How can I meet readers?

Share your 3 favorite reads of the year

What do I cover below?

What is the goal for authors?
How does this sell my book?
What does the data say?
How long do you promote my list?
What is the timeline for this format?
How long does it take to complete?
Can you show me some real world examples?

How do you meet the most likely readers with this format?

By sharing your 3 favorite reads of the year with your fans and wider Shepherd community.

What is the goal for authors?

The goal is to smartly put you and your book in front of your fan base during the holiday buying season through your favorite reads of the year. Plus, your recommendations plug into Shepherd's entire ecosystem to help you bump into readers.

This is a great way to engage your fans! You can invite them to share their 3 favorite reads of the year and if you use our referral link, your book is promoted at the end of all of their lists as well.

Here are two great examples with Mark Lawrence's favorite reads of 2024 and Louise Blackwick's favorite reads of 2024.

How does this sell my book?

It puts your book in front of your fan base and smartly reminds them about it during the holiday book-buying season. Readers love it, and you can encourage them to share their favorites (which will often include yours, which helps you on the big "best reads of the year" pages).

For the last 13 years, I’ve been picking my favorite three reads of the year (and sharing why I love them). I know from feedback from my friends, family, and book buddies that this format is powerful and meaningful. This is about your favorite reads of the year; it doesn’t matter when those books were published.

What does the data say?

The average conversion rate for users who view a "favorite read of the year" list and click the author's promoted book is ~5%. But, averages hide much better numbers, many of our authors see conversion rates of 10% to 50%.

A lot of this depends on your audience and if you read in the same genres you write within. As we grow we will do a better job of putting your list in front of readers who match your Book DNA as well (working on adding this for next year).

How long do you promote my list?

Forever! Although these lists get a lot more traffic in the year, they are published. But like all our lists, this goes into our discovery platform, and we are constantly working to connect it with the most likely readers and invent new ways to achieve that goal.

How do I take part?

Everything is online and go here to take part (email support@shepherd.com if you need any help).

For authors, I recommend you write personalized book recommendations for your 3 favorite books of the year. If you don't, we can't promote your list as well on the wider platform.

What is the timeline for this format?

October 1st

We open for submissions for the current year! Why so early? Because we want to get authors in front of the huge number of readers searching for "best books of x year" (that trend starts in October).

November 1st

We start heavily marketing the “Best Books of The Year” on November 1st in order to help authors ride the book-buying season from November through the end of January.

I am working to make this a big media event that celebrates books, authors, and reading! We add book lists every day, and as soon as your list is published, you are included in our overall promotion system.

August 31st

We take submissions through August 31st for people who want to take part in the previous year.

How long does it take to complete?

My hope is that it takes ~15 minutes to complete (some authors take longer, of course).

Can you show me real-world examples?

Yep, you bet:

And to see where all these super high quality votes go, browse the Readers' favorite reads of 2024 pages.