I Confess
March 1, 2026
Okay, hands up, I admit it–I have yet to read the books I downloaded in the Smashwords Winter-Summer Sale and spring is already here. What is more, so is the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week Sale. Until midnight on 7th March, readers will be able to choose from hundreds of free and discounted novels, and I know I won't be able to resist downloading more.
It is a great opportunity for readers to catch up with the latest works by authors they already know and love. More than this, it is a great opportunity to discover authors who are entirely new to them. For indie authors it is also a great opportunity for them to find new readers. It can be hard to get our work noticed. Advertisements cost money, and sites such as Amazon do not promote a book unless it already has many reviews to prove it has a following. They also restrict how books can be offered for free. This is why the Read an Ebook Week Sale is so useful for authors such as myself.
Of course, the more reviews a book has, the better, even if they can be contradictory. Some will be written by professional reviewers who, hopefully, will indicate that is what they are, but you don't have to be a writer to leave your opinion of a book. You can say as little as 'loved it' or 'hated it', although saying why helps readers to choose whether they are likely to enjoy it, and authors to learn what they are doing right or otherwise. Checking other reviews by the same reader will help to judge whether you and they are on the same wavelength. As an author who benefits from reviews, I certainly like to leave them myself.
However, readers don't have to rely on someone else's opinion to find a good ebook. Most will have quite large samples to read before you make a final choice. All the novels in the Exiles of Ondd series have samples on my website as well as on the Smashwords site, and with Discord's Child, Discord's Apprentice and Artists & Liars FREE what have you got to lose? Visit http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ksdearsley and enjoy!
It is a great opportunity for readers to catch up with the latest works by authors they already know and love. More than this, it is a great opportunity to discover authors who are entirely new to them. For indie authors it is also a great opportunity for them to find new readers. It can be hard to get our work noticed. Advertisements cost money, and sites such as Amazon do not promote a book unless it already has many reviews to prove it has a following. They also restrict how books can be offered for free. This is why the Read an Ebook Week Sale is so useful for authors such as myself.
Of course, the more reviews a book has, the better, even if they can be contradictory. Some will be written by professional reviewers who, hopefully, will indicate that is what they are, but you don't have to be a writer to leave your opinion of a book. You can say as little as 'loved it' or 'hated it', although saying why helps readers to choose whether they are likely to enjoy it, and authors to learn what they are doing right or otherwise. Checking other reviews by the same reader will help to judge whether you and they are on the same wavelength. As an author who benefits from reviews, I certainly like to leave them myself.
However, readers don't have to rely on someone else's opinion to find a good ebook. Most will have quite large samples to read before you make a final choice. All the novels in the Exiles of Ondd series have samples on my website as well as on the Smashwords site, and with Discord's Child, Discord's Apprentice and Artists & Liars FREE what have you got to lose? Visit http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ksdearsley and enjoy!
Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
