NeoLeaf Press Blog - NEOLEAF PRESS

Marketing Review Of Facebook

8/19/2019

Many of use have tried it. It seems like a sound way to market right? Every time we scroll we see through our timeline we get an onslaught of ads, so why not. Well here are a few reason.
Facebook constantly changes how they do ads. The newest change coming Fall 2019 is that AI customizing where your money goes when you make multiple ads. This means if they see one underperforming, they will push your budget towards the one performing well. Sounds good right? Well it’s a double-edged sword. If you are looking to promote your book two different places and you know you have a limited audience in one so you put your lesser budget there and the ad dies well, then it means Facebook will funnel most of your budget towards this one.
Facebook also rolls out new changes constantly and tries very hard to make sure you cannot target small audiences. For them they prefer an audience of 130,000 plus.
On one of our recent promotions we wanted to focus our ads at readers who like paranormal, short stories, and live in Winterset Iowa. This is because the book is a paranormal, collection of short stories, and set in Winterset Iowa. This was too small of an audience for Facebook and their little meter lit up red, demanding we make the audience bigger.
So how did it go? Horribly. Not only were there no sales, but the ad specifically said it had a certain amount of engagements while at the book of the ads page said no engagements. Well which is correct? Did you just funnel the money into open air and no one ever clicked it? Did you spend all the money on the two people who commented on it that were our page followers?
Overall Facebook is a spiderweb. It seems you need LARGE budgets to net results. We recommend $40-$50 a day for a minimal ad run of 5 days. Yes that’s $250! Makes Facebook seem a lot less cost friendly now.

Rating:
Price: 1
Time (time to complete/response time/etc): 5
User Friendly: 3
Return: 1
Overall score: 10/20

Marketing Review Of Bookabilly

8/19/2019

We found this site to have a lot of promise and signed our book up for we thought was their review and listing program for around $10. The listing was easy, price good, and site well laid out. But it changed. Not long after we submitted the whole site was redone. Books have poor quality photos in the library, and the page is now laid out more like a chat site than a book promoter.
After three weeks no review has been done and no sales seem to have be netted from this site. We may have made a mistake when signing up and not gotten a review, but that being said it seems we’re getting no traffic from this site. On top of that, where authors can sign up to have their book listed is either very hidden or totally gone. Classes have now been posted and it’s heavily connected to social media. Overall it seems to be a source for writers and NOT a place to connect your book with readers.
If you’re looking for something different than Facebook to connect with other writers, this may be worth checking out. If you’re already tired of typical Facebook style then stay away. This sight is filled with groups, posts, and it easily becomes overwhelming.

**Update**
We are now receiving spam in our Email from this site!

Rating:
Price: 4
Time (time to complete/response time/etc): 2
User Friendly: 1
Return: 1
Overall score: 8/20

10 Rules When Making A Website

7/8/2019

Make it professional. It’s been a long myth that you can get just as good of a website for free as you can for paid. Well, in reality, the first step in making it professional is investing is your own website domain. This makes it professional and yours, and not look like something a high school kid created. This also makes it easier to find. Compare www.(first name)(last name).com opposed to (first name)(last name).(weebly pr words press).com. The first is much shorter and easier to find and will also come up on top of search results. The other is harder to remember, longer, and often will not show up within the first 10 pages of search results. Your website means nothing if your audience can’t find you.
Keep it simple. Don’t load your landing page with every detail of your life and pages upon pages of information. Make it clean and easy to navigate. Utilize images in some places to help catch attention and direct your audience. If you have long articles or reviews put a quick tease on your landing page, but direct them to another page to read the whole thing to keep from cluttering up the landing page.
Make contacting you easy. You don’t need all your personal information and phone number on there, but a simple contact form can go a long way. Make it clean and simple such as subject, name, and comments on it. Also, test it first to make sure it works correctly before putting it up on your website and just assuming you’ll get the messages.
Navigation bar. Creating a navigation bar can really assist in making smooth transitions for your website visitors. Remember, they are like tourists entering your town for the first time and can get lost easily. Make sure there are plenty of ways they can find where they are going.
Simple colors and fonts. Keep things simple and consistent. Choose no more than three fonts and don’t mix them. Typically you’ll have a heading font, sub-heading font, and main text font. With colors choose a scheme of 2-3 to match your font. Make them easy to see and read. A page of all neon text of bright, hard on the eyes, and often overwhelming.
Golden 250. Each page of your website should contain at least 250 characters to ensure good descriptions and examples. To little text with a lot of images can be confusing for your visitors and to much text, unless it’s specifically a blog, can be overwhelming.
Marketing. Make sure you have a good marketing plan weather it is paid such as Google AdWords or organic growth from social media connections. Plan your growth and set targets. If you’re not hitting them, then refresh your plan.
Mobile friendly. In this day and age most people do things over their mobile device or tablet. This makes it extra important that our websites are mobile friendly. When setting up a website check reviews or similar sites to see if this site will be compatible. If you’re using a place that helps you create your own webpage, remember that not all of them are mobile friendly.
Social Media Links. Link it. All of it. This is the age everyone is connected so letting people add you and follow you easily on social media will make networking and growing your following easier.
Reviews. People listen more to reviews than anything else when trying to make a decision. Put your business reviews on your website. Don’t let them either. People will figure this out and it will reflect poorly on you.

