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Building Book DNA

Join 750+ authors helping us build a better way for readers to find books they'll love.

We started by building a website that turns book discovery into something serendipitous.

Readers find their next read through curated lists and unexpected detours. We've interviewed 13,000+ authors to ask about their favorite books across a range of topics, themes, and moods. You can follow their recommendations or wander into bookshelves where you can keep getting lost.

Already have a book you love? Drop it into search and see where it leads you.

Try it out at BookDNA.com.

Now, we're building the other half: a private, personal way to track your reading and get personalized recommendations based on your taste.

Think Goodreads, but for readers who want a calm, private space to track what they read, keep notes, and explore books that match their Book DNA.

Apply for early access to the beta here.

Authors deserve a direct path to readers.

It has never been easy to be an author, but right now it feels especially bleak. We're building tools that help authors reach the right readers and keep them coming back for the next book.

  • Reach the right readers: We help you match your book with readers who actually read and love books like yours (for free, in authentic ways readers love). And, if your book has that magic spark, we help it gain more and more momentum.
  • Collect fans automatically: As we grow, you'll get a direct way to notify readers who loved your previous books when the next one comes out (with their permission, on terms readers trust). We want authors to own their fan relationships, not rent them from a platform. Goodreads should have done this years ago.

Learn more about our roadmap and meet our small team.

Will you join our quest?

 

Unlock author perks and reach more readers.

Supporter
$50 per year
For one fancy coffee a month...
You keep us independent and building a platform that helps authors reach readers.
Extra exposure for 1 book
We put your book in front of 100 of the most likely readers every month with our Book Boost perk.
1:1 book marketing help
Members can book a 30-minute slot for personalized advice, brainstorming, and marketing support on any Thursday.
Frontpage feature + thank you
We feature our members' book lists on the front page of BookDNA.com and rotate them to ensure every member gets equal time there.
1 New Book Spotlight
We feature your new book across all relevant bookshelves in the "new book", all-time, and trending sections for 12 months (a new book is any book that has been published in the last 3 years).
Join as Supporter
$50 per year
Prefer PayPal? Subscribe here.
Champion
$100 per year
For two fancy coffees a month...
You keep us independent and building a platform that helps authors reach readers.
Extra exposure for 2 books
We feature two books to 100 of the most likely readers each month (or 200 to one book).
1:1 book marketing help
Members can book a 30-minute slot for personalized advice, brainstorming, and marketing support on any Thursday.
Frontpage feature + thank you
We feature our members' book lists on the front page of Shepherd.com and rotate them to ensure every member gets equal time there.
2 New Book Spotlights
We feature 2 of your new books across all relevant bookshelves in the "new book", all-time, and trending sections for 24 months (a new book is any book that has been published in the last 3 years).
Join as Champion
$100 per year
Prefer PayPal? Subscribe here.

And we will add more perks as we grow!

Reach more readers with our Book Boost perk.

 

This perk shows your book to likely readers based on similar authors, books, and genres. For children's and YA authors, we also target by age group.

How does it work?

What does the ad look like?

We've started with a pretty basic ad and will evolve it to improve click-through rate. Here is what it looks like right now:

Soon, we will test a new ad with a new pitch line and a larger book cover.

How many readers will I reach each month?

With our Support membership ($50 per year), members get one book shown to 100 of the most likely readers every month.

With our Champion membership ($100 per year), members get two books that each get shown to 100 of the most likely readers every month (or they can double the exposure on one book to 200 of the most likely readers).

This isn't Oprah level, but it means that over the course of the year, we help you meet an additional 1,200 to 2,400 likely readers. It is one of the many ways we thank you for your support in building the Shepherd platform.

Where will my Book Boost ads show up?

We place them all over the website, and here are 3 examples:

  1. On book recommendation lists: scroll down to see the ad spots.
  2. On bookshelves: scroll down the page to see where we place the ads.
  3. On "books like" pages: scroll down to see those ad spots.

Reach more readers with our New Book Spotlight perk.

 

We feature your new book (published in the last 3 years) on every bookshelf that matches its genre, topic, or age group, including the "new books," all-time best, and trending pages. With over 3,000 bookshelves on the site, that's a lot of places your book can show up.

This isn't massive exposure. It's a steady, year-long thank-you for keeping us independent: your book in front of the right readers, every time someone visits a matching bookshelf.

Here's how your book appears in a "new books" section of a matching bookshelf:

How does it work?

Learn how it works and get answers to all your questions here.

Get 1:1 book marketing help from Ben.

 

Members can book a 30-minute slot for advice and book marketing support on any Thursday. I can share what I've learned, what I've heard from other authors, and I am not afraid to tell you if I don't know the answer 😄.

I've helped authors with things like:

  • Analyzing book covers to ensure they meet reader expectations and comparing them to the design motifs used within their genre (as you want to match reader expectations).
  • Analyzed Amazon book listing pages to ensure they convert the most visitors. And talking about tips and tricks, such as adding publisher areas, pitch lines, and formatting.
  • Brainstormed free marketing techniques and ideas based on what the author enjoyed.
  • Talked about pay-per-click marketing on Amazon, BookBub, Reddit, Facebook, and others. I've got a lot of experience in this realm, and if you want to go down this route, I can give you the pros/cons/roadmap.
  • Talked about paid marketing and what is and isn't working.
  • Given the authors' overview of the marketing ecosystem in general, to help them understand why it is so hard to get in front of readers.
  • Given the authors' more info on where Book DNA is going in the future, or deep dives into specific features.

I also have a 20-minute video here on the basics of book marketing. I reference this a lot during these calls, and it is built after talking to hundreds and hundreds of authors. It is what I recommend if you want to do the basics only.

Frequently asked questions 😀

 

How do members shape the roadmap?

I ask our members for feedback on new features we are building or considering. I share those in our monthly membership newsletter.

How is Book DNA funded?

I funded Book DNA using my savings and sweat equity (more about me and why I started Book DNA). To achieve sustainability, I need support from authors and readers through our membership programs.

What are Book DNA's costs?

  • 20% - Servers, software, and book licensing costs.
  • 80% - Our small team

Is it easy to cancel (for whatever reason)?

Yes! I hate it when it is hard to cancel a subscription. So, I made it super easy to cancel your membership. You can cancel by:

  • Log in to our billing panel here, and click cancel (if you paid via credit card or bank transfer). Or log in to PayPal to cancel there. We don't have a membership dashboard yet, but we are working on it as we build the full app.
  • If you have any trouble, email me at forauthors@bookdna.com, and I can turn off auto-renew or cancel it.

Thanks!

Email me at ben@bookdna.com with any questions 😄