Updated 10/2024
Recently someone asked me how she could get advance reader copies (ARCs) to read and review. She was probably expecting a short and sweet answer—go to site A, sign up, and give ’em hell—but it’s not that simple (and I’m not that succinct). I’m sure every reviewer’s story is unique, and I could only describe to her what I’ve experienced. I’m no expert by any means, but I did want to share what I told her, in case anyone else has wondered the same.
Getting your hands on ARCs can be both easy and difficult to do. It depends on which ARCs you’re trying to get your hands on.
Authors and publishers need word of mouth to help make the paying public aware of their products—just like any business. Before blogging and social media, printed ARCs were sent to libraries and bookstores for their employees to read and hopefully talk about to patrons and customers. Nowadays, publishers take advantage of the internet and influencer culture. I’m sure ARCs are still sent to libraries and bookstores, but not nearly as much as before, because why pay for print copies when you can reach far more people electronically?
I know of three ways to receive electronic ARCs:
1. There are websites dedicated to connecting authors with reviewers. I know of eight. Becoming a member is free, and reading the books is free. Monetarily, at least; you pay with your time. You’re expected to review the books the authors and publishers are gracious enough to give you access to. If you use the system as a way to simply read books for free, you’ll face consequences. They’re not libraries.
2. Authors—specifically self-published authors doing their own marketing—though once I had a small publisher approach me—could contact you directly and ask you to review their books. They mostly find you by happening across a review you wrote for another book, but it can’t hurt to contact them and ask about ARCs. The worst they can tell you is no. Some authors actively seek ARC reviewers through their social media or newsletters, so sign up!
3. Publicists or the like may email you directly to invite you to participate in blog tours. I don’t really know how they select the bloggers to whom they offer these opportunities, so I can’t tell you specifically how to make this happen, just that it’s possible. I actually haven’t received many blog tour invites lately, and I’m wondering if that was a trend that’s waning.
Now, before you get all excited, thinking the next Maas is at your fingertips, let me explain the catch.
Anyone can be a consumer reviewer—someone who reviews a book on Goodreads or retail sites like Amazon, whether it’s a book you’ve purchased, borrowed from the library, or received as an ARC. That’s simply an exercise of your First Amendment rights. And sometimes being a consumer reviewer—i.e., someone who’s just willing to read and review—is enough to get ARCs. There are authors and publishers at all of those sites I listed who don’t care if you have a blog or a following or if you only read one book a year, they just want a new set of eyes and honest feedback.
But to get your hands on bestsellers, on books backed by the big publishers, you have to have influence. You need a platform, and you need followers. (Or you have to be one of those irritating people who simply has the right connections.) The more influence you have, the more likely it is you’ll be granted access to coveted titles. If they’re going to deign to let you read their gilded letters, it has to be worthwhile for them, and they can afford to be selective.
It might be enough to be an enthusiastic bookstagramer or booktoker, or to have at least several hundred followers on Twitter or Facebook. But having an active blog as well as a strong social media presence is the best way to make yourself stand out. The more people you have listening to you, the more valuable you are to publishers. You can request high profile titles on NetGalley without having a wide reach—or much of a reach at all—but don’t be surprised if your requests are denied far more often than they’re accepted.
(I should explain how NetGalley works. You don’t get to read whatever you want. Ninety-five percent of the time, you have to request a title and wait for whatever publicist or marketing assistant to review your profile and either approve your request or deny it. It could take a day or it could take several months, and complaining to NetGalley is useless because the site itself is just a hub, they don’t have control over requests (and frankly they don’t care). As for the other five percent, sometimes titles (rarely bestsellers, though) are available to read instantly. And some titles you can only wish for. Literally, instead of a request button, it’s one that says, “Wish for it!” What the point of that is, how it differs from a request, I have yet to understand.)
I was pretty disappointed when I learned I couldn’t just read any ARC I wanted. I suppose that would have been too good to be true. Some bestselling authors, the ones who are big enough not to need the help, don’t offer ARCs at all, at least not to the masses on NetGalley. (Some of their recent books are listed if you search for them, but they only seem to appear after the book has been released and archived. As if the ARCs were made available only to reviewers who were given a private link. If that’s how it works, I have yet to be so lucky. I’ll know I’ve made it in the world of book reviewing when I’m given access to an ARC of the next Sarah J. Maas book. (I can only dream of a day when Maas herself asks me for a review. *sigh*))
But despite learning of that disappointing fact several years ago, when I myself was trying to figure out how to get ARCs, I purchased a web domain, designed a site, and started this blog. Because books are my life. I’ve actually been really lucky to have reached the level I have (which isn’t saying much at all) because I don’t use social media (too stressful) and have few followers. I rely on Goodreads and NetGalley to make my presence known. I was lucky to be approached by Elise, and I was also lucky to have written some popular Star Wars fanfiction a few years back, which brought in a lot of views and visitors, which in turn boosts my SEO ranking. Without those, I probably wouldn’t have been given the opportunities I have. And I still get some of my requests denied. (I’m looking at you Berkley and Brilliance, you picky sons a bitches. *flips them the bird*)
So, if you’ve seen people review books months before they’re released and wondered who they had to blow for the privilege, I hope this has enlightened you a bit. I’m sure there’s a lot I don’t know—and some of the above could be wrong—but if this post answers some of your questions, then my work here is done.
If you’d love to help out indie authors and small or medium-sized publishers—many of whom offer really wonderful books, it’s not all amateur crap (though it’s the amateur crap that needs reviewers the most (an editor would be better but they cost money))—you can probably start reviewing today. But if you want access to coveted titles and bestsellers, you’re going to have to work for them.
Comment below if you have any questions or insight to share.
Danielle 🙂