Marketing On Twitter

7/8/2019

You only have one tweet in a whole flock to catch someones attention. In comparison this is like on bird in a whole flock calling for his mate. It’s hard, but it cane be done.
So how do you get heard? Well, first of all it’s not by posting links to your book over and over. This will get you unfollowed, in twitter jail, or just ignored. What you need to do, and this is the same for all social networking, is give people what they want.
Twitter over the last several years has become a large information network, more and more be dominated by trends and news. This means, research should be done on trends and trending hashtags. You can look at trending hashtags on Twitter each day for a good idea, but this obligates you to get on every day and come up with appropriate content.
So, what do you do? Well, if you have a lot of time on your hands you can log in everyday, look at trending hashtags and articles, write a relative blog post, and then blow your twitter feed up with content relating to the most popular hashtags. Another approach is building your following via interaction. Since twitter is like riding the rapids do it quick, preferable within an hour of the post going live and never later than 24 hours after the post went out. Share posts that you like. Comment and share opinions on others. Twitter works the best when using it to connect to people.
Keep it short. Even though Twitter has a 140 character limit, leave a little room. Anywhere from 15-25 characters less. This leaves room for others who want to retweet your post or add a comment. Retweet and tag others by using their @usernames. People appreciate positive sharing and are more likely to follow you back.
Set up a content plan and plan out specials that air on certain days to gain consistency. Monday could also have a joke of the week while Friday might be the cocktail of the week. Also you could feature other authors on Wednesday, tagging them and singing their praises to help build good faith.
Want to know another trick. Interacting with people with the largest influence will help your page more. This is simple math as they usually have more active followers than anyone else allowing you to get your message or even yourself out in front of a larger crowd. Some sites such as Klout, Twellow, and Commun.it allow you to see who among your followers has the greatest degree of authority.
Focus on helping others solve their problems. Offer quality advice. Share big media articles and use trending hashtags to drive up your relativity. People will like a post about current events, but they’re seldom going to like a post about your book which they have never heard of.

Kindle Unlimited Sale with NeoLeaf Press

6/1/2019

NeoLeaf Press has several Amazon exclusive books on sale just for you. Take advantage of your Kindle Unlimited subscription today with these great reads for free.

ALPHA - Mystery

Buy HERE

How well do we ever know anyone?
Even someone we might be falling in love with... On a rainy October morning, Mallory Petersen, private detective and martial artist, discovers the corpse of her boyfriend, Bobby Furillo, in front of her office in Des Moines, Iowa. Bucking police authority, and continually attacked by unknown adversaries, Mallory uncovers Bobby’s devastating secrets. Each new revelation puts Mallory in deeper peril from powerful and dangerous people. And just what are those enigmatic RSVP cards that keep showing up in Mallory’s mail?

