A social cataloging platform where readers track books, leave reviews, and discover new titles through community recommendations.
Goodreads is a website and app where readers can catalog every book they have read, are currently reading, or want to read. Users rate books on a five-star scale, write reviews, join groups organized around genres or reading interests, and follow friends to see what they are reading. For writers, it doubles as a discovery platform and a place where reader word-of-mouth can make or break a book's momentum after launch.
If you plan to publish, Goodreads is where a huge chunk of your potential readers hang out and decide what to read next. Early reviews on Goodreads can generate buzz before your book even hits shelves, and a strong average rating signals to browsing readers that your work is worth their time. Understanding how the platform works helps you think about your book not just as a manuscript but as something that will live in a social ecosystem of reader opinions.
Goodreads reviews are for readers, not authors. Engaging with critical reviews almost always backfires and can go viral for the wrong reasons. Read them privately if you must, learn what you can, and move on.
A 3.8 average with 10,000 ratings usually means a book is reaching a wide audience with diverse tastes. A 4.9 with 12 ratings just means only your friends have rated it. Context matters more than the number.
Claim your author profile, add your book with a cover and description, and start building a presence well before launch. Readers use Goodreads to plan future reads, so getting on their 'want to read' shelf early is valuable.
Create a Goodreads account if you do not already have one and shelve at least 20 books you have read in the past two years. Rate each one honestly. Then browse the 'readers also enjoyed' suggestions for your three favorite books and add at least five new titles to your 'want to read' shelf. Notice what cover designs, descriptions, and ratings catch your attention as a reader, because that is exactly what your future readers will experience.