ARCs - Notes for First Time Authors
I’m in a few writer groups where a common question comes up for first time self-publishing authors - what are ARCs and do I need them?
As part of my lurking around the self-publishing industry for many years, I’ve gathered quite a few notes that I feel I can at least point my writer friends in the right direction. So, hopefully you’ll find this helpful as you get started.
What are ARCs?
ARCs are Advanced Review Copies (notice I didnt say reader copies). They are copies of your book you give to a potential reader for free in the hope that they will take the time to read your book and post a public review at the time of your book launch. There’s plenty of discussion on this, but reviews can drive new readers to take a chance on your work when they don’t know you.
I also used the word hope, because this is a hot topic. You will be giving your book to a reader for free and it’s natural to expect reciprocation by requiring a review. But, it typically doesn’t work out that way. Readers may sign up just to get a free book, others may get busy or just decide they don’t want to read your book. It happens. So, it’s good for you to set your own expectation ahead of time since you are running a business (yes, lets face it, the moment you self-publish a book you’re have a business). I’ve seen stats that you should expect anywhere from 20-40% of those who receive an ARC will review them. You can improve these stats by how well you vet your ARC list, which I cover below.
Setting your Expectations and Goals
I added this section after writing this out because I think it’s important to think about this before going into your ARC process.
Do you just want reviews to help promote your book?
Do you want guaranteed reviews? (Spoiler: it’s not possible. But you can improve your review success rate by vetting ARC applicants)
Do you want to target your ideal reader for ARCs or include as many people as possible?
Do you also want a list of readers who you can reach out to for future promotions? (eg such as a Newsletter or Street Team Sign Up?)
Do you want to prevent piracy of your book? (Another spoiler: you can’t. But there are aways to understand who is leaking your book)
Do you need to cut down on admin time and are willing to pay for services?
Which platforms do you want to see reviews on?
Do you need to capture reader feedback to catch typos or issues prior to launch?
Gathering ARC Readers
There are a few ways to gather ARC readers and this will depend on the method you choose to send your ARCs - whether you choose do this manually or have a service collect the ARC requests for you. (See section on Sending Arcs below before deciding how to gather your list.)
If you choose to send ARCs manually, you’ll need to gather a list of ARC applicants. Even if you choose to use a distribution service, you can still gather ARC applicants manually and then submit the approved list to the service. (But check that service’s features before deciding).
The most common method to gather ARC applicants, is to create a Google Form. You’ll want to start this process anywhere from 2-3 months prior to when you launch your book. (Don’t worry! You can still do this closer to launch, but it just may be stressful. 2-3 months will give you time to vet your arc readers so you can maximize the ROI).
If you dont have one, create a Google email address that you will use with your author business, allowing you access to Google Drive and Forms. You’ll want a public form that you can save responses to a spreadsheet. This will allow you to gather the form fills in one location and then use that spreadsheet to vet your requests. (See the Google tutorials for Setting up a Google Form and Choosing where to Save Form Responses.)
You want to capture details that help you vet who will receive a book and how they wish to receive the book:
Email Address: capture the reader’s email address for when you send them a notification if they are approved for the ARC list and notification of when the ARCs are sent out.
First and Last Name: Make this a required field so you have their information in your ARC list.
eReader Email: If you’re sending digital copies (highly recommended), capture which email address they use for their Kindle, Nook, Google, Libby readers. Some readers may not want to receive their books directly to their eReaders, but I highly recommend this.
Social Media and Review Accounts: You will want to capture the social media handles and/or links to each place they review books. Why? Because this is where you will vet the types of reviews these readers post and if they are the right fit for your book. Use a form question field for each Social and Review platform to capture the individual response. Don’t make these fields required in case the reader does not have a presence on that platform. They will fill out which sites are most relevant to them. (eg Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, TikTok, BookBub, YouTube, Facebook, StoryGraph, etc)
Ask if they want to be on mailing your list: I find it’s best to ask if the ARC reader wants to be on your newsletter distribution list, rather than just assuming an ARC sign up puts you on the list. There’s a lot of debate on this. Some authors will add a box that states “By signing up for an ARC request, I acknowledge I am signing up for the authors newsletter.” It’s your business, but erring on the side of caution can lead to less people reporting your newsletters as spam because they didn’t want to be on your newsletter.
State Expectations and Acknowledgement: This one is critical and should be a required field. You’ll want to cover a few topics and get acknowledgement the applicant has read and accepts them.
Expecation of the ARC and Review - primary places you want reviews (eg if its Amazon, Goodreads, etc)
Stating that the reader is “receiving a promotional copy of the book and it should not be distributed to anyone else or on any other platform”. There’s various wording for this, but that needs to be stated because piracy is a big issue among ARC distribution.
Acknowledgement that sign up for ARC does NOT guarantee they will receive an ARC
State when you expect to send out the ARCs and when you expect to receive reviews. You can update this information when you send out the ARC distribution notices.
Ask if they want to be considered for your Street Team: Street Teams help promote your books year round. This field just captures if they would be interested, so you know who to reach out to first if/when you start a street team.
Most first time authors do not have the resources to send physical ARCs to readers, so don’t feel pressured to do this. IF you do, be sure to capture the applicant’s Mailing Address as well.
You don’t have to use a Google Form for this, but it’s the simpliest method most people are familiar with. You can use other tools you are familiar with, but be sure to capture the relevant details to vet your ARC readers.
Advertise the ARC Sign Up
When you have your form ready, start talking about it! Mention it in your posts, stories, bio links. Get your writer friends to share your posts or talk about it. You can do a small paid boost (if you have the funds).
Set a time frame of when you want to get sign ups by and as you get closer, include the count down in your posts.
