I always see people talk about getting ARCs and I’ve been very fascinated, but how I can do this? I read hundreds of books a year and recently started reviewing some on Goodreads/Amazon. I don’t have a large following but I think it would be beneficial if I could get ARCs so my reviews could be seen earlier when people are still wondering if they should read this book when it first comes out.
I’m working on possibly making an instagram for a book platform but I just need exposure/help. I leave very honest reviews, the good the bad the ugly and the truth.
Any help is appreciated :)
p.s. I mostly read dark romance, fantasy, and TONS of indie authored books on KU!!
Work at Barnes & Noble, sometimes the employees get them.
But in all seriousness, I wouldn’t recommend applying there, unless you want ARCs that much.
Usually authors provide ARCs through their newsletters, website, or mention details on their social media accounts. That’s what I do at least. :)
ARC = Advanced Reader Copy, in case you were like me and were annoyed at the fact that literally nobody bothered to define the acronym. This is a huge subreddit, it’s a bit rude to assume everyone will know the jargon.
Thank you! I was losing my mind!
Netgalley has digital ARCs that you can get right away. The more you review on Netgalley the easier it is to get approved for ARCs from the larger publisher houses. Keep your review percentage at 80 and above and you have a better shot. I reviewed children’s books in the beginning to get my review numbers up and have a 90% review rating. There are also e-audiobooks for review. Many are available right away. Create an account and see what’s available.
Enter the Goodreads giveaways. I win a few books per month.
Wow! I’ve been entering for years and have never won
How many do you enter per month usually? I just started entering
I try to enter at least one every day. I mostly enter for Kindle books because they give away 100 of each title.
Oh yeah a cloutchaser, how wonderful if there’s one thing the world doesn’t have NEARLY enough of now it’s ‘influencers’ and cloutchasers.
Go to a big library or literary conference and get a badge for the exhibit hall only. Those are usually $25-$50 instead of the full conference price of $200-$500. The publishers all have booths in the conferences and give away a ton of ARCs to get librarians/book buyers to buy them for their collections and stores. American library association conference is in San Diego this summer.
Source: am librarian.
I’ll have to remember this when I get back to the states! It sounds like a great idea!
If you’re back in February, the Midwinter conference is in Denver. Check out www.ala.org
I think Netgalley is the English site for ARC requests.
Netgalley is great. May take a few days after you make a request, but you should get approved no problem. Just make sure to follow up with feedback.
ARCs are almost exclusively used as a way to promote a book and you’re not going to get them unless you already have an established and relatively large social media presence.
If you’re just looking for free books then check out the library or enter giveaways.
If you’re not treating it like it’s your job then you’re not going to get any ARCs and even then it’s a gamble.
Sounds like you just need to keep at it. ARCs are only for promotional purposes, so the larger the following you build the more likely you’ll be to attract publishers. Build as large of a social media following as you can and you’ll get noticed eventually.
Someone already mentioned NetGalley.
Another option is BookSirens. You don’t need a social media following to get ARCs there.