I wasn’t really planning on doing a book haul this month but I have gotten so many ARCs that I decided, why not? Normally I don’t get tons of ARCs at all but recently I have been which is really exciting for me! I did purchase four books on here but that’s it, the rest are review copies sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
So I didn’t end up getting TOO crazy on Black Friday with my book purchases since I didn’t buy anything from Book Outlet but I still did haul quite a few PLUS I got a ton of ARCs as well. So here they all are! I’ll do the physical copies first and then do the ebooks last!
I was also expecting another ARC to arrive and for some reason it hasn’t yet (wasn’t sent when I was told or got lost in the mail!) so I’m going ahead with this haul since there will probably be another one after Christmas!
The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 5: Imperial Phase 1 by Kieron Gillen
I absolutely LOVE this series and some RUDE person decided they weren’t going to bring back the library’s copy so I went ahead and ordered my own. I’m really excited to continue with these graphic novels, they’re just so so good!
Artemis by Andy Weir
I have actually been hearing a lot of mixed things about this book which is kind of a shame since it sounds amazing, but I got it on Black Friday for a good price so I’ll give it a go!
The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
I got this on Black Friday from the bargain priced section at Books-a-Million, it’s pretty and I’ve been curious about this one.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
This one and the next three books were all ordered online on Black Friday.
I love the cover for this it’s a gorgeous green color and I think that it sounds amazing. It’s an East Asian retelling of the Evil Queen legend in which a peasant girl desires to become an Empress but must do evil things in order to get there.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Not only am I here for the fantasy but I’m also here for the Egyptian setting and characters.
Invictus by Ryan Graudin
Every time I read the synopsis I get REALLY excited to read this one, I mean they travel through time to steal things!
Berserker by Emmy Laybourne
This is based on the Norse wariors called Berserkers and a girl who has inherited the power, however, after killing someone her and her siblings must flee to America and out West onto the frontier to find their Uncle. They’re also guided by a young cowboy. So Vikings and Cowboys, count me in!
Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser
First of all I love the cover/spine on this book because the title is glitter, GLITTER! Plus it sounds amazing, it’s about a girl whose family is called to the river by the river god to go on voyages essentially. Then the main character must try and free her father by delivering a crate and gets caught up in politics, lies, and PIRATES! I’m here for pirates.
The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
Love the cover and it’s about a kingdom’s royal family falling ill under the influence of a mysterious plague and the two main characters, servants in the castle, become intertwined in the court’s politics and power plays. Plus it’s Scandinavian!
The Amateurs by Sara Shepard
My local bookstore is going out of business so books were 40% off and this is one of the ones I nabbed, it sounds like a decent enough mystery/thriller so I decided to give it a try.
These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner & Amie Kaufman
I have debated on buying this book so many times I finally just decided to do it, the cover is so pretty!
The Rogue Queen by Emily R. King
This is the third book in the Hundredth Queen series and I received this copy for review. I was also being sent the sequel “The Fire Queen” for review as well (and was the reason I waited so long to do this post) but haven’t gotten quite yet!
Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor & Jim Di Bartolo
I haven’t finished the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy yet and I know this story is a tie-in novella but I couldn’t pass it up at 40% off since I know I’ll read it! I adore Laini Taylor!
A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir
I finally got a copy of this! I’m ready to be completely stressed out again, but in a good way!
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
I 100% blame Melanie for this purchase! Her review completely convinced me that I needed to read this book! I got it on sale for Cyber Monday I believe.
Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking
I received an ARC for the upcoming blog tour (December 27th is when I’m scheduled!) and it’s about Valkyries, it was excellent!
The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross
I was completely blown away when I recieved all of these next 9 ARCs via Edelweiss, honestly so surprised I got any of them and also super excited to read them!
This is a YA Fantasy about a girl who gets swept up in a plot to overthrow the king, I’m guessing lots of political intrigue so I am sold!
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
I am SO PUMPED to read this book, honestly! I love YA sci-fi and this one is about a girl and her android who were rescued by crew in space and when the android starts glitching she will stop at nothing to fix him but is beaten to what she needs by a boy. Then when things go wrong they both end up as fugitives with the entire kingdom after them!
Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake
Another YA Fantasy about a Princess who has the ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions but she starts having visions of an even worse threat, which everyone disregards. She meets an enemy leader who is having the same visions and they must team up to defeat the growing evil.
The Tombs by Deborah Schaumberg
A YA Fantasy/Historical Fiction about a girl who starts developing the same powers that got her mother locked up in the Tombs asylum, however, when she causes an explosion at the factory she must run and hide and learn to use her power.
Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist
A plague has gone across the West Texas desert and infected people, called shakes, attack the living (basically zombies) and when Willie’s dad steals money from the most dangerous shake-hunter in town she is sent into the desert to find her dad.
It’s very much horror meets western and I am here for it!
