Last week's news that Amazon was buying Goodreads caused quite a stir with readers, authors and publishers alike. While Amazon was readily praised for its business acumen (and competitors like Barnes & Noble criticized for once again being asleep in the stacks), the reading and publish community had a mixed reaction at best.

Personally I welcomed the news because it legitimizes the role of social networks in book discovery—any tool that helps authors connect with readers is a good tool. I also don't buy the argument that Amazon is going to “wreck” the Goodreads community. After all, Amazon has proven that they have no clue how to run a book social cataloging website. Just look at their track record with Shelfari and Library Thing (they own the former and have a large investment in the later).

A far better example of what I think they will do is IMDb, the Internet Movie Database. Not many people know or care that it is owned by Amazon and I have a feeling Amazon prefers this perception. It allows them to gather all sorts of search feedback which they can use on their main shopping site. I suspect they'll run Goodreads the same way and for the same reasons.

Get A Manual and Start Using Goodreads

So assuming you are a publisher or author, and not so principled as to close your Goodreads account in a huff, how do you finally take the plunge and start using Goodreads? Easy, buy a copy of Michelle Campbell-Scott's excellent Goodreads For Authors: How To Use Goodreads To Promote Your Books . (As of today it is the only how-to book on Amazon written specifically to help authors get the most from Goodreads.)

Recently published (February 22, 2013), Scott covers all the bases and does it with style (i.e. it's well written). Like other publishing how-to books, Scott is a working author who developed her in-depth knowledge of Goodreads from direct experience with the platform. Here are a few nuggets that I've underlined:

As in business, people buy from people. We are all more likely to read a book if a trusted/ similarly-minded friend recommends it. So getting on Goodreads and making friends is the most important first step.

21% of all Goodreads users have a BOOK BLOG. Is your author antenna standing to attention? Mine was when I read that the first time.

Goodreads syndicates reviews to: ecommerce sites, library sites, USAToday.com. Your book review could appear on USAToday.com!

Pre-publication reviews. Goodreads recognizes that people do receive advance copies of books to review. Therefore they allow reviews as soon as the book is in their database.

It is totally free to offer a book as a giveaway on Goodreads – which is a fantastic opportunity … if you have printed copies of your books. eBook-only authors are at a disadvantage here.

Giveaways are a brilliant idea. I believe it is worth getting your book into print just for the ability to set up a giveaway on Goodreads. It will put it in front of a lot of people.

What I really like about the book is that it is specific to Goodreads. It isn't one chapter of many on the topic of book marketing—it goes much deeper than other coverage on this topic. Another thing I like about the book is that it is well designed; the table of contents is linked and connected to the Kindle menu button, Michelle took care in layout and spacing, and she makes effective use of colors.

The only thing I found odd, and this is not a complaint about the design or content, is that it isn't available in print. After making such a strong case for having a print on demand edition (to use for give-aways) I would think Michelle would have a print companion. Perhaps there is one in development…or certainly now that Amazon has bought Goodreads.

So if you are an author and you've been holding back about joining yet another social network, or haven't fully embraced book-focused social cataloging, Amazon's latest acquisition should be proof that it is time to engage with Goodreads. Goodreads For Authors: How To Use Goodreads To Promote Your Books is just what you need to get started.

(I purchased this book and the links to the book are not affiliate links.)