Kathryn D
5.0 out of 5 stars Alpha by Stephen L. Brayton
December 1, 2012 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
"Alpha" is Stephen L. Brayton's second novel with heroine Mallory Petersen. Her story feels reminiscent of Robert B Parker's character private eye extraordinaire Spencer. Like P.I. Spencer, Miss Petersen sees things black, white and gray. The reader observes the right way and the Petersen way in which she resolves her cases.
Mr. Brayton's format of Now. . . and Then. . . in the "Alpha" story gives the reader an opportunity to catch their breath between action scenes.
"Alpha" introduces the reader to many characters we want to follow in more Mallory Petersen and "Night Shadows" novels.
We want more Mallory, Lawrence, Darren, and Harry Reznik. PLEASE.

BETA - Mystery

Buy HERE

An eight-year-old girl’s life is at stake... will P.I. Mallory Petersen find her in time? Mallory Petersen, a Private Investigator in Des Moines, Iowa—and a fourth degree black belt with her own taekwondo school—splits her time between teaching martial arts, and her often inane cases. It’s not that she wants bad things to happen to people, but it does make life more interesting when they do. When Mallory accepts a case to find Cheryl McGee’s kidnapped eight-year-old daughter, she is pulled into the dark underworld of child pornography. The trail soon leads to the Quad Cities, where Mallory partners with tall, handsome officer from the Special Case Squad. As the investigation deepens, Mallory discovers there’s more to the girl’s disappearance than her client let on.

Kindle Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
May 16, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Verified Purchase
This is a very well written and dark mystery. I found the parts with Mallory much easier to read, due to the subject matter with the little girl. Thankfully we are mostly in that thread and there was a narrative distance in the sections that touched on the sensitive material that also made it easier. Mallory is a wonderful lead, with a lot of pluck. I also really loved Lawrence, who added levity with his personality. He was a great contrast. The story is fast paced and has a lot of tension. Great read.
Kindle Customer

Creating Grace - Paranormal Romance

Buy HERE

Can love really heal a rift between heaven and hell? Phenex was once an angel, a secret she keeps hidden behind her cold assassin exterior, her ‘let no one get close’ rule, and the curse of her acquired demon powers. Gabriel is the Archangel of Death whose task of killing demons and bringing lost souls to the light has stolen his ability to feel emotion. When the pair collide on the battlefield, their connection is instant and their desire daunting. As rogue demons begin an all-out assault, the two must unite for the greater good. But is their bond strong enough to save them? Or will the power of Lucifer tear this fragile love apart?

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read
April 12, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Verified Purchase
I instantly adored Phenex and of course what's not to love about Gabriel? While this story has a lovely relationship what I was most drawn to was the action. Boy wow was there some great fighting scenes here. Phenex is really intense and tough as nails. I loved that the story didn't get lost in the romance because the world, creatures, history, book, etc were all super fascinating and very creative. I hope to read more from this author soon.

This Light Won't Go Out - Inspirational Anthology

Buy HERE

18 authors donated their time and stories to make This Light Won’t Go Out happen. Our goal is to raise money for charity to help bring some light to families during the holidays. This anthology, re-released in 2018, has a special meaning as we feature the writing of Terri Duncan who lost her fight with cancer. Her hope was that the poems she left behind would help adults and children understand the cancer battle. Each story was specially donated to bring warm feelings of the season to our readers. This Light Won’t Go Out features prize winning authors D. Fischer, Cassandra DenHartog, Michael Van Natta, and Stephen Brayton. For more on the This Light Won’t Go Out Charity please see www.neoleafpress.com/charity.

Chills Down Your Spine - Horror Anthology

Buy HERE

Sitting around the campfire, trying to scare each other with tales of horror and legend, has been a tradition since before the keeping of written records. Despite the Internet becoming our modern campfire, the tradition continues. We’ve collected works from thirteen — yes, 13; it just worked out that way, honest! — of today’s best upcoming and award-winning authors, asking them to send us whatever keeps them up at night. Boy, did they deliver! And you thought things that go bump in the night were your worst worry... after you read these stories, you’ll know better! Turn on all the lights in your house, find someone to hang on to, and settle in for an evening or three of chills, scares and horrors!

Mighty Miserable Monday - Humor Anthology

Buy HERE

We've all had them... Mighty Miserable Mondays!
You get back from a great weekend only to find your desk piled high with work, your co-workers goofing off, and your boss screaming about mandatory overtime... yep, it must be Monday.
Inside these pages you'll find a wide variety of Monday stories, most funny, some sad, and one or two that will warm your heart. From a man and his dog having a tough time getting their Monday started, to fulltime RVers and their unique Monday madness, to memes, jokes, and texts that couldn't happen on any other day, Mighty Miserable Monday will help you make it to your next weekend... and through the Monday that always follows.

