Author Directory Sites: The Complete List

There are a lot of different types of directories: author listings, book listings, and libraries. This post will cover them all, some for free, some for a fee. I’m defining “directory” as any site where an author can add a book page, author page, or both.  It certainly can’t hurt to put your book wherever you can. It doesn’t even matter if no one buys it when they view the book on a particular page. A reader sees a book enough times and it might have the illusion of popularity. It’s also good for SEO: the more times your book is listed, the more times it’ll show up in search.

On that front, one trick for SEO is to change up a book’s description when it’s posted different places. This is something of a headache, given that for a lot of writers it’s hard to think of one synopsis, rather than several, but if a book has the same content over and over again, Google won’t prize it as much. For libraries, a lot of these sites are member based so users can’t see the profile unless they’re a member as well. In that case, SEO doesn’t matter, but what does matter is the size of the member pool.

Basically, this is what they’re talking about when they talk about DIY marketing.

Pay Sites

Of course! A few options, both pay and free: buy a book review package and get listed on the Bookshelf and New Releases, or join the site for free to write a blog post about whatever you want (case in point: me, right now).

Has both an Author Directory and a Book Directory. From the site: If you have 1-6 books to promote the Membership setup fee is $24.95. A Silver membership allows you to include and promote 7-13 books on your page for a $49.95 one time fee.

A whole slew of options for authors, including an author database, which is “trawled by literary festivals, event organisers, journalists, publishers, literary agents and anyone in need of great author-publishers.” The cost for an author member is $99 a year. Join here.

Authors can have a page with About info and books. Here’s their directory of authors. Cost: 3 years BASIC Membership for $29 USD / £23 GBP / $31 AUD. A full membership with an author interview and social media marketing costs $49 USD / £35 GBP / $50 AUD.

Author directory and featured book listings are $12.99 for a year-long listing. You can also have a member page for free, as well as groups where you can post updates and write articles.

A pretty cluttered-looking site for $32.95, but it offers more than a book listing. Book pages are also shared via newsletter and social media. Authors can also post events. Here’s the list of services.

Both free and premium listings. “For just $19.95 you can upgrade your listing to gain priority exposure on searches, your book cover displayed next to the listing, a 120-word description, an author bio, and reviews of your book. Also, a premium listing now includes your own separate web page and URL.” This kinda means a premium listing is necessary. See more details here.

Offers a free option. The pay options are here. Free seems like a decent start with the ability to add a book cover, description and links. But you’re limited to one book.

A very interesting one to add to the mix. “ThirdScribe Members can join books, post updates, write reviews, participate in forums, share pictures, tell stories, and more.” So it’s a kind of social network in addition to being a book/author directory. It’s free to add book pages, then it’s $2.99 or $6.99 a month to create author pages an author site (see comment below), use plugins and other options. Here’s the signup page for authors.

 $35 a year or $10 for 3 months to try it out. More options than just book and author pages. Also has book clubs, reviews, interviews, reading guides, and other options. Here’s their full list of member benefits.

Both pay and free options. The pay option is pricey: $299 for guaranteed inclusion in 7 days. Standard inclusion has no guarantee, meaning it may never happen. Sign up here.

Free Sites

These are in some semblance of an order: ranked from best to least. Some of these are oooold and may take some time to add a listing.

One of the oldest. Authors and books get their own separate pages, which is nice. You can also add short stories and articles, making it a kind of blogging platform.

A very nice place to get a listing and they’re open to self-publishers. Here’s their Directory of Poets & Writers. Look for “Apply to be Listed” in the upper right to get started. Has the ability to add your website, writer’s statement, favorite books and other info.

Claims to be in beta mode, but free listings are open. Click here for author registration. Also has a book giveaway option. Additionally, authors can post updates linking to their own blogs or anything else. A nice site with more to come.

Free listings for authors and books. Also has a good service directory.

Includes a newsletter as well, with the criteria that books need to have “at least 10 reviews and an average rating of at least 4 out of 5.” Here’s the submission form.

Free book listings for authors. Also has author resources, but not all that well-organized with lots of repetition. The same actually goes for book listings – books without descriptions, covers, etc. Hey, that means a decently organized listing can stand out! Join here.

