Just wondered how common it is for authors to become/stay involved in the discussion groups there?  I am pretty new to Goodreads and just recently started poking around the site, found the groups and joined the Contemporary Romance group.  I was surprised (and near giddy) to see Susan Mallery herself had joined that group just before I did (then had second thoughts about my less-than-stellar review of Chasing Perfect..)  Anyway, just wondered if a lot of authors hang around and post in the forums there.  It's kind of cool, though somewhat intimidating too!

it depends on the author. lots of authors know that their presence holds back discussions so they wont participate. Look at what u just wrote about ur review.

I do know that a LOT, especially the newer more internet savvy, authors read every review of their latest book there. Most of them will only comment to correct or answer a fact.

True, I was pleased when Leslie Parrish wrote a response to a review I had done on one of her books.

I don't know any that participate in my groups but I have had authors to see that I listed a book as "to read" or "maybe" and commented on it to me.  I think, as Seton said, newer authors are reaching outside the box to market their work.

Sherri, I did notice that- I have seen some introduction posts from new or self-published authors who are apparenlty trying to promote their work.  I just wasn't sure how much the more established, better known authors hung around.  It was kind of bizarre to see a favorite author of mine just hanging out in a reader's forum- although I guess it shouldn't be, since she's probably a reader too!  I actually had fun perusing her shelves to see what kind of books she reads.

Thanks for the comments!

I got to have a nice inbox discussion with Sherry Thomas through GR, so that was way cool.  She's a doll, btw.  Talking about His At Night, and me basically squeeing my ass off like an idiot about how much I love her work - which can almost make you feel just as silly as writing a negative review and having an author respond & still be gracious about it:P  And Suzanne Enoch said she'd seen my GR reviews and really enjoyed them, so I know well established authors do read there and seem to take reader comments seriously enough.  As far as the discussion groups go though, I haven't seen a lot that goes beyond basic blogging type stuff.  Some do promo their work, the fans squee, and so it goes...

Kim, that is waaayy cool about Sherry Thomas!  I don't know if I would know what to say if one of my favorite authors actually started a conversation with me!

(Btw, cool shop!  I hearted you!)

Thank you, Lesley!  I'm still just getting started, so I have a lot more left to photograph & list.  It's really tedious work though & I'd always rather be making things than doing the promo work:P  It was a little awkward at first trying to talk to ST, and make intelligent commentary about her writing.  When you admire someone's work, it's hard not to just give it up & gush like a moron - lol.

Lesley, I'm friends with Patti O'Shea and JoAnn Ross on Twitter.  We converse regularly and have found so much in common.  Patti still works full time for an airline and writes on her lunch hour and weekends.  Its so funny to hear her talk about her love of coffee and people who yell on conference calls.  JoAnn, while an established author, still is soooo down to earth!  She actually doesn't live all that far from me and has even sent me ecards on my birthday thru twitter.   If you can establish a friendship with someone, what does it matter what they do for a living?  ;-)

Tell me about it- the photos are the bane of my Etsy existence!  Not to mention promoting, which I have NO time for.  But having the shop gives me the excuse to make the stuff, so I'm not about to quit!

Well, I guess gushing like a moron is better than not knowing what to say at all!  Given the choice, I think I'd rather gush!

ETA Sherri, must have been posting at the same time- but that is so cool.  I know they're just regular people too, but I imagine it would take some getting used to, going from a fan to a friend.  It is good to hear that some of the authors out there are nice, down to earth people not on an ego trip from their success.  Btw, I keep remembering that run-in that you had on Goodreads with some of the rabid fans of some author after you left a not-so-great review, and maybe that's where part of my nerousness comes from!

Btw, I keep remembering that run-in that you had on Goodreads with some of the rabid fans of some author after you left a not-so-great review, and maybe that's where part of my nerousness comes from

OMG I remember that.  I actually "discussed" that on twitter with Patti O'Shea and another wanna-be (unpublished) author.  Both agreed its not something that any REPUTABLE author would engage in.