Gary Resnikoff
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious.
October 7, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Great read. Love the pictures too. We all hate Mondays (or I did till I retired)...in fact Mondays are so bad they ruin Sundays. Anything you can read that helps lighten it up is a good thing. Life is short so have so fun.

Coming To Kindle Unlimited Later This June!

Past In Shadows - Dark Paranormal

Buy HERE

Love doesn’t come easy.
It doesn’t come fast.
It comes with everything that’s made to destroy the heart and soul.

Nikolai is a crippled PI suffering from fibromyalgia and a bad case of brokeitis. On the surface his crass disposition comes off rough, but deep down a loneliness eats at him

Ada is hiding from her past, a victim of being pimped out at a young age. Her dream of becoming an artist is cut short by a boss with an evil agenda and creatures trying to attack her in the night.

When Ada reaches out to Nikolai for help they soon realize neither of them will have answers if they can’t address their own emotion turmoil. They are thrown into a dark world, but when her life is in danger it’s the mysterious vampire named Steel who saves her. Together they can break a curse hundreds of years old and in the process might just find the love they have been yearning for. Together they make a love triangle between two people no one expected.

Kathy Tjernagel

5.0 out of 5 starsHard to put down!
May 31, 2017 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Great book! Cassandra has quite the imagination. The ending had a great twist. Good read. Ready for her next book to come out.
Kathy Tjernagel

How To Do A Facebook Takeover

4/29/2019

The modern change in doing book launches online has brought with it a new term, takeover. So, what’s a takeover? A takeover usually happens when someone asks other authors to takeover a time slot on an online book launch. Slots are usually one-hour long. The point of a takeover is to bring in more authors and in turn increase awareness of the event.
So, what do you do for an hour? It seems like a long time, but you only need around 6-10 posts! That’s easy right? As authors, we post more than that just having fun on Facebook. Here is a step by step suggestion on what to post:

Start with an introduction to yourself, with an author picture to catch interest. Tell your audience who you are, what you write, and a little fun fact about yourself. Be interesting and engaging. Ask a question to your audience, like “who here reads romance?”.
Get funny. Share a funny or catching image to try and engage readers.
Have you ever won any awards not related to your books? Maybe a poetry award. A life reading competition? Post this here. If not, post about your experience. How many years have you been writing?
Next introduce your book. Use visuals if you can. Use your hook line to draw readers in. If you’re giving away a prize, mention it now. Tell them to keep following to find out how to win!
Do you have reviews yet? Awards? Post them now. If you can, take a screen shot of your reviews or create a catching visual image. Do a separate post for each. If you won this 2017 book award, this best book award, and a best cover award, post about each one on its own. Try not to do more than 3; people lose interest fast. The same thing goes for reviews. If you have a lot, pick up to three of the best (don’t spend more than 5 posts on this).
Do a special post on your book including the sale link and price. Make sure you mention any sales your having. (If you’re giving away a prize now is a good time to get people going. Tell them to like the post and share the event page for a chance to win.)
OK, now it’s cool visual time! Post something catchy either about your book or about writing. Try making it a question: “How would you rate my book cover? On a scale from steamy – hot, how would you rate my main character? (Wait for people to enter to win. This is where you stall for time.)
More funny! Get visual. A book promo pic. A funny meme. (stall for more time)
Announce the winners!!! If you’re giving out a prize, announce the winner now. If not skip this step.
Give a big thank you to the people letting you take the spot. Share a link if you can. Encourage people to stay for the next takeover.
Bow out. Thank everyone for their time.

That’s it! It’s that easy! Most often, if you follow this process, you’ll have more than enough for an hour.

Social Media Marketing

4/1/2019

What Time?

Well good question. Most people post when they want or when it’s convenient for them. In reality, they could be losing out on a lot of potential viewers. Every form of social media tends to have a ‘rush hour’ and also, mostly due to refresh rate, require a certain number of posts to really make sure you are noticed.

