Hosting a group promo means setting the rules once and letting other authors bring their books: you choose the type, the dates and the requirements, BookSparker builds the public page and collects the applications. This article walks the five steps of the wizard and what happens after you publish. Reviewing the applications that come in has its own article, managing applications to your promo.
What you need first
Hosting is part of the paid plans; anyone, including free members, can join. Create New Promo on the Group Promos page checks your plan before it opens the wizard and offers an upgrade if hosting is not included. You do not need a book of your own to host, though most hosts add one, and your own books are approved automatically.
The steps
Dates and contact
The Contact Name is shown publicly as the organizer; your email never is. Two notification switches decide whether each application and each withdrawal emails you. Then come two date ranges: recruiting, when authors can apply, and the promotion itself. Recruiting may run into the promotion, so late joiners can still add books, but it must end at least seven days before the promotion does, so they still have time to share. By default participants share on any day of the promotion; tick the share window option to confine sharing to a range inside it, in which case recruiting must end before that window opens.
Requirements
Requirements tell applicants what you expect, and the form enforces the ones it can. Minimum List Size Required refuses lists below the number you set. Limited Spaces Available caps the number of participants, and the promo reads as full once it is reached. Two content rules, no explicit content and no suggestive covers, are on by default and become confirmation boxes on the application. Which books are allowed follows the promotion type and cannot be changed here. Maximum Books Per Author starts at two and can be anything from one to ten. A link to your own requirements page is optional and must start with http.
Moderation
Auto-approve qualifying applications is on by default: an application that passes your genre, size and performance checks is approved the moment it arrives, and you can silence the email for those. Block Flagged Authors, also on by default, keeps out authors BookSparker has flagged for spam or violations. Two performance settings look at an author's average clicks across past promos, by default at least 3 promos and 50 clicks: Block Low-Performing Authors refuses them, Moderate Low-Performing Authors lets them apply but holds the application for your review. With nothing enabled the summary shows a warning; leaving Block Flagged Authors on is the sensible minimum.
Publish and share
Publish Promo, on the last step, runs every check again and lists anything missing. On success the promo appears under My Group Promos, shows on the Browse list from its recruiting start date unless it is private, and gets a Public Page button. Drafts have no public page at all. Add your own books through Join Promo on the promo page, exactly as a participant would; they are approved at once, and Your Share Link on the same page gives you a tracking link to send to your list.
Editing a live promo
Edit, on the promo page, reopens the wizard. Until the first application arrives everything can change. After it, eight fields lock to protect the participants: the type, the languages, the slug, the categories, the recruiting start and both promotion dates. The recruiting end stays open, so you can give late joiners more time or close sign-ups early. Requirements and moderation still change, but only for authors who apply afterwards; those already in keep the rules they applied under, and the wizard says so. Delete Promo on a promo that is recruiting or running does not delete it: it cancels the promo, rejects pending applications and emails every participant. Only drafts are deleted outright.
Common questions
Why is Next grayed out?
The current step has something missing or invalid. Hover or tap the button and the tooltip lists each item, such as a description under twenty characters or a recruiting end less than seven days before the promotion end.
Can I give authors more time to join?
Yes, even after authors have applied. Edit the promo and move the recruiting end on the Dates & Contact step, up to seven days before the promotion ends. If recruiting had already closed, the promo takes applications again as soon as you save.
Can I switch the promotion type later?
Only until the first author applies. After that it is locked, because every participant's book and landing page were chosen to fit it. Duplicate the promo to start a new one with the other type.
Why has my draft no public page?
Public pages exist only for published promos. Publish, then use Public Page under My Group Promos to see it.
What happens if I remove a running promo?
It is canceled rather than deleted: pending applications are rejected, participants receive a cancellation email, and their tracking links stop working. The promo stays in your history.