New bookshelves are 99% done and we've started to build the full the reader app 🥳
Summer is going well...
Every 3 weeks, I share my notes on building Shepherd.com.
Join the rebellion and help me create the indie book platform readers and authors deserve! Three hurrahs for our 800+ members who keep us independent and fund new features. Readers and authors can become members (both get special perks, and more perks are coming as we grow).
I am feeling…
I am doing great and in the Black Forest of Germany to bike and work for July.
User testing is going well for the full reader app, and we’ve honed in on what we are doing for the MVP. Today, I am starting a round of 20-minute Zoom interviews with readers. These interviews aim to go deeper into usability testing and ensure they are super excited about the core features we are trying to solve.
I’ll do 10 of these interviews over the next seven days and tweak the UX/features as we get feedback. We should be in good shape to start building the frontend toward the middle of August.
The new bookshelves are 99% done!
We are crushing the last group of bugs, and then we will roll out this monster update!
Our reader and author members will get to try out the new features later today in our member newsletters! If you love what we are doing, please join, as every dollar we raise goes directly toward building new features.
Here are a few screenshots of what is coming 🫨…
I will be throwing a big launch party once these are ready 🥳🎊🍾!
Updates on our full reader app!
We have started building the full reader app and are starting with some backend pieces first (it made sense since the frontend mockups won’t be ready for another 30 days).
We hired a new developer (whom I will introduce soon), and he is working on building a big book database for the app. Why is that so important?
Shepherd currently only has ~100,000 books in its database, as we only add them when a reader or author picks one of them to share. This means that when we roll out a feature like our 3 favorite reads of the year, readers often have to click “Add Missing Book” and tell us what they want to add.
So, we are looking at Open Library’s data and using it to populate a bigger database of books. With this first version, we aim to have book readers want to add ~90% of the time. As the app grows, we will work to improve that further.
What is going on with user testing?
Roman and I have been working hard to tweak the UX based on reader feedback.
What have we finished since the last update?
The book logging process is super smooth and ready.
The book cards for the TBR and Reading Log pages are ready.
We know what readers want with the “My Book DNA” tab, and now we are working to perfect the UX elements (and then test again).
What’s next?
Create the first draft of our smart organization for the TBR pages and test it on readers to ensure it meets their expectations.
Get the "My Book DNA” feature nailed down further.
If you are interested in testing and can spare 20 minutes for a Zoom, please email me at ben@shepherd.com. I’ll be doing testing all this summer.
Book series update!
We’ve published 3,309 book series. We have 3,318 in our queue that we are working on (I am sure more will pop up). Please email forauthors@shepherd.com if you want your book series added.
I want to build a dashboard for authors, but we need to reach 1,500 paying author members to afford the required work.
What is going on outside of Shepherd?
I am biking in the Black Forest as much as possible! My bike is out of commission due to a brake failure, but hopefully it will be fixed soon 😀.
What am I reading now?
I just finished…
I am working my way through Harry Sidebottom’s Warrior of Rome series. I read the first 5 books, and they are fantastic. Harry is a scholar, and the books immerse you in a period of Roman history we don’t know much about.
I am reading...
The Amber Road by Harry Sidebottom is book 6 in the Warrior of Rome series, and I am looking forward to seeing where Ballista goes next.
They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933 - 1945, by Milton Mayer. I am doing a long-running deep dive into the rise of fascism historically this year. This book has been disturbing to read; so much of what the Germans say sounds similar to what I hear from many Americans. I should finish it this week.
Have a great weekend,
Ben
P.S. From one of my recent gravel rides in the Black Forest, this area is amazing as it just keeps going.
I love what you're doing. I am sharing this each step of the way, and can't wait to share the finished product, with my reader/writer followers.
Loving following the journey hombre