Not a terrifically well-maintained site, but it’s been around a long while. Here’s the writer’s directory.

What it says: for non-fiction writers. A nicely designed and maintained site. “Your listing includes your name, author photo, book details, author bio, website links, social media links, and other details.” Also includes two educational teleseminars by phone with an experienced author or industry expert. Join here. Also has a premium membership option for $19 a month or $190 a year.

IDPA stands for the International Directory of Published Authors. A bit 90’s website-looking, but it’s free. Submission form is here.

Dmoz is incredibly hard to get listed in, and can take forever, but it’s worth it, especially for SEO. Lots of search engines still get info from Dmoz so one link from Dmoz goes a long way. Look for “Suggest URL” at the top of the page to make a submission.

 If you’ve got a book trailer, be sure to add it here. It’s a basic book directory with one difference: every book has a book trailer associated with it. “Bookreels vary in style and delivery from home-made to professional productions and help provide an outlet for self-publishing authors on a shoe-string budget…” Submit a reel here.

A nice looking site, but it’s also in an in-between phase. Posted on the site: “We are upgrading and plan to offer many new opportunities for writers and authors to promote their books. Looks promising, so you can join here.

A bit like a Pandora for books. On each page there’s a “What Book to Read Next” link, which links similar books via tags. Buy links go to Amazon.

Not the greatest layout for book pages. Seems almost…abandoned. But it has an easy interface for adding books.

More of a store than a directory. Listing a book is free, but they take 5% of the sale. Authors will then need to send a print or ebook to the buyer directly.

A children’s book listing service. However, books are set to free and then royalties are set via a donation system, so it might not be useful to most authors. If you’re interested, by all means, add away.

A fairly outdated looking website. Free listings are text only. Adding a book cover costs $10. Submissions are here.

Seems sort of defunct, and saying you can log in with a “Myspace account” pretty much dates it. Also there aren’t any new releases as of this writing. But that’s why I call this “The Complete List.”

Not exactly recommended, but adding it here because, well, because it exists. They call themselves a “publisher” but really it’s a listing service. This leaps out as not so good: “If you subsequently are ‘discovered’ and offered a publication or media or movie deal we would also charge a royalty [currently 10%], from any agreement that you make.”

Library Sites

Library sites don’t begin and end with Goodreads, but it’s certainly the best. Here you can catalog your entire library. If you just want to add your books, go right ahead. Your mileage may vary according to how much you’re active. Given there’s a growing list of these, being “active” can take a fair amount of time. Here are some good tips for using Goodreads, but they could apply to any library site.

If you’re not here, there’s something wrong. Join the Author Program to add books, blog, publicize events, and more.

Like Goodreads, it’s owned by Amazon. One idea to get the word out would be to add a list of books that are similar to yours and include your own, or just create a list of your own books, like Amazon’s Listmania lists.

Feels more subdued than Goodreads, more like…a library. Go crazy with tags on your books to help with discovery. Joining groups is also a good way to connect with readers.

A very nice looking site, and should be giving Goodreads a run for its money, but it’s not nearly as active. Has a good review copy system for getting your book reviewed by active members.

 More of a technical service than the above with the ability to privately catalog your books. But there’s a public service too, where readers can connect. “While libib is for cataloging, many people want to share their collections online. Libib makes this easy with the “Publish” option…Follow friends, post your thoughts, write a complete review…”

 I like how each book review has its own page, unlike Goodreads, which makes each review more like a comment on the book. Member pages can link out to Facebook and Twitter, so it can be turned into an author page.

Called a “Pinterest for Books” and it’s true. Follow different readers and then see a feed of new books they’ve added. Individual book pages really stand out. Doesn’t have the greatest member profile, so add lists to make your book more discoverable.

 If Riffle’s Pinterest, then Booklikes is Tumblr, with a “Follow” button in the upper right just like Tumblr and the ability to reblog. You can request an “Official Profile” as an author.  Like Tumblr as well, member pages can have different templates, sidebars and the like to look like a full-fledged blog. In that way, it has the potential to make a really expansive author profile. I really like this one.

Has a lot of Asian titles, but open to English titles as well.

There’s bound to be other directories, so please list any others in the comments!

Also, please check out Crowdsourcing Sites for Authors: The Complete List.