I’m Building an ARC Team

Do you remember the dread you felt as a child waiting to be picked for a team? Want to join my ARC team?

Me: “You’re the first person I’ve asked to join my ARC team!”
You: “Phew, sounds great! Wait, what’s an ARC? I don’t remember my highschool geometry…”

What is an ARC?

ARC stands for advanced review copy or advanced reader copy (there seems to be some disagreement). An ARC is an early release of an unpublished book, also sometimes referred to as a galley. Publishers send out a number of these free advanced promotional copies to encourage reviews, get endorsements, and build excitement for a book’s release.

The ARC process is beneficial for both the author and the reader. The reader receives a free book and a way to discover new authors before the rest of the world, and the author receives reviews which will help their books be discovered by new readers.

I’m excited to share my book with you, and am almost ready to send out ARCs!

How Do I Become an ARC reader?

There are a number of ways to become an ARC reader. If you have a successful platform (blog, YouTube channel, Instagram following, #BookTok audience, etc.), you can apply to the major publishers to join their ARC teams. If you’re still growing your platform, you can promote yourself in writing communities to let authors know what you review.

If you don’t have a platform but want to read and review ARCs, you can still do so. Find and follow your favorite writers on their socials, or check their websites. Many will periodically call for ARC readers. They may also invite their followers to join their street team which is similar—free book in exchange for review, but on a street team, you also are given promotional materials to help push a book when it launches.

If you want a wider selection of ARC opportunities, there are many ARC review sites! Most of these are free to join, and you earn credibility on the sites by reading and reviewing books. These sites include BookSirens, NetGalley, and HiddenGemsBooks, among others.

Can I Join Your ARC team?

Maybe! Wait, you expected a yes, didn’t you? Let me explain.

Reviews help promote a book, but only if the right readers read the book. Online retailers keep information about what you like so they can suggest other things you might like. If you always buy and review military fiction, then you read my fantasy book, you’ll confuse the algorithms. They will think, “Oh, that reader loves military, and they liked this book, so maybe other military readers will also like this book!”

You would *think* this would help my book, because hey, who wouldn’t like it, right?

However, if the retailer suggests my book to military readers, and none of those readers want to buy or read the book (or worse, they buy then review the book poorly) the algorithms will see my book as not relevant. At that point, the retailer stops suggesting my books.

This is a problem.

On the other hand, if you read books like mine and you review it, the retailer will suggest my book to other people who like the things you like, and my book gets a shot at organic promotion based on relevance. So, if you’d like to join my ARC team, let’s get to know each other a little! Here’s the link to a Google form to apply to join my ARC team. Answer a few simple questions, and we’ll go from there.

Have you read ARCs, or sent ARCs out? What did you find?

Header Photo by Pascal Swier on Unsplash