Oh man, I jumped on that hard because the author showed the poor judgement to chime in & thank those idiots for being such loyal fans.  I told her she wasn't doing herself any PR favors there, and she actually apologized for not considering that it appeared as though she was all in favor of rabid fangirls.  For all that it should have never happened, I thought it was handled well by the author and GR, especially considering that Amazon debacle a couple of years ago.  Like GR said to Amazon "No, this is how you do it.":P

Lesley, I really like your little bookmarks.  I thought about doing some with pressed flowers myself, but you know how it is - there's never enough time to actually implement every idea.  I waited so long to open my shop because every time I get a new idea stuck in my head, I go at it obsessively until I burn it out of my system, which means I'll do a couple dozen variations of one thing before I can force myself to move on to something else:P

Well, I guess gushing like a moron is better than not knowing what to say at all!  Given the choice, I think I'd rather gush!

Oh, trust me.  I did:P

Kim, actually I kind of have you to thank in a way for my bookmark venture.  I had that bookmark I got from you a long time ago with Ben Whats-his-name on it that I looovvveeeddd, but my daughter spilled a bottle of water on it, and Ben was no more. :(  That incident made me start thinking about laminating bookmarks to waterproof them.  When the flower/leaf idea came to me, I had to give it a try.  I SO know what you mean about when you get an idea, you just obsess on it until you see it through- that's what happened to me, because I had this image in my head of a bookmark and just HAD to see if I could make it real.  I have really had fun with it.  I have also started experimenting with making cards, but I don't know if I'll ever list those in my shop- there are so many great card sellers on Etsy that I doubt I could ever compete, but never say never.  I tried a card this week with decoupaged pressed flowers and it came out pretty well, so we'll see.

I would definitely agree, Sherri- no decent author would be OK with attacking a reader for voicing their honest opinion of their work.  If I remember right, you didn't even say anything all that awful, just talked about what you didn't like about the book, and totally got jumped.  Although I had a problem with the author coming in and thanking the fangirls, Kim is right that she was very mature about being called out for that and accepted responsibility.  I would hope that that was a lesson to her- I'm thinking that you can alienate a whole lot more readers by pulling that sort of thing than it's worth to keep the fangirls happy.  No one likes to see an author stroking their own ego at the expense of a reader.

This is probably a repeat of what others have said.  I've noticed that a lot of authors have goodreads account and do participate somewhat in the groups. But like someone else said-I think they probably lurk more than post because they honest comments about their work.  I am friends with quite a few author's there. Some that I've never read and some that I have.  I think I'm friends with Susan Mallery too.  They have to be careful about being too present there because they can't come off as doing too much self-promotion there.  So the boards don't get over run wiht "read my book" and "give me a good review" type threads.

My daughter and I read 2 books by N.D. Wilson (a male YA 9-12 range author) that we loved. I wrote a great review on them and he has messaged me a few times, thanking me for the reviews and sent me a friend request. 

would definitely agree, Sherri- no decent author would be OK with attacking a reader for voicing their honest opinion of their work.

If I had said "her writing is crap" that would be one thing.  But all I mentioned was that I didn't like the story.  I respect anyone who puts their work out there for the whole world to review.  God knows I'm not an author.   But that's the difference between that author and say, Lisa Kleypas.  One you've heard of and makes a ton of money - one you haven't. 

Well, now I am totally geeking out, because Susan actually responded to me and told me not to be intimidated by her, lol!  She also said that some of the authors I listed as my favorites are also favorites of hers, and that she has met Kristan Higgins and found her to be a very lovely and nice in person.  She just seems so nice and cool..I was a fan of her books before, but now I am a fan of her!  I get updates from her on my Goodreads feed and have seen a couple of recipes posted, so decided to check that out, and come to find out, Susan Mallery has a cooking blog!  It's neat- she has some good recipes on there.  Yet another interest that I share with Susan Mallery!

(Is there such thing as an "author crush"?  I think I have one!)

Are you kidding?  If I ever met Marsha Canham, I'd grovel at her feet:P