My book launch is in midstream. To recap, I published the ebook version of Sword of Trueterra on Amazon at 99₵, then, in mid-September, I did a five-day giveaway for my arc readers (advanced reader copy) to download it and get it for free. My hope is they will give me an honest review before November 1.

Also, mid-September I took part in four group author promotions through StoryOrigin. I have also utilized StoryOrigin for further book reviews. For those of you who missed the five-day giveaway, here is your second chance. Go to StoryOrigin. You will need to setup an account, but it is free. There is a reader side to the site and an author side. Find the reader side and look for “Free eBooks.” To find me, use the filter and choose the “fantasy” tag and my name in the author box.

What will happen is that I then need to approve you as an arc reader, and StoryOrigin will then make the ebook available to you.

For those of you interested in getting your book reviewed, the application is a little onerous. You need to have three sample copies (EPUB, MOBI, and PDF) for prospective reviewers to look over, then three full versions in those three formats.

I know I have talked about Calibre before. They say of themselves, “Calibre is a powerful and easy to use ebook manager. Users say it’s outstanding and a must-have. It’ll allow you to do nearly everything, and it takes things a step beyond normal ebook software. It’s also completely free and open source and great for both casual users and computer experts.”

Okay, there is a learning curve, but there is a manual and a number of Youtube videos. I used it to turn my DOCX files into the different formats mentioned above. If you are going to self-publish, you will need to understand Calibre.

Another avenue for getting reviews is Reedsy. (Check them out. A wealth of resources. Similar to StoryOrigin in some ways.) I got a review from them with A Vacant Throne. It was a bit of a struggle. They pretty much promise you a review for $50. My problem was that the person who signed up to review the book didn’t. I had to contact support, and it took two additional months, but they were good to their promise.

Again, I had to upload the EPUB and PDF versions of my book and jump through some other hoops. It took me an evening to do it all, but the paid review I got the last time was professional.

That’s all for now. Next month I’ll talk more about my “stacked” promotion.