Keep the link easily accessible in your social media bios. Three clicks is the magic number before you lose someone’s interest. So make sure they can sign up easily.
Vetting ARC Readers
Our goal in sending ARCs is to get reviews, so we want to target applicants who read the type of work we have created - eg our Ideal Reader. This set is optional, but it is also recommended. This is where you’ll want to review each applicant’s social media presence and determine if they are the right fit for you. (Yes, I hear you screaming. It’s a lot of work. But it can improve your review rates by aligning you with the right readers, and even gathering a list of who your permanent ARC Reader Team could be.)
Go through the links they posted for their platforms and vet them with some of the following questions:
Do they read in your genre?
Do they post constructively critical reviews (meaning they are not trying to bash an author, but give thoughtful criticism)?
When was the last time they posted?
Are they posting reviews to the platform you want reviews on (the typical key places are Amazon and Goodreads since readers will look at a book’s ratings to decide if they want to take a chance on your work).
Then make a note for each applicant if they are or are not a fit. Remember, you don’t have to send an ARC to someone who is not a fit for your book if you do not want to.
Sending ARCs
Once you have your approved ARC list and you’re ready to send out the ARCs, you have a few things that need to happen.
You want to send your ARCs anywhere from 2-4 weeks prior to book launch. If you’re sending physical copies, allow for closer to 4 weeks to ensure materials arrive in time.
If you can, send out a notification to ARC recipients of when to expect your book. This can give them time to think about when they will be getting an ARC. (Readers are busy too, so it’s a nice touch).
Prepare your book for distribution
You’ll need to decide if you want to send your book prior to proofreading or afterward. That’s your decision and typically depends on your launch timeframe.
Make a special cover for the ARC: This doesnt have to mean an entirely new cover, but have something on your book cover that shows it’s an ARC. It could be a graphical stamp that says ‘ARC Review Copy’. But something to indicate it’s not for distribution.
Include a disclaimer IN the book: Have a page or section in the eBook/physical copy that states this is an ARC copy and not intended for resell or distribution.
Package ebook as an ePub file. (Yes, there are other formats, but this is the most common.) You’ll need this format for uploading to Amazon and there a plenty of tutorials on how to do this online.
Determine method for sending
It’s best to think about how you want to distribute the eBook ARC well before you need to send them out.
Send directly to eBook Email Address: Here you will send these manually using your own email account and send the book directly to the eReader platform. This is helpful because you’re not sending them the physical ePub file (and can cut down on piracy), and the reader doesn’t have to do anything but sync their eReader. It’s simple, effective, and zero cost other than your time.
Send eBook directly to Personal Email Address: I caution against doing this unless you have to. Most readers do have some sort of eReader access or app on their devices where you can reduce the step of sending the eBook to them in a format that they can easily redistribute. (It also cuts down on explaining to someone how to read the file.) I would only do this if you know the person, but that’s up to your own discretion.
Use a distribution service: These are gaining in popularity and recommended to cut down on administrative time. With these methods, there are various free or paid tiers that allow you to customize the service offering. For services that offer ARC application services, you will have a larger pool of applicants, but they may be less aligned with your ideal reader. Some will allow you to upload a self curated, approved list of applicants. Others will gather that list for you.
BookFunnel: BookFunnel is a very popular, affordable service where you can upload your approved ARC list and have the service send the files to the readers. They offer custom landing pages to curate the ARC sign up, distribute the ARCs with privacy protection, and collect reader email addresses for future mailings.
BookSirens: BookSirens has a few pricing tiers and a free tier that distributes your book automatically upon request and allows you to vet profiles by having the reader connect their social platforms to their profile. You can download the subscriber emails and they help with piracy protection.
BookSprout: BookSprout allows you to bring your own ARC list and see who is reviewing your book, so you can remove who is not reviewing from the list. They will distribute the ARC and users can choose which reading app to read your book.
Story Origin: You can build your author email list, gather beta reader feedback, and choose which reader platforms you want reviews on. You can also do author newsletter swaps and join author group promotions to collaborate with other authors.
Prolific Works: They offer different tiers to distribute your ARC, and add subscribers to a mailing list.
NetGalley: NetGalley has a large readership, across many genres where they can promote your book to and setup for ARC reviews.
(Note: there are other services, I’m just listing what I see most often.)
Set Expectations
If you’re sending ARCs manually or just using a simple distribution service with a self-curated, approved ARC list, set some expectations with the readers on when you want reviews and how to handle negative reviews.
Typically, authors set a date for reviews 1-2 weeks post launch date, giving readers time to read and post reviews.
If you want to defer the posting of a negative review, it’s feasible to ask the reader to hold any negative reviews to 2-3 weeks post launch date, giving time for positive reviews to come in and accelerate your launch. This is a courtesy and readers may still post the review whenever they choose to do so. Amazon will not accept reviews until the book is launched, so keep this in mind when setting expectations.
Another tip is to set an expectation with the reader on how to handle feedback on typos or content. Some authors want to know this information prior to launch; some authors prefer to not get feedback directly. If you choose to get this feedback, provide them with a link or method to give you this information.
Following up on Reviews
This is a step that is gaining popularity and is recommended if you’ve handled most of your ARC distribution manually.
After launch, when you have the mental space to look at reviews with a nice up of your favorite comfort beverage… verify who posted a review and if they were constructively considerate. Not everyone is going to like your work; it happens. But were they capable of stating that it wasn’t for them while still posting something helpful for other readers?
Make a note in your ARC list if you would give them an ARC in the future. If they didn’t post a review and didn’t reach out to say they needed more time, then you can take them off your list. This can save you a lot of time later on when you publish your next book, so you can reach out to those who posted constructive reviews later.
I hope this helps you with your ARC distribution.
Best of luck with your book launch!