How should you structure a Goodreads giveaway?

Over the month of June, I ran Goodreads Giveaways for my books The Single Staircase and Sin Walks Into The Desert. I structured the promotions completely differently, altering almost every variable and testing what worked better. Considering a giveaway of your own? Read on.

The variables
I offered 20 copies of Sin Walks Into The Desert. And only four of The Single Staircase.

Readers had a whole month to sign up to win Sin Walks into the Desert. But just a few days to register for The Single Staircase.

For Sin Walks Into The Desert, I pulled the cover copy verbatim. But for The Single Staircase, I pulled only one intro sentence off the back cover, and then followed it with the literal description, “If you like interrogations, cops and impossible crimes, this is the novella for you.”

So what worked?
More that 500 people signed up to win The Single Staircase, with 203 of them adding the novella to their to-read shelves. Within two weeks, 75% of the winners had written reviews, with an average rating of 4.66 stars.

Meanwhile, only 386 people registered for Sin Walks Into The Desert, with 180 adding it to their to-read shelves. In the first couple weeks after the books shipped, 40% of the winners wrote reviews, with an average rating of 4.0.

Conclusion
Most of the entries in both giveaways came in the last couple days, as the books crept onto Goodreads’ “ending soon” list. This means a long giveaway is pointless.

I also learned that the chance of winning plays no role in how many people enter a giveaway.

And although I can’t prove it, I believe that more people signed up to win The Single Staircase because my copy clearly identified the book’s genre.

If you’re trying to get as many reviews as possible, the biggest factor is simply how many copies you can afford to give. But for almost any other goal, including building awareness, a short, small, focused giveaway is cheaper and more effective.

Goodreads reviews of The Single Staircase

I did a little four-book Goodreads giveaway of The Single Staircase last month. I had the copies in a box and they weren't doing anyone any good there. I wasn't expecting much. Certainly not this.

Three of the four winners have already posted reviews. One wrote, "[T]he writing style made me feel like I was reading a classic police/crime comic book with quick bursts of dialogue and intense inner monologues... I loved the interactions between the two detectives, Owl and Raccoon, and I could relate them to detectives that I have worked with over the years." Another, "[T]he author’s minimalist writing style uses these few pages to create a clever mystery that kept me guessing right to the end." The third, "[I]t's very short and definitely a page turner. The ending was completely unexpected but I loved it!"

Average rating of the three? 4.66 stars.

When you write a book, your friends and family buy copies and then the sales trickle away. You're left wondering if what you wrote kind of sucked. Having three experienced and objective readers say such nice things gives you courage to keep publishing.

I am doing a larger giveaway for Sin Walks Into The Desert and I'll share the reviews of that, too. In the meantime, I'm still giving 100% of the proceeds from sales of The Single Staircase to charity. You can get it on Amazon.

Want a free copy of Sin Walks Into The Desert?

You can enter to win one right now on Goodreads. If you're not sure if it's for you, check out the reviews on Amazon.

First donation from book sales made!

I got the money last night. All of $44. Not much, but it's my first payment as a professional author. My first royalty on sales of The Single Staircase. So cool. This morning I paid it forward to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

All profits from sales of my novella will go to charities that help protect children. So thanks to everybody who purchased or reviewed it on Amazon or Good Reads. And if you haven't bought it yet, here's the link. Thank you.