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Steve Weber
their book, Hornbaker says. Active members discover many new authors
and purchase lots of books based on member recommendations.
BookCrossing remains unpopular with some authors, who argue
that access to free copies of books deprives them of income. Perhaps
these are the same authors who would rather not see their work on the
shelves of public libraries—another strong word-of-mouth generator, in
the opinion of many successful authors.
Many authors say exposure through BookCrossing generates more
buzz and sales than mailing review copies to magazines and newspapers.
Although there is nothing wrong with authors donating their own books
to BookCrossing, Hornbaker cautions that authors should be transparent
about their activities, and identify themselves as a book’s author. In no
circumstance should authors post a message on BookCrossing’s
discussion boards or send a private message promoting the author’s
book.
Usenet, Google groups
There are nearly 40,000 Usenet newsgroups, which are bulletin-
board style forums about every conceivable topic. Usage of newsgroups
has declined in recent years as blogs and niche Web sites have gained
readers. Although some Usenet groups have become riddled with spam
and irrelevant messages, some useful, widely read groups remain.
A few years ago, special software was required to view or post to
Usenet discussions. This is no longer necessary; Google now hosts these
groups on an easy-to-use Web interface, calling them Google Groups, at:
To find groups in your topic, type some terms into the search box at
the top of the Google Groups page. You can also browse the list of group
categories.
Most newsgroups are unmoderated, and you can post messages
immediately. Other newsgroups are moderated, and require posters to
e-mail their message to a moderator for approval. Moderated
newsgroups have charters outlining prescribed conduct and whether any
commercial-related messages are permitted.
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