Where a new book gets seen
The hard part of a first book is rarely the writing. It is getting a stranger to open it. No platform can promise that, and this page does not. What it can do is show you the places a new book appears on Novelmint, who decides what rises in each one, and what is in your hands. Several of those places are decided by readers, and readers here carry a reputation that makes some of their choices count for more.
Key takeaways
- A newly published book appears on the new-releases shelf and on its genre shelf.
- Readers make public reading lists, and readers who favorited a list are told when a book is added to it.
- The favorites board ranks books by who favorited them: recent favorites count for more, and so does a favorite from a reader with a track record.
- Selects is a recurring Readers’ Choice competition. Readers’ ratings are the votes, weighted by each reader’s reading reputation.
- Chapter one of every book is free to read, so a reader who finds your book can start it at no cost.
The hard part
What usually gets in the way
- Publishing a first book into silence.
- Platforms where the front page is reserved for names that are already big.
- No way to tell which signals help a book get seen.
- Favorites from throwaway accounts counting the same as favorites from real readers.
- Asking readers to pay before they know whether the book is for them.
- Not knowing what readers are looking for before you write the next one.
How Novelmint fits
Built around how you actually work
A shelf for what is new
New releases have their own shelf in the Commons, apart from the most popular books. A debut is listed there, and on the shelf for its genre.
Readers who curate
Readers build public reading lists and other readers favorite them. Getting onto a list someone trusts puts your book in front of the people who trust it.
Favorites that are weighted
On the favorites board, a favorite from a reader who has read widely and reviewed well counts for more than one from a brand-new account, and recent favorites count for more than old ones.
Ratings readers can see, notes only you can
Readers rate a chapter on five things, from enjoyment to hook, and the book’s page shows the averages. Anything they write goes to you alone, so criticism reaches the author and not the shelf.
Selects
A themed Readers’ Choice competition that runs in cycles. You publish and enter a book, readers rate the entries, and the top books win cashable prizes, a place in the Best-Of issue, and a medal on their cover.
A board of what readers want
Novelmint publishes which subgenres readers ask for more often than authors write them. It is a way to choose where a new book has room.
Where to start
Your first book, step by step
Publish chapter one
Chapter one is free to write and publish, and free for readers. The book is listed under new releases and its genre.
Finish the listing
A cover, a blurb, and the right genre are what a reader sees on a shelf. They decide whether the book gets opened.
Keep releasing
Each new chapter is a reason for a follower to come back. Readers who follow a book are notified when it updates.
Enter Selects
When a cycle opens with a category that fits, enter the book. Entries get read and rated by readers who are looking for new work.
Mark the notes that helped
When a reader’s note was useful, mark it helpful. It adds to that reader’s reputation, which is how careful readers come to count for more.
Questions
Frequently asked
- How does a new author get discovered on Novelmint?
- A new book is listed on the new-releases shelf and its genre shelf. From there it can be added to reading lists readers make, favorited onto the favorites board, and entered in Selects, the recurring Readers’ Choice competition. Chapter one is free to read, so finding a book and starting it are the same step.
- What does reader reputation have to do with it?
- Every reader has a public tier, from Bookworm to Sage, earned by finishing chapters, writing reviews, having reviews marked helpful, and making lists other readers favorite. That tier gives their favorites more weight on the favorites board and on reading lists, and their ratings more weight in Selects.
- Are the genre shelves ranked by reputation?
- No. Reputation weighting applies to the favorites board, to reading lists, and to Selects voting. The genre shelves are browsed and sorted in the usual ways.
- What is Novelmint Selects?
- A themed Readers’ Choice competition that runs in cycles. Authors enter a published book, readers rate the entries, and each rating is a vote weighted by that reader’s reading reputation. The top books win cashable prizes and a place in the Best-Of issue.Novelmint Selects
- Is getting discovered guaranteed?
- No. These are the places a book can be seen and the rules for what rises in each. What readers do when they find the book is up to the book.
- Is it free to start?
- Yes. A new author can write and publish a first chapter for free, and chapter one of every book stays free for readers.
What this page does not claim
- Novelmint does not guarantee a readership or an income. It gives a book places to be seen and a way to be paid.
- Novelmint does not claim a larger audience than established reading platforms.
- The genre shelves are not ranked by reader reputation. That weighting applies to the favorites board, reading lists, and Selects.
- Written reviews are not shown publicly. A book’s page shows its ratings, and a reader’s written note goes to the author.
- Entering Selects does not guarantee a prize or a placing.
- Novelmint publishes to its own reader Commons. It does not publish your book to Amazon KDP.
Put chapter one where readers can find it.
No card. Chapter one is free to write and publish.