Best Times To Post

Pinterest: 7:00PM – 12:00AM

Facebook: 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Instagram: 5:00-6:00PM

Twitter: 12:00PM – 3:00PM

Worst Times To Post

Pinterest: 1:00-7:00 AM & 5:00-7:00PM

Facebook: 10:00PM-4:00AM

Instagram: 11:00PM-7:00AM

Twitter: 8:00PM-8:00AM

How Often Should I Post

Pinterest: 20-25 times a day

Facebook: 2-5 times a day

Instagram: 1-3 times a day

Twitter: 1-3 times a day

What Should I Post

Sunday: Focus on humor with Sunday Memes. If you’re religious offer some blessings or scripture quotes. Also try information on how to get ready for the work week.

Monday: Monday’s are rough so focus on motivation. Update your products and give people sometime to look forward too.

Tuesday: Engage your audience. Give out samples of your product. Make a poll.

Wednesday: Give back to your audience. Start a contest. Update you blog posts. Offer some Wednesday wisdom.

Thursday: Post some business promos. Post a selfie with your product. Launch a new promotion or remind your audience of one already going on.

Friday: Focus on fun day Friday. Post a picture of a family activity. Share a Friday meme. Add a new post to your blog.

Saturday: Let your audience get to know you. Post a Saturday selfie. Share a special offer for your business. Tell your audience why you do what you do.

What About Hashtags

Monday:

#Monday #MondayFunday #MondayMotivation #MotivationalMonday #MondayMorning #MondaySelfie

Tuesday:

#Tuesday #TipTuesday #TuneTuesday

Wednesday:

#Wednesdays #WisdomeWednesday #WellnessWednesday #HumpDay

Thursday:

#Thursdays #ThirstyThursday #CoffeeThuesday #ThursdayThoughts

Friday:

#Friday #FridayNight #FinallyFriday #FollowFriday

Saturday:

#Saturday #SocialSaturday #Caturday #SaturdaySwag

Sunday:

#Sunday #SelfieSunday #SelflessSunday #SundayBrunch #SundaySchool

Marketing With Color

2/28/2019

In the world of competitive online marketing it’s no longer enough just to pick a 'nice' color. 'It's pretty' or 'It fits the theme' isn't enough to make your marketing stand out in the online ocean. Here are a few tips to help you pick the right color for your next marketing project.

Red:
Red means STOP right? In a way yes. Red stands out and makes a person stop and look. You'll see this color used often in clearance aisles at stores. It is also the color used in heart health campaigns and romance marketing. Why does this help? Using colors people already have a preconceived notion of allows you to better capture the correct audience. Red is a good eye catcher. Use it when advertising sales, marketing things involving health and medical, and with romance-related things like 'date nights' or Valentine’s marketing.

Blue:
Blue is for boys, right? Well as stereotypical as it is, most men are more attracted to this color. It's also associated with law enforcement and EMS. Why does this help? In marketing towards certain audiences, you need to know what is most eye catching. When targeting a male audience blue is a more appealing color. Blue is also associated with water and good for advertising things like 'pool night' or 'lakeside camping'.

Green:
Green, the color of money. It's not the top eye-catching color unless paired with a big dollar sign or a lot of environmental imagery, but it can convey a very strong message. You see this color used a lot on environmentally friendly things. This is a good color to use when promoting things such as 'trash pick ups' or '10 ways to save money’ but is also a color to stay away from if you are trying to market a completely different event.

Purple:
Throughout history, purple has been a color associated with royalty. This is because in old times, purple dye was harder to come by and was often only affordable to royals. This is important, because this color conveys a sense of class and sophistication. You most often see it used in high-end makeup marketing every day and don't notice it. This color is great to use for a classy event, but not good for events like BBQs and park outings.

Orange and Yellow:
As eye popping and catching as they are, be warned that this is also the color of caution signs. These colors should be used as accents, because overwhelming amounts of these can create a sense of anxiety.

Black:
‘Black tie event’ is what first comes to mind, and is what many people associate with black. It's clean and professional. Sharp. Easily seen. But be warned, it should not be over used. A little black goes a long way, and people can also get tired of seeing one black-based image after another. Also remember, it's dark and hard to see in certain light. If you're designing a flyer or poster, a little black will be enough.