A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole
I actually JUST finished this ARC yesterday and it was excellent! It’s very reminiscent of James Cameron’s Avatar, very imaginative and fascinating.
Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine
A YA Sci-fi about a girl who is recruited into the Honors which is an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan, a race of sentient alien ships, to explore the universe as their passengers.
This seriously sounds awesome.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
In Civil War era America the dead have risen and the new nation’s law requires children (Native and African American) to train in combat schools and learn how to put down the dead. However, all Jane wants is to return to her home in Kentucky but soon gets caught up in conspiracy when families start to go missing.
It’s diverse and it’s got zombies, I am ready to love this!
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
I honestly am so excited I recieved an ARC of this! Casino families, gangs, and secrets!
Are you looking forward to any of these books as well?
Have you read any of these books? What did you think?
Did you haul any good books last month?
Let me know in the comments!
I have been blogging for just a little over two years now and I decided it is FINALLY time to share some of the knowledge that I “think” I have accumulated over this time. When I first started blogging Physical ARCs were like unicorns and I read through soooo many “How To” posts just like this one and I over thought requesting them a ton. Was it necessary to worry so much about it? NO. The truth is requesting physical ARCs is not as intimidating as you may think and I’m here to help! I mean the worst they can do is say no, right?
One more thing though before we begin! Requesting e-galleys on sites such as Netgalley and Edelweiss are a lot simpler (and easier to be accepted on) so if you’re newer to blogging I suggest starting on either of those two sites before jumping right in to requesting physical ARCs!
Basically we contact publishers and request them, pretty simple. Sometimes if you’ve worked with a publisher for long enough they’ll add you to a mailing list in which you’ll receive unsolicited ARCs (or ARCs you didn’t directly request). I personally don’t have a ton of experience with the mailing lists but it is something publishers will do!
While I can’t say “exactly” what certain publishers are looking for there are a couple of general things you should keep in mind before you go emailing a bunch of publishers with requests.
This is just a general idea of what you should look for in your blog since most publishers look for this as well and it can vary. For example when I received my first physical ARC I had been blogging for half a year consistently but I only had a little over 200 followers, these things can vary from publisher to publisher. Some publishers want you to have even more followers, +1,000, before they’ll send you an ARC as well. It’s also great to be very actively interacting with your followers too, after all most of us are here to chat about books too!
Also keep in mind that I said “consistently blogging for at least 5-6 months”. Publishers want to see that you take your blog and blogging seriously and that you’re not just trying to get a bunch of free books that you’ll never review. It’s a good idea to post a couple times week to show that you are active with your blog as well and that you’re not going to just disappear after getting an ARC.
Believe it or not but some publishers will go check out your blog when considering your request so it is a good idea to have some actual book reviews on your feed/home page/blog and not just a ton of tags and memes. You are after all requesting a book to review so they want to make sure you’ll actually review it! You should also review every book honestly and fairly (you can state this as a disclaimer on your review policy page if you would like!) and always be respectful. A publisher isn’t going to want to send you a book to review if you’re going to be rude and bash the author if you didn’t enjoy it. You also don’t want to sugarcoat it if you truly didn’t enjoy it, no one wants dishonesty including your readers!
Publicity emails!
Over time you may establish contacts at each publisher but you should never share these contacts with others since it took time and trust to build these contacts up and it would be rude and unprofessional to go around sharing a contact’s email address with others.
All of the following email addresses can be found on each publisher’s public contact page and are not my personal contacts. I will show different imprints for each publisher as well as include the general publicity email and link the page with the imprint’s publicity email address as well.
***Keep in mind most of these are the YA (children’s) imprints and publicity emails****
When you email a publisher with a request remember to of course be polite and professional, you are making a request of them after all, but also try and give them all the information they need in ONE email. Publishers are very busy people and you don’t want to waste anyone’s time by forgetting to include important information, such as your address.
The following bullet points are in order of what I personally include in all of my ARC request emails.
What To Include:
I personally believe that the more information you can give a publisher the more likely it is you’ll be sent the ARC you’ve requested, but by being professional and not just chattering away about “how much you’d really love to read this book”. Yes, you probably are really excited to read the book but you need to show the publisher that you’re worth investing a review copy in!
Do you HAVE to include everything I’ve listed? Of course not, you can include whatever you feel is necessary! Some people prefer not to include their blog stats for example, I do because I believe it gives the publisher a better idea of how much “buzz” I can generate for the book on my blog. However, a couple things really do NEED to be included such as your blog URL and full shipping address, they’re kind of important!
The simple answer: you wait.
As I’ve said many times already in this post, publishers are busy people! Here’s usually how it will go after you send your ARC request:
If you got the ARC that’s fantastic! Get reading and reviewing that baby! I’d also like to just note that you should ALWAYS, ALWAYS review an ARC that you received. Didn’t read it by the release date? That’s fine, as long as you still read it and review it! You can’t be expected to cram something in ALL the time, life happens after all! DNF’d it? That’s fine, just be sure to let people know why it is you couldn’t finish it! The ARC was given to you so that you could review it so hold up your end of the bargain!
