Helena Fairfax

For the next few weeks I’m carrying out an experiment.  Until 26th November 2013 you can download my romance novel The Antique Love for free on a website called Story Cartel .  There’s no obligation to post a review in exchange, but anyone who does post a review on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble or their blog within thirty days of downloading my novel will be entered for a draw to win one of three $10 Amazon vouchers (or the equivalent in pounds sterling for my British readers – or any currency Amazon lets people buy it in!)

Story Cartel is a relatively new site, and I’m curious to know what will happen after my experiment is over :)

How does Story Cartel work? 

For readers, it couldn’t be easier.  The site is beautifully laid out.  All you have to do is sign up with your email address and take a look around.  If you find a book you like the look of, just download it for free.  As simple as that.

You can sign up for a newsletter, and you’ll be informed when new books in your preferred genre are added to the site.  Once you’ve downloaded a book, the site will email you from time to time to remind you to leave a review, but there is no obligation.  If you do leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, B&N or your blog, you will be entered into a draw for a prize, which can range from a printed copy of a book, an Amazon voucher, or a Kindle.

From an author’s perspective I found using this site was perfectly straightforward.  I signed up for an account, entered my book’s info, and uploaded the novel in mobi, epub, and pdf format (all three are required).

After that, The Antique Love appeared on the site. I believe all books are mentioned on Story Cartel’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and if I want added exposure I can purchase an ad in their e-letter.

Story Cartel keeps a track of the number of downloads, and I can access this information at any time.

I uploaded The Antique Love yesterday, and so far I’ve had twenty downloads.  Not a massive amount compared to going free on Amazon, but that’s twenty new to me readers in a day.  Story Cartel estimates that only ten percent of downloaders will actually review – so with the figures so far, if you as a reader choose to download and review my novel, you are guaranteed to win a $10 Amazon voucher :)  (Of course the figures may change in the next couple of weeks – and I’m hoping they will – but these are still pretty good odds!)

So go on – download The Antique Love now!  What have you got to lose?  And if you leave a review, you could win enough to buy  another two or three novels.

And when the offer is over, I’ll come back with another post letting you know how I got on.  Fingers crossed!

Authors: what do you think to this scheme?  And how do you go about getting reviews?  And readers: do you ever leave a review on Amazon or other sites?  What do you think to this scheme – and did you download my novel?

As usual, if you have any comments at all, I’d love to hear them!