Gray:
Gray is a hard color to use because most people will associate it with an old gray man or a gray rainy day. In moderation it can be seen as a symbol of something timeless, or valuable like silver. This is the reason most gray and white flyers are overlooked. Use gray for accents, and pair it with a complimentary color that helps you convey a better message.

White:
This color is associated with purity, cleanliness, and grace. Things like clouds and angels are often depicted with white. White is a blank slate and allows other colors, even black, to stand out and be intensified. Use this for events such as 'church outings' or pair it with other colors such as black to add sophistication. Remember black, white, and gray are the least eye catching colors. If making a flyer or social media post, consider pairing it with a color that fits your theme such as red or blue.

Brown:
When you ask a child what is brown, you frequently may hear wood. This is because this is the most prevalent brown things we see every day. Brown is an earthy color which allows it to pair well with colors such as green and blue. Brown is also used in many logos as it stands out yet is neutral enough to not scream in your face.

Mom’s Favorite Reads - The Magazine You Need

2/28/2019

Mom’s Favorite reads has achieved something very special. They’ve produced a #1 selling magazine. March’s magazine is coming soon with many new articles, but there is still time to catch up on previous magazines. They’ve went out of their way to help authors promote and get out there to many people.

So, what all does this magazine have? Well let’s show you some things from February.

Read The Wireless Murder by Hannah Howe, the true story of Dr Crippen, FREE in Mom’s Favorite Reads, the international bestselling magazine.

“On 13 July 1910, Inspector Walter Dew of Scotland Yard called at 39 Hilldrop Crescent where, in the cellar, he found the remains of Cora Crippen. Married to Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen (pictured), a doctor of homeopathic medicines, Cora had been poisoned with hyoscine, the only time hyoscine has been used to commit murder.”

Love Hurts, so Why Would Anyone Read Romance? A fascinating insight into our reading habits by Val Tobin

Cross-cultural love, the heart of a happy relationship by Grant Leishman.

Any many more articles you’ll love. This is just the top of the iceberg. Mom’s Favorite Reads also has an online Amazon store made specially to promote the authors who contribute to the magazine. These are not just any authors. These are 5 star authors with wonderful books.

If you want to see some of these great read you can click HERE

How can it get better? You can read this magazine FREE!

Read it HERE

Or copy this ink
https://issuu.com/momsfavoritereads/docs/vol-2_iss-2_feb2019_momsfavoriterea?e=35132865/67744407&fbclid=IwAR2aCPNJI44t23t-aLfpggRYZa_tmcQHem3fiEqohe35TujxdI3TqWPl6DI

Facebook Resources: Mom's Favorite Reads

1/16/2019

What is Mom’s Favorite Reads (MFR)? It’s a community of book lovers. They produce a quarterly book catalogue, which features over 400 books, and a monthly magazine. Their magazines, available as eBooks, in print and audiobooks, have topped the Amazon Contemporary Women charts, the Seasonal charts and the Graphic Novel charts in America, Australia, Britain and Canada. Alongside leading independent authors their magazines also feature contributions from high profile mainstream authors. For example, in the new year they will feature exclusive interviews with a Dr Who screenwriter, an expert on Sherlock Holmes, and Terry Deary, author of Horrible Histories, one of the most popular series in the history of publishing.
What does that mean for you? Getting involved in Facebook groups is a great way to grow your audience, network, and market. MFR is a fun relaxed group which is very supportive to their authors.
Hannah Howe is one of the co-founders of MFR. She writes psychological and historical mysteries. Her books are distributed through Gardners to over 300 outlets worldwide. Over the past four years her novels have reached number one on the Amazon charts on fifteen separate occasions. With her experience she is one of the top people for this role of growing Mom’s Favorite Reads. She shares her experiences with authors, helping them grow as well.
Just recently, their magazine reached 5,999 impression, 1,494 Reads, and 103 Shopping links clicked. This could be you in their magazine getting shopping links clicked. MFR helps promote authors for free, making this a great resource especially for budding authors trying to get their works out there. With 159 followers since their start up in September in 2018 they are growing fast. NeoLeaf Press not only follows them, but highly recommends them to new authors. They have rules which helps moderate the page and also reduces spam. This makes it easy for even a novice Facebooks to follow them.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/momsfavoritereads/about/
Website: moms-favorite-reads.com