MVP user testing kicks off in late January š
Notes on building a smarter, more personal way to manage your reading life, with recommendations shaped by your Book DNA.
Every 3 weeks, I share my notes on building Shepherd.com.
Join the rebellion and help me create a smarter, more personal way to manage your reading life, with recommendations shaped by your Book DNA. Think Goodreads, but rebuilt for readers who want a private space to track what they read, keep notes, and get truly personalized book recommendations (like Pandora or Spotify for books). And it is designed from the ground up to help authors achieve 3 goals.
Three hurrahs for ourĀ 800+ members! We need to hit 1,500 members over the next two years as we bootstrap this platform to reality. Readers and authors can become members (both get special perks, and more perks are coming as we grow).
I am feelingā¦
It is a good feeling to know where you are going and why.
2024 was a very difficult year as Google quietly destroyed the open web. I spent June 2024 through early 2025 trying to improve and see if they planned to unshitify their search. But it is clear they have no plans to fix search (in fact, files their DOJ monopoly trial has shown they have purposefully made search worse to gain advertising revenue). With the growth of AI, Google is in full panic mode, with no thought for independent publishers or the open web (theyāve also iced the people within Google trying to help us).
Once got through that mess, it was clear that the only way forward was to build an app and a more direct relationship with readers to fulfil our mission. And after extensive user testing, I am excited to be creating an app for readers who want a private space to track what they read, take notes, and get truly personalized book recommendations.
MVP user testing kicks off in late January š
It is awesome to see the app coming to life!
Yesterday, I tested the TBR section and gave Marton/Marcos feedback (Marton is my co-founder, and Marcos is our awesome part-time frontend developer).
What will be in this first MVP? Only the basics.
The TBR (to-be-read) section, where you can add what you want to read next. You can add private notes, add a book to your āread nextā queue, and see what other books you have read from that author/series. Plus, some simple sorting and keyword filtering of this list.
The book log section, where you can see what you are currently reading, as well as what you have read and how you rated it in the past (and edit those log entries). Plus, some simple sorting and keyword filtering of this list.
Global search so that you can search and find a book to add to your TBR, reading stack, or log.
The process to rate/log a book (and edit that).
The process to add a book to your TBR.
The process to add a book to your currently reading stack.
A basic version of the public review process (and edit that).
The first version of our giant book database. This database is still pretty messy but functional. And we will be working to consistently improve it, given how important it is to everything š .
A lot is still missing at this stageā¦ But this gets us to the point where we can start user testing all the things that we canāt with pure design mockups.
What do I want to learn from the first 5-10 testers?
Check: Is anything in the UX confusing or frustrating them? If so, we want to fix that (but hopefully we caught 90% of that in mockup testing).
Check: Watch actual usage and see if there is any low-hanging UX fruit to ensure we are as efficient with usersā time and clicks as possible. This should feel very natural and easy to use.
Book DB: How do they feel about our book database? Is it good enough for use, or does it need work before this app is used? Building a book database is incredibly hard, and ours is not perfect. We want to see what bothers them, how much, and where that gap is.
Mission: What I heard during early-stage testing is that users want a private journal to track their reading. Is this hitting the right notes? How do they describe it to a friend? Is this providing enough of an incentive to use us on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? If not, why not? We know a lot is missing at this stage, but this is a chance to understand where the gaps are as we keep working on the MVP.
And, what are we working on as soon as this MVP version is shipped?
Core features we know we need to add during MVP.
Import process for Goodreads and other data sources (so that users can bring over all their book data).
Adding audiobook selection in the UX (with a hefty amount of work behind the scenes to make that possible).
Add our pro paid account so that as we get more in place, we can hopefully sign up paying users who believe in what we are building (as we are bootstrapped).
And then we will be looking beyond the core features to what sets us apart:
Smart organization that lets you see your favorite authors, genres, and which books in your TBR match them.
Custom folders to organize the way your brain works.
Adding the heavy exploration pieces, where you can see your Book DNA and Book Twins, and get books matched based on that.
What is going on outside of Shepherd?
Recovering from a bit of dental surgery, looking forward to being able to eat real food soon instead of puree. I am excited about Thanksgiving as we are having some new friends over to our house (which we havenāt done since we moved in).
What am I reading now?
I just finishedā¦
I, Robot Soldier by Joel R. Dennstedt - This was a nice little sci-fi read. It reminded me of a classic short novella by Asimov or Heinlein. It is from the perspective of a robot waking up from a global armageddon and finding a little girl whose prime directive is his mission now.
I am reading...
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams - Iāve been recommended this one several times within fantasy groups. The writing is beautiful, but the story pacing is very slow, and I am not sure this one is a match for my Book DNA. I am about 75% done and enjoying it, but only in small bursts. I am going to keep going and see what I think once it finishes. The world is amazing.
The Whale Road by Robert Low - I am looking forward to a good Viking historical fiction. Iām half done and it is great so far, curious where it ends up.
The last book in the Sun Eater series came out yesterday!!! This is one of the best science fiction series Iāve read in the past 10 years, and I canāt wait to finish the series. Iām going to start it as soon as I finish The Whale Road.
Have a great week,
Ben
P.S. From a bike ride in early fall in Valencia, Spain. Some pretty horrific flood damage to the trail :(
