Best of all, iAuthor lets you create your own book Themes ‒ crowdsourcing at its most potent.

~~~

I was recently in communication with the iAuthor Team and learned that they’ll soon be rolling-out more features for Readers…

My take is that they wanted more Authors and Books before they focused their creativity on helping Readers—makes sense—Readers need a Rich environment for book Discoverability…

Here’s a quote from Adam in that VentureBeat article:

“For emerging authors, the digital revolution is a mixed blessing….The Web may have democratized the act of publishing, but it hasn’t democratized the outcome. Authors of equal talent do not have equal access to readers, and the gap between talent and opportunity is widening. iAuthor empowers authors and book service-providers to forge their own brand in a saturated market.”

I think this new discoverability platform could evolve into the Preferred Way authors, readers, and book service folk get together :-)

Here’s a link to my (evolving) presence on iAuthor…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com
* Google Author Page
GRAB A FREE COPY of Notes from An Alien

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