Let's get you reading

A few answers to help you find your way.

For readers

How do I get my book?

Apply using the author's link and verify your email. Once approved, wait for your scheduled delivery.

How do I read EPUB on Kindle?

Download your personalised EPUB, open Send to Kindle, and upload the file manually.

Do I need an account?

No. Guests can access their participation through a personal link.

For authors

How do I open enrolment?

Save your book, create a campaign, and set up the form and dates. Then share your public link.

Who can I invite to a new campaign?

Readers who asked for your future ARCs on one of your application forms. Hamsterra sends the invitations on your behalf.

What is a Copy ID?

It identifies a personalised copy. It is not proof of who distributed a file.

How the giveaway rating works

Your rating belongs to your pen name. It reflects the readers you bring and the appeal of your book.

What earns points?

Readers brought: confirmed readers who came through your tracking link and chose any book in the giveaway.

Book appeal: confirmed choices of your book by readers who did not come through your own link. Each earns half a point, even if you brought no readers.

Visitors: 50 visitors = 1 reader point, at most 20% of readers' points. Visitors earn nothing without readers brought.

The formula

readers + 0.5 × appeal + min(visitors / 50, 0.2 × readers)

We calculate points for each counted giveaway. Your rating is the mean of your last 5 counted giveaways, or all counted giveaways if you have fewer than 5. With fewer than 2 counted giveaways, your level is Empty Cheeks.

Which giveaways count?

A giveaway must go live with at least 3 different accounts. Multiple pen names on one account count as one account.

Once it is live, your result counts up to the moment you leave or are removed. Leaving or removal by the organiser does not discard it. Removal for a platform restriction does not count.

Only book choices confirmed by the giveaway's end count. Choices readers erase do not count. Equivalent spellings of an email address count as one reader.

When the giveaway ends, we freeze the result with its formula version. We do not recount it later or keep reader-level data for the rating.

Levels and giveaway quotas

Levels and giveaway quotas
Level	Mean points	Stash / Hoard
Empty Cheeks	Under 5, or fewer than 2 counted	5
Snack	5 to under 20	10
Pouchful	20 to under 50	20
Full Cheeks	50 or more	No limit

Free plan: 5 giveaways at a time

Quotas count live and recruiting giveaways across your account. On Stash and Hoard, your highest-rated pen name sets your account's quota. If your level goes down, you keep every place you hold. New giveaways and joins wait until you are below your quota.

Who sees your rating?

Other authors see your level when choosing whom to accept or invite. Readers never see it. Your pen names are rated separately and are not publicly linked.

Fairness and reviews

We check for abuse and may review suspicious activity. If you think your rating is wrong, contact Support to ask for a review.

Need help with a particular book?

Reader guide

Hamsterra is where authors share advance review copies (ARCs) of their books with readers. This guide explains how taking part works.

Applying for an ARC

Authors share a link to their campaign page. Open it, read the participation terms and answer the author's questions. You can apply as a guest with just your email address, or sign in to apply without confirming your email each time.

The author reviews applications, or approves them automatically. You will get an email when your application is received and another when it is approved. You can only apply once per campaign; submitting again does not create a second application.

Getting your EPUB or PDF

When your copy is ready you receive an email with a private link to your ARC page. Signed-in readers also find it under My ARCs. From that page you can download the formats the author provides, EPUB or PDF, as often as you need while your access is active.

Hamsterra has no reading app of its own. Open the file in any e-book reader or PDF viewer you already use. Guest links work without signing in, so keep them to yourself.

Sending a copy to your Kindle

Hamsterra does not send books to Kindle devices for you. To read on a Kindle, download the EPUB and send it with Amazon's own Send to Kindle service (the app, the website or your Send to Kindle email address). Amazon converts the file for your device.

Conversion can change the layout, and it may remove the personalisation page or metadata. That is expected and does not affect your participation.

Why your copy shows your name

Every EPUB and PDF in a campaign is personalised before it is issued: it carries a visible line with the name you gave and a random copy ID, for example Advance review copy • Issued to: your name • Copy ID: … • Not for redistribution. Your email address is not printed. A copy of an author's free book shows your email address instead of a name. You are told about this before you download.

This is a personalisation mark, not DRM. It does not lock the file or limit which apps can open it. Please do not share your copy: it is an early version the author trusted you with.

Reporting a problem

If a file does not open, a format is missing or something else is wrong, use Report a problem on your ARC page. Describe what happened and which format you tried. You can also tell the author there that you have stopped reading.

Note:Reviews

When you post a review, add its link on your ARC page. Hamsterra records what you report; it does not check review sites itself.