When Son of the Siren was published, it was listed on NetGalley, and that was how we got our ARC readers. We secured a total of 20 reviews from ARC readers, but I don’t know how many requested the book and didn’t follow through with reading it–only the number of reviews posted.

The Name and the Key was a different story. This time Oliver Heber Books was offering the book through BookSprout and it was strongly hinted that I was supposed to build an ARC team myself. I had never done this before, so I put up Instagram ads and posted in Facebook groups specifically devoted to ARC readers, and secured a total of 69 signups. Of those who signed up, about 28 of them actually left a review. This leads to a conversion rate of 40%. According to Manuscript Report, a good conversion rate is 40-60%. So, I’m on the low end of good, and I should be happy.

The thing is, I still was a little disappointed in the ARC response to The Name and the Key. I think this is because I had people I personally knew sign up, and they never bothered to leave a review. Plus, having as many as 69 signups made me think my review amount would be larger. I was hoping for 40-45. And the last review for The Name and the Key was September 10. It appears no one else has found the book, yet.

Now, lo and behold! We went through BookSprout again, andThe Step and the Walk did far more poorly. I reached out to the ARC readers of The Name and the Key and asked them if they wanted to review Book 2, and only some of them replied “yes.” I opened up the ARC call to the public too, and didn’t get much bites. About 28 people signed up. And when I looked at the names, they were mostly people who reviewed Book 1. So I took this as a great sign–the same 28 people would review the book!

Alas, only 8 people have reviewed The Step and the Walk so far. That’s a conversion rate of 28% which is not good at all. According to Literary Inspired, a conversion rate below 20% indicates a multitude of problems, and I’m just eight points above that. I do not qualify for the “good conversion rate” status. And the last time someone reviewed The Step and the Walk was October 19. Not so bad, but there were a lot of days in between where there were crickets. I really hope I can get more reviews.

The next problem is going to be with The Fear and the Flame. I’ve gotten a writing extension on it to submit it in March, and who knows how much later the publication date will be. No matter what, my readers will be waiting a good deal of time for the final volume of The Darkening Gate. I don’t know if I should reach out to them now and secure their commitment while warning them of the slow publication schedule due to my health, or if I should wait until I’m given the publication date to contact the remaining readers of the series. I’m kind of at a loss as to what to do here.

All I know is that I have mixed feelings about the whole ARC situation. I know I need reviews to even get people to give my book a chance, but I never have enough to secure more publicity or interactions. I know I should be grateful for what I’ve gotten so far, but of course, I’m hungering for more.

I’ve been told more than once that my expectations are too high. If this is another case of that, I’ll feel silly, and then disappointed in myself!

My plea to you: Please, if you have read any of my works, I would really appreciate if you left a review on Goodreads and Amazon. These are two important places (especially Amazon) that will help readers find my work and determine if it’s for them. More reviews mean more visibility, and I’ve always struggled with that. So if you’d like to help out, leaving a review is very important to me. Thank you!