Want to preview genre/age pages & filters?
I am so excited!!!! :)
Every two weeks, I share my notes on building Shepherd.com.
What is Shepherd?
Shepherd is like wandering an indie bookstore but online. We make exploring and discovering your next book fun (while helping authors get their books in front of the most likely readers). Please join us as a founding member if you want to support our mission.
April 10th to April 21st
I am so excited!
Genre/age pages and filters are looking fantastic. We will launch them publicly in 2 to 3 weeks (or maybe sooner).
Want to preview them?
Hit reply, and tell me your favorite genre or age group.
I’ll send you a preview link to try it out.
How does this help readers?
I love hard science fiction, and when I go to Amazon, they present me with a top 100 book silo that has been manipulated and isn’t trustworthy (nor always accurate). Or, with I visit Goodreads, I can view a massive list, but they don’t have any tools to explore it.
This gives readers a way to explore that list of recommended hard science fiction books by genre, topic, age, new books, and more.
For example, I am super interested in how sci-fi sees a future with A.I., and I can easily zoom in on books with A.I. in them. From there, I can focus on a genre, new books, or other breakdowns.
And this is just the start…
How does this help authors?
It gets readers past the typical top 100 silos and deeper into the breadth of books available. That means they meet new authors and buy books they would not otherwise encounter.
I.M.O., the entire publishing industry is failing to help authors meet readers online. The whole industry is just stuck in a box with the same 100 genres and lacking creativity.
Indie bookstores crush this as they curate books for readers. I want to do this for the online world.
want to help authors meet new readers and help readers meet new books. There are so many great books out there and so many voices that need to be heard, and I hope Shepherd can play a role in improving this as we grow.
What is going on outside of Shepherd?
We are back home in Portugal and enjoying a beautiful Spring. We had an extraordinary Spring Break in Spain in our favorite town (Valencia). And some of my dearest friends visited. They have an adorable 18-month-old, and we had so much fun with them.
What am I reading?
Savage Peace - I love this book! Hoping to finish it soon.
Rubicon by J. S. Dewes - Just started it, sci-fi and so far it is fun.
Thanks, Ben
P.S. He learned this from me. Yes it does make it taste better.
