One of the things I’ve learned since publishing Sovereign Knight is that writing the book was only part of becoming an author. Once the manuscript is finished, there is an entirely different world waiting on the other side: publishing platforms, advertising, websites, mailing lists, reviews, book databases, and occasionally discovering that someone else has somehow become the author of your book.

That last one actually happened.

I recently went through the process of setting up my Goodreads Author profile. During the process, I discovered that some editions of Sovereign Knight had been attached to the profile of a completely different author. Same general name, very different person.

Fortunately, the Goodreads librarians helped straighten everything out. All of the editions are now associated with the correct Allen Marc Levy, and my Goodreads Author profile is finally up and running.

It may sound like a small administrative victory, but for an independent author, these things matter. Goodreads is one of the places readers go to discover books, track what they are reading, leave reviews, and interact with authors. Having the books correctly connected means readers who find Sovereign Knight can now find the person who actually wrote it.

I’ve also connected this blog to Goodreads, so future posts from the website should begin appearing there automatically. That gives me another way to share what is happening with the series without turning every update into an advertisement.

Meanwhile, work on Sovereign Knight Book 2 continues. The universe is getting larger, the stakes are getting higher, and the consequences of what happened in the first book are beginning to spread well beyond Kestrel. I’m deliberately avoiding spoilers, but readers who finished Book 1 already know that the First Banner has changed the balance of power considerably. Book 2 explores what happens once everyone else realizes that too.

I’m also continuing to learn the business side of independent publishing. I’ve experimented with Amazon advertising, BookBub advertising, social media, mailing lists, and several different approaches to reader discovery. Some things have worked. Some have produced very expensive lessons. I suspect that part of the process never completely ends.

For now, though, I’m happy to have another piece of the puzzle finally in place.

If you use Goodreads, you can now follow my author profile, add Sovereign Knight to your shelves, and leave a rating or review if you’ve already read it. Reviews and word of mouth remain enormously helpful for an independent author trying to introduce a new series to readers.

And if you’d like the free Sovereign Knight Galaxy Map and exclusive Meridian artwork, you can Join the First Banner through the mailing list here on the website.

Thanks for reading—and thanks for coming along while I figure out this author business one step at a time.

Allen Marc Levy

Author of Sovereign Knight