I often get asked how I get copies of books to review before they're out to the general public. I've been lucky to have had a couple of physical copies sent to me via publishers - those have been recently published books that they are hoping to get into book clubs. The bulk of the ARCs (advanced reader copies) that I have received have been through a site called Netgalley.
NetGalley is a site that helps publishers and authors get advanced copies of their books in front of readers and reviewers, in the hopes of garnering feedback from those books. It's free to join the site and browse the available electronic ARCs (also referred to as e-ARCs). Based on your preferences, Netgalley will recommend e-ARCs to you.
Here are some tips for getting started...
You may not get popular e-ARCS right away.
I went into Netgalley thinking I'd get approved to review the latest Katee Robert book. That wasn't the case. What I learned is that publishers are looking for higher feedback rates when approving requests for e-ARCs. When I initially started, my "Feedback Ratio" was non-existent. It took several reviews of books from smaller publishing firms to start boosting my feedback score. (I'm forever thankful for those first e-ARCs!)
Once you reach the 80% or above feedback threshold, your requests should get approved more regularly - for the most part. Those popular e-ARCs are still unicorns sometimes. Don't get discouraged if you're not approved for those right away.
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| Feedback ratios are recommended to be 80% or above. |
Providing feedback is critical for continued e-ARCs.
When I first started receiving e-ARCs, I requested multiple books at once and this lowered my feedback ratio as I was approved to review each of these books. When requesting e-ARCs, know that providing feedback is critical to maintaining a higher feedback score. It's recommended that once you request a book and get approved, that you provide feedback within 30 days (if not sooner). I usually put the dates in my planner because it's easy to forget which books need to be reviewed and by when.
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| Keep track of what books you've review and the feedback shared. |
Provide honest feedback - even if hurts.
When giving your feedback, be honest. During one of my first reviews, I had to "DNF" (did not finish) a book. It was just SO slow and all over the place - I just could not get through the story. I was fair to the author - I read over 60% of the book before having to stop. But I was honest with my feedback and had to tell the publisher that I didn't finish the book (and why!) If you can't finish a book, I recommend trying to get through a 1/3 of the book before making a decision about it. If you can't finish it, state that in your review.
Share your feedback and connect with authors on socials.
I've been introduced to new or new-to-me authors via Netgalley through the books I review. I've even reviewed books on Netgalley and then went on to purchase the physical book when it hit the shelves at the bookstore. Authors don't always see the feedback shared on Netgalley, so if it's a good book I go on to share the review on my blog and then share on social platforms like Instagram. I try to connect with the authors and tag them - sharing how much I loved their book. It's free promo for them and something I don't mind doing since I was able to read their book in advance.
I hope these tips have been helpful. So often I see book influencers trying to gate-keep with this type of stuff and that's not how it should be. There are plenty of books for everyone and I hope this inspires you to join Netgalley and start reading those e-ARCs!
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