Self-Publishing? Here’s Why You Need an ARC
An ARC is your ticket to pre-launch hype.
I’ve mentioned it before in one of my previous articles, that for pre-launch hype for your book, you should send out some ARCs. If you are traditionally published, you probably don’t need to worry about them — your publisher should have settled that for you.
However, if you are self-publishing, or working with an indie publisher, you may have to prepare one yourself. You may also have to distribute your ARC to reviewers as well.
What Is An ARC?
An ARC is an Advanced Reader Copy. In essence, it is the iteration of your book right before it is put in bookstores and made available for the public. You need to get the beta reading, editing, and proofreading done before you can consider your ARC ready.
Most ARCs are in the form of .epub, .mobi, or .pdf files. Though, I have heard of physical ARCs before.
ARCs are sent out to book reviewers to read before your book releases. They will then review your book, usually on their own blog, and sometimes on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon or other forms of social media.
Why Do I Need an ARC?
The main goal of an ARC is to get some reviews and ratings before your book goes live for some pre-launch hype. If your reviews are good, then people are more enticed to buy your book because 90% of customers read reviews before they buy a product, and 38% of customers look for at least a 4-star average.
Say your book is so great that you get a 4.5-star average review. Not only are people more likely to take an interest in and buy your book, but you can also use it to advertise your book when it does launch.
If my book has no ratings or reviews it is much harder to say, “Please give it a chance, it’s a good book,” than if I have a book that has even a 4-star average rating and reviews.
How Do I Get Someone to Read My ARC?
Here’s the tricky bit. You have an ARC prepared and ready to send out to potential reviewers, but where do you find them?
I have listed several platforms that you can use.
1) Reedsy’s Partnered Reviewers
Reedsy is a platform where writers, editors, marketers, book designers, amongst others, are gathered to make books come to life. And these people include book reviewers.
Reedsy lists all the book reviewers who have partnered with them and who are willing to review books.
Reedsy gives you the option, on the menu on the left, to filter out book reviewers who focus on certain genres. That way, you can narrow down reviewers who are more willing to do reviews for the genre of your book.
Moreover, beside each listed blog you can see their domain authority and the amount of traffic they get monthly. It also includes a direct link to their blog, so you can have a look at their review policies and their past reviews. From there, you can decide whether the reviewer is a good fit for your book.
2) NetGalley
NetGalley is a site specifically for ARCs and book reviewers who want to review ARCs. They allow authors to list their book for a small fee. Interested reviewers can read and review your book, and then they can post their review on their own blog, and/or Amazon or NetGalley itself.
3) Bookstagram
Instagram is another good place to find book reviewers. Not only will they give their review of your book, but they also present it in a visually appealing way. Graphics are the most impactful when it comes to advertising, according to 40% of marketers in Venngage’s survey.
There are more than 500 million Instagram users per day. It’s incredibly likely that their review would reach a couple of interested readers.
Simply type “#bookstagram” into your search bar, and posts that have used it as a tag would show up on screen. Just tap into a post and click into their profile. Sometimes, they may list the genres of books they read, as well as, a link to their website and review policy.
4) BookTubers and BookTok
Similar to Instagram, BookTubers review books and posts the review on their YouTube channels. BookTokkers do the same but on TikTok instead of YouTube.
The advantage they have over the written word and stunning images is the fact that their visuals are moving. Videos tend to engage audiences the best, using both visuals and sound to enrapture their audience.
In addition, YouTube is the second biggest search engine after Google, with over 1.5 billion users. Moreover, videos are becoming consumer’s favorite sort of content, and 73% of them claim that they’ve been influenced by video content when deciding whether or not to buy something.
TikTok itself has over 800 million active users worldwide, and 68% of people use it to watch other people’s videos, and 55% of them use it to post their own videos.
Caution!
Book reviews should not cost anything (unless you’re using NetGalley to list it). If reviewers are offering to review your book for a fee, it’s in your best interest not to accept it.
You don’t want to fall victim to people looking to make a quick buck preying on desperate self-published authors. There are other reviewers out there who can review your book for free.
If you have the wealth and you can afford a paid book review, then by all means, go ahead. But generally, it’s good to find a reviewer who does not charge you. You can then be very sure that they’re not in it for the money, but they are truly willing to read and review your book.
Conclusion
Having an ARC reviewed heightens the chance that others would buy your book, but it’s not a guarantee. Moreover, reviewers are not obliged to give you a good review, so don’t pester them if they don’t.
Thank you for reading, and I hope this helps! Good luck on your writing endeavours ahead!
