: Re: What are my options for free preview copies if I self publish via online services? I am currently in the process of trying to make my book available for purchase on Amazon and similar services.

@Kevin153

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With CreateSpace, you can buy print copies of the book and send them to anyone you want.

If you can make an epub file, you can send that to anyone you like, and they can read it with their favorite reader app.

I use Jutoh to make epub files. There are other apps, but I don't know enough about them to offer a recommendation. Jutoh is awkward, but produces epub files that work flawlessly with Kindle, Kobo, and Smashwords. And I can read them with iBooks and Adobe Digital Editions (though I haven't uploaded them to sell through Apple or Nook yet).

Another approach is to make your ebook available on Smashwords. Then you can create coupons on Smashwords for discounted or free versions, and send those coupons to people.

For Smashwords, you don't have to create an epub file yourself (though I do). You can instead upload a properly formatted Word file, and they will convert it to epub and mobi and maybe a few other formats. Find the Smashwords Style Guide on their site for lots of details about what "properly formatted" means.

Or you could buy a copy yourself from Smashwords (or perhaps download the preview version that they create for you) and send that to people.

If you want to roll your own mobi file (for use with Kindle devices and apps), Jutoh can create those. Or if you already have an epub file, you can use Amazon's free Kindle Previewer app to convert it to mobi format.

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