June has been a whirlwind in my publishing world. The meticulous preparation of a book for publishing has proven to be a formidable task, far surpassing the challenges of writing itself, at least in my experience.

I’ve learned about ARCs (advance reader copies) and the importance of getting reviews and putting your writing in front of influential readers. Finding qualified readers without a big following or a large mailing list is hard. I learned about a helpful service titled Book Sirens. https://booksirens.com/book/GF6V9VB/PTW6AKN. I like that they are promoting my book to 1,000 reviewers who are experienced in my genre, and as the book is requested by each reviewer, I get to review the reader’s stats and rating history before approving them to review my book. I pay a small fee on the budget front only when the book is downloaded. My smaller list of contacts can download the book without a fee.

Now, the hard part for me. My book was still in design (the interior, the fonts, etc.), and I only had a PDF for the review edit. Book Origin requires a flawless ePub file to provide review copies. I tried three online methods; the first was a downloaded converter. The submission was rejected; it didn’t convert properly. I then tried two online submission sites and got the same result. The fourth try was to hire a person on Fiverr https://www.fiverr.com/. I chose a freelancer with a five rating and completed over 200 rated conversions. He provided ePub, mobi, and other versions in three days. The price was very reasonable. I tentatively submitted these files, hoping they would be flawless since it was my last review opportunity. Success.

Thank you for your interest and for reading. Here is a link to review Stolen Brilliance: https://booksirens.com/author/XAKZYZB/QUCJP3D. The next chapter will discuss advanced sales and categories.

My website is https://www.michaelgcolburn.com. Please visit and join my email list.