@Christopher Huang in the case of my syndicate, I’ve always picked titles of non-syndicate members, but only because I thought people cannot back their own book. However, if this is not the case I would like to know because there might come a month where I feel our syndicate’s vote is relevant for that title even if it is a syndicate member. For example, we represent epic fantasy. So if one of our members is 20 copies away from Quill and has 20 days left and they are writing a Tolkien-esque epic, I’d like to vote on it because it fits with the three criterion I utilize when I vote.
In terms of how I regulate my syndicate, I balance my decision based on:
1) time frame and how critical our vote is for the success of the given book
2) relevance to our syndicate’s criterion
3) input form members of the group
I have a companion Goodreads group where members and non-members who are enthusiastic about epic fantasy can share projects they’re excited about, and I also have the comments thread on the syndicate page itself. Both are helpful for me. In the end, I want to make sure the decision I make is something the syndicate is happy with, because people who choose to be members of my syndicate are investing $10/month or $20/month on a new book. I want them to feel this investment will reflect their reading interests.
