The line between traditional and self-published books blurs by the day, with hybrid authors like Michael J. Sullivan hopping back and forth so often that metaphoric line seems only a smudge compared to the hurdle it once was. And we at Sigil Independent  would be lying if we said we didn’t follow Sullivan’s career with particular interest. How else can we possibly emulate his success? Other than consuming his brain in an unholy ritual that is.

An offer he’s been rather noncommittal on accepting, I might add.

In his exceedingly interesting discussion on the Once and Future Podcast,  Sullivan delves into his career, citing “exposure and credibility” as to why he went the traditional route after finding success with self-publishing (21:30). These two points cannot be emphasized enough as to creating success for authors, traditional and self-published alike. How will anyone discover your book if no one has yet discovered your book?

As Mark Lawrence’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off has demonstrated, a large part of “exposure and credibility” is bestowed by book bloggers and other influential reviewers. They play a critical role in distinguishing which books audiences learn about and ultimately enjoy, and so it’s our great privilege that Fantasy Book Critic, which has participated in SPFBO all three years now and also gave Sullivan his first taste of exposure and credibility back in 2008 , has allowed us to announce the Sigil Indie Challenge here*.

In our rather obvious effort to engage with book blogger and influential reviewers (over 50 Goodreads or Amazon reviews), we’re happily giving away review copies of any one of our ten books involved with our free Sigil Sampler. Peruse our Choose Your Own Adventure chapter for a suggestion, or take the shorter quiz on our website, then let us know on social media which book you ended up with (twitter @sigilindie, Facebook @sigilindependent), and we’ll send you an electronic review copy lickety split.

What becomes of that review copy is up to you. Do you think the book lived up to our claim of a professional product on par with traditionally published novels? Then let everyone know. Did our CYOA or online quiz truly match you up with a book tailored to your tastes? Tell us. Did we just add one more stone to your Mt. TBR and nothing more? Well, inquiring minds need to know.

So please tell us. And your friends while you’re at it. And maybe an enemy or two.

*Footnote: It also doesn’t hurt that three of our members ended up on FBC’s best of 2017 list.

Official Author Website
Order The Woven Ring HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Woven Ring

OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: Born and raised in Texas, Matthew D. Presley spent several years on the East Coast and now lives in California with his wife. His favorite words include defenestrate, callipygian, and Algonquin. The fact that monosyllabic is such a long word keeps him up at night. He’s also worked as a professional Hollywood screenwriter who has written for Chinese TV serials as well. When not writing, he also makes jewelry for fun. The Woven Ring was his debut book.