Yesterday’s post was about the Book Expo/Book Con. Today’s post is about getting free ebook ARCs electronically.
To recap, ARCs are Advance Review Copies of books. These books are handed out prior to a book’s publication date. They are not completely finished, may contain errors, and the title or cover may change. Simply put, it’s the unfinished product, but the book is slated for publication.
At the Book Expo and the Book Con, people can pick up copies of ARCs in its physical form. There are ways though of getting ebooks of ARCs too.
Amazon
Not too many people know this, but you can get free ebook ARCs through Amazon. Authors, publicists and sellers have contacted me through Amazon based on the reviews I left for books and products similar to what they are promoting. How do they do this? You need to set up a profile on Amazon.
- Login to your Amazon account.
- Click on Account & Lists.
- Click on Your Account.
- Under Ordering and Shopping Preferences, click on YOUR AMAZON PROFILE.
- To edit the information on the page, follow these directions.
Note that the more you review, the higher your ranking.
Publicists and authors will reach out to you via email to pitch their book they would like for you to review. They provide different ways to get the book to you. From hard copy to PDF to ebooks, all they want is just a review up on Amazon, because it helps boost the book’s ranking.
Please note that when you do leave a review, you must state in the review (as well as anywhere else you post the review) that you received this book from X in exchange for an honest or unbiased review. There are numerous ways you can state this, but it is a legal notice you must post. You must do this for any free item you receive no matter which platform you use to receive the books.
NetGalley
A go to source for everyone to get free ebook ARCs is NetGalley. You will need to register to become a member. After you register, you will need to setup your profile.
You will also need to link your device you plan to use to read the ebooks to your NetGalley account. Make sure to go through the Help page to understand how NetGalley works.
There are different ways you can go about requesting books. For those who do not have the numbers or the affiliations (e.g. libraries) to request books from the publisher, look through the titles available under Read Now. You can download the titles right away and don’t have to wait for approval.
If you have the numbers or the professional affiliations, you can request titles from the publishers. They will either approve or deny the requests. If you prefer a published ARC, you can send an email through NetGalley to the publisher to request (but keep in mind, these are not always approved).
After you read the title, you must post your reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You must also submit your review through NetGalley so that it will go directly to the publisher.
For bloggers, it is essential that you have all of your information up to date. Make sure that you list your current numbers in your bio.
Also, don’t do like I do and request a bunch of books. You need to have an 80% review ratio of reviews to requests.
Edelweiss
Edelweiss is my preferred platform to request titles. Publishers prefer NetGalley over Edelweiss though.
The process is similar to NetGalley. You can request books from the publisher. You can also immediately download titles under “To Download.”
With Edelweiss, your reviews go directly to the publisher. If you do a blog post, you will need to give them the link to the review. You will also have different options with which to submit your review. You can submit to the Publisher, Indie Next, SIBA and/or Libro.fm. When you request books, they also request that you explain why you are requesting.
As far as usability, NetGalley is much simpler to navigate. Edelweiss is a bit more complex. Also, publishers tend to monitor NetGalley requests more than they do Edelweiss. They may check Edelweiss once every few months.
Goodreads
On Goodreads, set up a profile. Review as many books as you can. Join the Reading Challenge. Review, review, review.
To get free ebook ARCs, under BROWSE, click on Giveaways. Here, they will list all of the different giveaways available. It’s not guaranteed you will win, but keep entering the giveaways.
Booktasters
Another place to get ebooks for free in exchange for an honest review is Booktasters. Follow them on Twitter @BookTasters (they list their titles daily and you request through the Twitter links). Like the other sites, you choose books and post reviews on the different platforms (GoodReads, Amazon, etc.).
Booktasters also made reviewing books a competition. The more points you score, the higher your chances at winning prizes.