How to Get Your Romance Novel on Goodreads Before It Publishes (So Your ARC Readers Can Leave Reviews)

If you're running an ARC campaign, you want a place for your readers to leave reviews before launch day. The trick is that Goodreads won't just let any book appear on the platform without verification, and you can't claim your author profile until your book is already in their database. Here's how to make it all work.

Step 1: Get Your Book Into the Goodreads Database

There are two ways to do this.

The fastest and most hands-off route is setting up a KDP ebook preorder. Once your book is live on Amazon, Goodreads pulls it in automatically, sometimes within just a few days. This is the recommended path for most indie romance authors because it handles everything in one step.

If you don't want to set up a preorder yet, you can manually add your book at goodreads.com/book/new. Anyone can do this, but keep in mind it may take a little longer to process and you'll have limited editing ability until your author account is approved.

Step 2: Claim Your Goodreads Author Profile

Once your book is in the database, go to your book's page, scroll down to find your author name, click it, and follow the prompts to apply for the Goodreads Author Program. Goodreads will want to verify that your book has been or will be published; a link to your Amazon preorder or retailer page is the strongest proof you can provide. Goodreads Approval typically takes around two business days.

Once approved you can edit your author bio, manage your book listings, and interact with readers directly from your author dashboard.

Step 3: Handle Series Listings Separately

If your book is part of a series, adding it to the series listing requires a Goodreads librarian rather than something you can do yourself. Post a request in the Goodreads Librarians Group with your book details and they'll take care of it. They're volunteers so give it a few days.

Step 4: Share the Goodreads Link With Your ARC Readers

Once your book page is live, include the Goodreads link in your ARC reader communications. Ask them to mark it as "currently reading" while they read and to post their review close to your launch date.

A Note on Timing

The KDP preorder route is worth setting up early, ideally six to eight weeks before your release date. The earlier your Goodreads page exists, the more time readers have to add it to their shelves, leave reviews and build pre-launch buzz.

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