Book Blogging 411
Jan •
7 •
2011
This is my new meme on answering questions about blogging. I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.
“How do you get free books?”
Ok, lets stop right there. First off, they are not free. They are sent to you for a honest review on the book. Advance Readers Copies or ARC’s are expensive to make. They only make so many and send those out. If you receive a ARC consider it an honor. It is also a way to form a good relationship with the publisher if you do things right.
1. Read and review the ARC on TIME! If they say to read it by January and have the review up, they are trusting you to do so. If not, it is always good to have the review up close to the release date.
2. Be honest in your review. Lets say you receive the book and you don’t like it. Fine, but review it honestly. Don’t trash the author or the publisher. And if you really don’t like it you can always pass it along to another blogger who will.
3. ?Send the publisher a Thank You. Simply write them an email thanking them for sending you the book. It is common courtesy and it allows them to see that you did receive, read, and review the book. So next time, they will think of you when they have new ARC’s to send out.
4. After reviewing the book spread the word! You can post reviews on Twitter, Facebook, Good Reads, Librarything, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc. Post your review up in as many places as you can.
Others ways to get ARC’s are through Netgalley, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, Random Buzzers, and Librarything. On Netgalley you can request any e-galley that they have up on their site. On Goods Reads, Librarything, and Random Buzzers they hold contest in which you can win arc’s.? Barnes and Noble has a program called First Look program. If you are approved they will send you an ARC of whatever book they choose for the First Look. You can also visit the publishers site and email them through there.
For teens, they are several programs in which you can also receive ARC’s. I know Simon Pulse has a program call Pulse It. In which teens can enter to win ARC’s. Harlequin Teen also has a program as well. Also, Random Buzzers has a program for teens. You can visit these sites and get more information.
It is always best to form a good relationship with the publishers if you want to continue to receive arc’s. They want good active blogs, good written reviews, and people who review them on time. Otherwise you are wasting their time and money.
If you have a question about book blogging, please go HERE!
Happy Reading!
17 Comments
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hi Savy! i love your post. as a noob, i enjoy reading about blogging tips. i’ve done some of the stuff you wrote about but you gave me additional info about where to get free books. thanks a lot! have a great weekend. c”,)
Thank is a great post! When l first first started out l had no idea about these, will really help new bloggers!
Love the meme idea, the image and your answers! Awesome! =D
Great answers, Savy! I remember being so confused when I first started out as to what ARCs even were. I didn’t even request one until about two months ago, but publishers are SO generous. We should never take advantage of it 🙂
Great idea Savy! I know when I started blogging everything was very overwhelming and it’s easy to get caught up in everyone else getting advanced review copies and you start to forget why you started the blog in the first place. Having little segments like this will be very helpful for new bloggers I think!
Very helpful for those who are just getting started. Nice job!
Stephanie G
Paranormal Haven
Thanks for the advice Savy. I don’t write to ask for ARCs. I’ve always been a little leery about even trying.
This post is very encouraging.
I love when experienced bloggers spread the love – great new meme, Savy, and I will certainly link to it in the next roundup.
“If you receive a ARC consider it an honor.” YES! I’ve received only two, one from an author and one from LibraryThing, and it just made my day! It’s very taboo to sell it on ebay or something isn’t? I even added that I would never to that in my review section – the ARCs get a special section on my shelf 😉
-Linds, bibliophile brouhaha
I almost avoid ARCS b/c I have so many other books I want to read! This was a good post…it’s very important for bloggers to be professional so that we all look good ; )
Wonderful feature! I’m always looking for new info about blogging. I feel like I know so little and there’s a vast ocean of stuff I still need to learn. Thank you for your help!
Oh, such a great post!
😀 Lots of good info.
Thanks for the advice!
I would love to receive ARCs so that I can read and review before so many other people do, but its just the finished copies which I love. They just look better on the shelf you know what I mean?
Great post! and a great meme! Love your answer as well.
This is so true! I love your blog design!
You are too true to hit that first point. They are not free books. Loving the meme. I was thinking of doing Mad Scientist on Blog Science but I think I’ll refer incoming questions to your new 411. Great minds do think alike.
Mad Scientist
http://madsteampunkery.blogspot.com
Hi Savannah, great post, and great segment! I couldn’t have explained things better myself with regards to the ARCs 🙂 I’ll keep following this feature for sure 🙂
Cheers,
Darkeva