Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here. 
This is going to be short and sweet. I’ve been thinking about advanced reader copies (ARCs) and wondering what is the best way to get them out there for reviews. Do I use the traditional sending out of personal requests via e-mail, blog, etc., or go with something bigger like NetGalley? I’ve read differing opinions on NetGalley, both good and bad. Has anyone tried NetGalley or any other review site? I’d greatly appreciate hearing what other writers have used successfully or not so successfully. Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks so much!
© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.
Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams 
I’ve never used NetGalley. I’ve always done the traditional way. It might be interesting to research and try the other option, though.
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I’m considering it, but yes, I’ll do some more research first. Thanks for visiting!
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All I know about are the ARC’s I’ve received and read. I definitely prefer hard copy books, but I know they’re more expensive. They’re just easier to read for me. I don’t have an ereader so I read on my PC which can be tedious and uncomfortable.
The way I’ve mostly received mine were through calls on writer blogs for people to receive an ARC in return for an honest review. A few though were solicited through an email and often from bloggers whom I did not know. I have even had some request sent via email with the document attached. I haven’t opened many of those. Besides now I’m so backed up in my reading that I don’t even look for ARC opportunities lately. I’m a pitifully slow reader.
Lee
Tossing It Out
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I agree, I prefer reading hard copies, too. I’ll likely try the routes that you mentioned. Thanks for the ideas and for stopping by!
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Whatever you decided on, I think you should do email, blog etc, along with whatever else, Cover the basic and expand. I do not know anything about the NetGalley. I would suggest googling them. Especially, check on the Better Business Bureau site.
A friend was going to publish with a site that had BBB insignia on it. The site looked great. It had wonderful reviews and contacts posted, but when she actually checked with BBB she was shocked at what she found. They had also approached her as a reputable publishing company. It saved her a lot of money and time. The money in was steep, even at the good deal they promised, IMHO. Gave her a clearer picture about her choices and decisions. We do not want to skimp, but neither do we want to get schmooze and possibly convinced out a greater expenditure than needed.
Maybe advertise ARC on Goodreads. I see a lot of writers doing that. If you have a fan page on Facebook put it there maybe in your cover if you can make one–photo shop it in, also Twitter it (embed in your twitter page there in title), as well as offering ARC on LINKEDIN. I have had quite a bit of interaction through writing discussion groups on LINKEDIN, just by participating. This IWSG is good place to offer ARC in the beginning of the month. I recently joined Weekend Writing Warriors blog hop, doing that you could offer ARCS every weekend and maybe get some exposure. Blog Hops can give lots of exposure, if you can find them. Also hosting on others blog as a guest. I offer that If you would like to be a guest. Just email me.
Anyway…
I’m not there yet, but I read about stuff like this every chance I get. I also try to pay attention to what other writers are doing, especially those that are having some success at it. I also check blogs about writing. I learn a lot through that too. Guess we will see how will I learned, when I get to that point. Anyway, wishing much success and good luck.
Juneta at Writer’s Gambit
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Thanks so much for all the great advice and for the hosting offer! I’ll take you up on it as soon as I’m ready. Best of luck to you on your writing projects, as well!
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I’ve never done ARCs. Crystal Collier has me terrified of NetGalley. She has 6 one-star reviews on Goodreads, 3 are stated to be from NetGalley. One review nearly crushed her writing spirit.
Plus I’m cheap so I don’t have a membership yet.
eARCs are something I wish I had done, but I hadn’t even heard of them until about a month before publishing, so I was late on that ball.
I look forward to seeing what you decide!
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Wow, I’m sorry to hear that Crystal Collier had such a bad experience. Knowing that things like that can happen make me nervous about sending ARCs out at all. I’m hoping the benefits will outweigh the downfalls.
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My publisher sends out all review copies, but I often send them leads, usually book bloggers who cover my genre. They also do a couple Goodreads giveaways. I remember asking about NetGalley once and my publisher seemed to have a real negative view of the site.
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Thanks for the tips! That’s great to know.
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As a book blogger, I get 99.9% of my ARCs through email. I’ve only used NetGalley twice, and that was when I was just starting out – now I simply receive too many review requests to also get books from there. So I would definitely email your favourite book bloggers with personal requests – I think a lot of people are much more likely to say yes to someone who took the time to actually type a well-thought out email to them rather than someone who posted their book on a website (not to mention, the quality of the review would probably be higher as well!). Once I release my own book, that’s the way I’m going to go.
On e-ARCs vs. physical copies, YESYESYES to the physical! You have no idea how happy it makes me to receive those shiny new books in the mail. 😉 That said, however, it can be much more expensive, especially with shipping and things, to send out hardcover copies of your books, so if money’s a problem then e-ARCs are probably the way to go. (I will add that PDFs are usually a no-no – they’re so inconvenient to read both on computers and tablets. MOBI and EPUB are the best options.)
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Thanks for all the great tips! I really appreciate your stopping by.
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