ARC Goodreads Giveaway help needed

[T.J.]

Really dumb question sorry! I am confused about how to set up a Goodreads giveaway for an ARC.

The Giveaway setup page requires an ISBN which only becomes accessible (via Createspace) once I hit publish.

The point of the ARC is to get it out pre-publication, so how is it possible to do an ARC giveaway?

Yours in befuddlement

TJ

[Segilola]

as far as I know, and I stand to be corrected, GR giveaway is free for paperback books with ISBNs. ARC are not eligible. GR is testing giveaways for ebooks in the US at the moment but it is a paid service.

there's a website that allows you to promote ARCs but can't seem to remember the name now :(

[Beth Durkee]

I use Createspace and I currently have a book that has not yet been published. I have completed all steps shy of hitting the publish button and it DOES have an ISBN assigned to it. Perhaps you have just not gone through enough of the set up process to get your ISBN assignment? I seem to remember I needed to select the genre category before an assignment could be made.

As for pre-publication giveaways of an ARC in order to create buzz, I am pretty sure that is not the way it works. Your book needs to be given in finished final form. But you can set up your giveaway so that the books are mailed out right after your official release date.

Hope that helps.

[T.J.]

thanks i have tried assigning that createspce isbn but until you hit publish goodreads doesnt recognise it

tj

[Andréa]

Segilola wrote: "as far as I know, and I stand to be corrected, GR giveaway is free for paperback books with ISBNs. ARC are not eligible."

This is actually not correct. GR giveaway books can be paperback, hardcover, board books, audiobooks, or any other valid book formats. ARCs are acceptable, as the books in giveaways are generally "prerelease books" (which is in the Goodreads Giveaways description). I personally have won several ARCs through the giveaways program.

ARCs listed in the giveaways program either (1) have their own ISBN for the ARC, which is sometimes the case for major publishers' books, or (2) list the ISBN of the final edition of the book. ISBNs can, and often are, assigned to books prior to publication, although if you're self-publishing, the ability to do so may vary depending on the service you're using.

In the U.S., ISBNs are distributed by the company R.R. Bowker. You can actually purchase ISBNs directly from them yourself, without having to go through your publishing service. The price is probably higher (since as an individual you would most likely be purchasing only 1 ISBN at a time, whereas companies like Smashwords purchase ISBNs at a discount in bulk to then distribute amongst their authors), but you receive immediate access to the ISBN.

[Andréa]

T.J. wrote: "thanks i have tried assigning that createspce isbn but until you hit publish goodreads doesnt recognise it"

That's probably because the book doesn't have a listing on Goodreads yet. You can create the listing on Goodreads yourself (or ask a librarian for help: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...). Once the book exists on Goodreads, with that ISBN, then you should be able to create a giveaway for a book with that ISBN.

Goodreads doesn't actually check publication status of ISBNs, so books can exist on Goodreads months or years before their publication, with or without ISBNs, and can have giveaways long before their publication with an ISBN.

[T.J.]

Thx Andrea I will try again! I have an ISBN for the book, want to do a giveaway, but don't want it to appear on Amazon yet.

[Andréa]

T.J. wrote: "Thx Andrea I will try again! I have an ISBN for the book, want to do a giveaway, but don't want it to appear on Amazon yet."

But it's fine if it's on Goodreads, right? If it doesn't have a listing on Goodreads yet, feel free to PM me the relevant information (title, author, ISBN, # of pages, publication date, cover image or link for cover image, etc.) and I can create the Goodreads entry for you.

[T.J.]

All good! Don't know what I was doing wrong before but it's up there now... Many thanks

TJ