Didn’t get the ARC? You just have to be patient! Just because you haven’t gotten a reply or an ARC in the mail after a week or two doesn’t mean you won’t. Sometimes it takes them a little longer to get to your request, for example: I once requested a title in May and didn’t get a reply until August and I DID end up getting the ARC!
And if you STILL don’t get a reply or ARC then? It’s okay! Just take some time to go and try and improve your blog and hope to have better luck the next time you request an ARC! Trust me when I say we have all been there and that ARCs are a privilege not a right.
Hopefully some of you found this post helpful or useful in some way! I tried to include EVERYTHING I could think of that someone would need to know in order to request physical ARCs!
Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions that I didn’t answer, I will try to help you out to the best of my ability!
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I have been meaning to discuss in some way, shape, or form ARCs on my blog for some time, however, I just feel that I don’t have that much experience with them to properly do a post about them. That being said I’d just like to take the time to discuss with all of you, no matter your experience, physical ARCs and digital galleys.
This isn’t going to be a super in-depth discussion on my part about the pros and cons of each of these but to just kind of discuss everything about them in general depending on your experiences with ARCs as well!
I will be doing a full length post discussing ARCs and tips on how to receive them at some point!
Of course everything I’ve written in this post is just my own opinion, I’m not trying to offend anyone by any means. Please keep that in mind while reading or commenting back! Thank you!
What’s the big deal with physical ARCs?
Let’s face it: everyone wants physical ARCs. Don’t lie! Getting an advanced reader copy of any book in any form is awesome but as book lovers I feel a lot of us still covet those physical copies a bit more. Because they’re right there in your hands with their beautiful covers and their pure awesomeness!
Physical ARCs are a bit harder to obtain than e-galleys so getting one kind of makes you feel good about yourself and your blog, like you’re doing something right in order to have received one! It’s almost like getting a huge compliment!
However, like I said they are much harder to obtain and can therefore lead to a lot of disappointment as well and some publishers don’t offer e-galleys at all! Some publishers are easier to work with than others, some will send you ARCs and some won’t, some will email you back stating whether you’ve been approved or not and some won’t. This can get frustrating at times since most of us don’t know what we are doing wrong!
Personally, I have yet to receive any ARCs or even feedback from publishers or imprints of Penguin, Harper Collins, or Simon & Schuster. There’s also no real way of knowing what kind of stats they like to see in order to be considered either, at least not to my knowledge. If ANY OF YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!
What’s wrong with just requesting e-galleys off of Netgalley or Edelweiss?
Nothing, absolutely nothing!
Netgalley is very easy to navigate and getting approved is fairly easy there, Edelweiss on the other hand is a little less user-friendly in my opinion and also a little harder to get approved on. But I digress…….
E-galleys are great for many reasons such as: they’re much easier to request and obtain, you get access to them a lot quicker, and there’s no adding to the clutter on your shelves!
However, one of the biggest drawbacks to e-galleys (at least in my opinion) is that if you request them on Netgalley you have a feedback ratio. Which I understand helps publishers to see if you actually read and review they galleys they give you but also it can hurt bloggers as well. Let’s say you’ve read and reviewed maybe 30 books on Netgalley and you’re always good about reading and reviewing the ARCs you request, well if you receive let’s say 4 or 5 ARCs your feedback ratio will immediately drop below the wanted 80% before you send feedback in. (PLEASE DON’T JUDGE MY MATH TOO BADLY, I’M TERRIBLE AT IT)
It’s kind of a bummer! Some bloggers are more than capable of handling multiple ARCs but maybe won’t be approved for them because their feedback ratio is slightly below 80%. It’s just sort of annoying sometimes.
My slight irritation with this came from my experience last week emailing and requesting a few physical ARCs. I was told by the publisher that they would send me these if they could but that I should request them off of Netgalley which is problematic for two reasons: one being that if I request them off of Netgalley will I end up getting an e-galley and a physical ARC of one of them? You said you’d send them if you could but to also re-request them? Makes no sense to me.
And reason number two being that if I requested the 4 ARCs I wanted off of Netgalley and somehow got approved for them my feedback ratio will drop, potentially stopping me from getting approved for any other ARCs until I finish these. Which as we all know ARCs have different release dates, we are more than capable of reading and reviewing ARCs with differing release dates.
Join The Discussion!
What are some of your experiences with physical ARCs or e-galleys?
Do you prefer one over the other? Why?
Do you find it easier to obtain physical copies or e-copies?
What do you think of Netgalley’s feedback ratio?
Are there any pros or cons to either that I didn’t list?
Do you have trouble requesting or being approved for physical ARCs?
Are there any publishers you find easier to work with?
Do you know the answers to the SECRETS I mentioned above? (If so I’d appreciate it!)
Let me know in the comments!
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