Advice about ARC's please

[R.L.]

Hello everyone

Would anybody be able to talk me through the process of ARC's please, along with the general etiquette and what is expected of the author/reader?

Many thanks

[Michael]

An ARC, which is an Advance Review Copy, is different to beta/proofreading copies.

If a reviewer receives an ARC then they will assume that it is, more or less, the finished article and so will judge it accordingly.

There's no precisely defined etiquette as such and it will also depend on how well the author explains what it is that they're handing out and for what purpose.

[Yzabel]

That's basically it. When you hand out ARCs, it means you're almost ready to publish; any "problems" with the book should be of the typo/misprint type at worst, and only a few of those. Usually, reviewers will put up a disclaimer, saying that they read an ARC and that quotes are liable to change; but those changes are normally minor, such as tweaking a few sentences—not tweaking the whole novel.

As an author, what you can't expect from readers is beta-reading and editing. Those must be done before. Beta-readers expect a second or third draft, and are here to tell the author what works and what doesn't (potential plot holes, characterisation, etc.). ARC readers, on the other hand, expect the novel to be as ready as possible; if it's riddled with grammar/spelling mistakes and reads like an unproofed first draft, it's not an ARC, it's, well, a draft.

The way I understand it, an ARC is a marketing tool: reviewers can read it before the official publishing date, and in turn, post reviews right before or on that date. This way, your novel starts off with a few reviews, which is more appealing to potential readers than nothing. This is why the ARC must be as close to finished as possible.

[R.L.]

Hi Michael and Yzabel, thanks very much for your helpful replies.
What I'm mainly confused about is the process after the reader has received the book. Where do the reviews go? To the author? Are they held back until the book is published and posted on the distributors site, or must the book be listed on Goodreads to send out ARC's?

[Yzabel]

Reviews are normally meant to be public. You can ask to be sent a copy, but reviewers post them here, on their blogs, on Netgalley/Edelweiss if your book is listed there, etc. (So yes, your book should be listed on Goodreads by the time you send ARCs, ifyou want a review on GR, that is. Odds are a reviewer will create the book page if you haven't already.) Amazon and similar sites won't allow reviews until official publishing, though, at least from what I remember.

You can ask that reviewers refrain from posting before a certain date, such as "no earlier than 2 weeks before the publishing date." It doesn't ensure that all will comply, but serious, decent reviewers will.

Be also aware that everyone's reviewing policies are different. Some will submit their review to the author first and, in case it's a 1*/2* review, ask the author if s/he still wants it to be made public. Others, like me (yes, I know, I'm an ass), consider that sending ARCs = agreeing to seeing public reviews, so we post our reviews even if they're not too flattering.

[Michael]

The exact process will depend on what has been agreed beforehand.

If you mail the copies out and say that you don't want the reviews posted on GR/Amazon/review blogs before it's published then by and large they'll abide to them.

You don't have to list the book on GR first, no.

[Mellie]

ARCs are given out for the purpose of early reviews. Generally they are posted on GR, Amazon (when it goes live) and possibly also on a blog.

You don't have to add the book to GR but the reviewers might anyway.