Our 3 goals for readers
Our 3 goals for readers
Bring your TBR pile to life
Your TBR pile shouldn't be boring—it’s where you discover your next adventure, fall hard for your next great love, or get hit with your next big aha moment. Shepherd turns that dusty list into something worth exploring.
Find books you LOVE (not just like)
Life's too short for "just okay" reads. Shepherd uses your Book DNA to match you with books you will LOVE—not just like.
Explore in fun and unique ways
Book discovery shouldn't feel like scrolling through a spreadsheet. We make it wild, weird, and wonder-filled—like falling down the best rabbit hole ever.
What we are building for readers like you?
Our 3 goals for authors
Our 3 goals for authors
Reach your most likely readers
You shouldn’t have to pay to get your book in front of the right readers. Shepherd connects your book with the readers most likely to love it—in a way that builds real interest in you and your book.
More publicity for trending books
When your book has that magical spark with readers, we help that momentum grow—not just to support your book, but to help more readers discover new books and authors they will love.
Grow your fan base
As Shepherd grows, we're making it easier for you to collect, grow, and tap into your fan base. This is my biggest frustration with Goodreads—and I am going to work my ass off to make it better for authors.
How are we helping authors like you?
Why are you doing this?
Why are you doing this?
I love to read.
I can remember the exact moment when I learned to read. I was trying to read The Snow Baby and jumping from word to word. There was this magical moment when the words came alive, and it all clicked. It was one of the most amazing feelings in my life. I read 100+ books a year, and I thank my parents for making books a massive part of my life.
I am frustrated with online book discovery.
When I look for a new book online, it feels soulless. I want to reimagine book discovery with more curiosity, fun, and creativity (aka soul). I want to create an experience that shows the magic of books through the readers who love them. And I have a lot of crazy ideas I want to try in order to achieve this.
Authors deserve a better book website.
Book marketing is utterly broken, and it is only getting worse.
Amazon's book results are mostly ads, and Goodreads does nothing for authors. There are almost no places where authors can market their books to readers without paying.
How do we expect future generations of authors to emerge if they can't get their books in front of readers?
How can we expect mid-list authors to keep developing their craft if they don't make enough to support themselves financially enough to focus on writing?
I am worried we are losing generations of future authors because the system is so broken. I don't have all the answers, but I know we can build something better for authors.
Authors need more ways to meet readers who would be interested in their books. We need to help authors at every step of their careers, whether that is getting their first hundred readers outside their family and friends or helping more readers find that stellar sixth book by a mid-list author that not enough people know about. I don't want to live in a winner-takes-all book market where we are stuck with the same 10 big-brand authors.
Books build better people.
Better people build better societies.
I want to improve the world by increasing our understanding and empathy for complexity. Humans are at their best when they appreciate the complexity of civilization, nature, society, and their fellow humans. And books are one of the best ways to feed this attribute.
Are you crazy?
I don't think so, but that is what a crazy person would say.
Please don't mistake me for a crazy dreamer. I am a long-time entrepreneur, and you can see my background here. Over my career, I have started and grown numerous companies. One of the largest grew to 55,000 clients with 130 team members spread over 18 countries. Shepherd is a bootstrapped passion project I want to work on for the rest of my life.