Let’s Talk About ARC’s

Hey there, friends. I have a confession. I am an unintentional ARC hoarder.

Let’s start at the beginning. What is an ARC? An ARC is an Advanced Readers Copy of a book. Typically these copies are given out for review or PR purposes from the author/publisher. To my understanding, the intention of an ARC is to create excitement about an upcoming release, and to get some good traction with early reviews. These reviews aid the consumer, when the book is officially published, by helping them decide if they think they’d like this new book, or want to try something else.

I have reviewed books for many years, but it wasn’t until I became a librarian that I received any substantial amount of ARC’s online. The two platforms I currently use for procuring my ARC’s are Netgalley and Edelweiss.

Because I had used these platforms in the past, with little to no success, I didn’t believe I’d have much more of a chance this time around either. BOY WAS I WRONG. I was approved for almost every book I requested, which brings us up to speed with this post.

I am very, very, v e r y behind in my ARC reviews. It’s to the point where my ARC’s are no longer ‘advanced’ because I believe all of these books have already been released to the public. Face. Palm. Let’s get into the nitty gritty shall we?

On Netgalley I have been approved for 33 ARC’s, and I have reviewed 9. This leaves me at a 27% feedback ratio.

On Edelweiss I have been approved for 3 ARC’s, 1 that was also approved on Netgalley. I have reviewed 0 of these titles, giving me a 0% feedback ratio. I’m doing, so, so well, as you can see.

Nothing feels worse than feeling like you’ve let someone down, for me at least. And I feel like I’ve let these authors, publishers, and platforms down. I agreed to leave an honest review in exchange for a free ARC and I haven’t followed through to the best of my ability. Well, that all stops now. One book, one review at a time.

Here’s what I plan on reading next.

Do you use ARC’s? How do you keep yourself on track with your reading and reviews? I might start giving myself review deadlines per book, in the hopes that I can treat it like a homework assignment. We’ll see what works!

I was inspired to make this post after watching Books of Amber’s video: How Many ARC’s Do I Own?|| ARC Check In #1