Before I even begin let me explain what an ARC is, the word ARC is actually an acronym that stands for advanced reader copy, they are also referred to as galleys or proofs.  Publishers often give them to book reviewers and influencers before a book is officially published.  The point of any ARC or galley, is to create buzz before the official launch of a book.  ARCs are in essence, a soft push for a book before going to mass publication.

Book reviews are the core of a legacy publisher’s marketing strategy.  The idea being, the more positive reviews a book has, the more popular it looks, and the more likely someone is to buy it.  For years the mantra has been: readers love what other readers love.

One Very Important Issue You Must Address

These days it’s common to give digital ARCs rather than the paper kind and since the COVID-19 outbreak, many people refuse to take physical copies now.  So today, you need to have your ARC available in PDF, Mobi, and Epub because those are the most common files that tablets can read.  You can convert your word processing document via;

  1. Calibre (free)
  2. Reedsy (free)
  3. Vellum (Mac paid service)
  4. Scrivener (30 day free trial)    

Distributing Your ARCs

These days it’s really easy to distribute your ARCs via your website, social media accounts, or email list. There are also services that will allow you to build a page where you can send readers to download the ARC in various formats. Here are just a few services that indie authors love to use:

  1. BookFunnel
  2. Story Origin
  3. Prolific Works

Places To Look For Reviewers:

There are sites that indie authors can submit their books for free, or only for the cost of shipping, to get an honest review. Hopefully, you’ve built a network on social media of readers and bloggers who review books in your genre. Anyway, below I list free ways to secure book reviews. 

Free:

A Final Note

ARCs are best given out a few months before the launch of your book.  You need to give people time to read as well as review the book.  You have to assume these people are busy and have other responsibilities outside of reviewing your book.  Also, a lot of people are not going to review it at all and that’s okay.  That’s why you need to cast your net wide, remember book marketing is hard work, it takes time and persistence but you’re an author and probably already know that.     

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