The Blog Squad - Part 28

We are a group of three book bloggers situated on different continents but brought together by our love for books and a penchant for talking about them. We’ve joined our forces to create a collaborative series of posts about book blogging and we hope you’ll enjoy the discussions.

A MAGICAL WORLD OF WORDS - AmyNikita

BOOKS.BAGS.BURGERS - Uma K

BOOK REVIEWS BY DI - Di Hewlett

Does location matter when requesting a print review copy ?

Absolutely. You should always check if you can request a print copy from your most ‘local’ publisher. For example a book published by Sourcebooks in the USA might actually be being published by Hachette Australia in Australia! I think you have more chance of success requesting from your local market however this is not guaranteed and it’s not to say that you WON’T have success requesting from another country.

Yes and no. You should always check to see if the publisher you want to request from has an imprint in your country, but if they don’t, then requesting a print copy from an international publisher doesn’t mean they won’t send it to you.

One example I can think of is when I requested a book from HarperCollins. I didn’t know it then, but my local publisher actually had the book too. However, HC still sent the book to me - overseas.

So yeah, you should check your local publisher first, but don’t be afraid of requesting overseas too. I’ve found that St. Martin’s Press, especially, is often very happy to send review copies internationally

   

Do you have to read an unsolicited ARC?

You should never feel pressured to read an unsolicited ARC - especially if it’s not even in your normal realm of reading. It’s always nice to try them if you can, but don’t feel pressured to do it. The publisher maybe sent them because they thought it might be something that you would like or perhaps they want more publicity for the book so in this case it would be nice to feature the book in a ‘Stacking the Shelves’ post or a bookmail Instagram.

It’s very different from an ARC that you actually REQUESTED. In that case - you have to read it.

A while ago I received an unsolicited review copy and believed I was obligated to review it. I then suffered through half of the book - hating every single second, literally feeling nauseous because the book was so repulsive - until my #squad kindly informed me I didn’t have to read it unless I’d requested it. Thanks ladies!

I also emailed the publisher who’d sent it, explaining the situation, and she said the same thing: it was unsolicited - an extra they’d had in stock - and I definitely didn’t have to finish it if I didn’t want too.  

What is your opinion on selling ARCs?

No . . . Just NO! ARC copies should NEVER be sold.

Advanced Reader Copies are free, unproofed copies of a new book that are given out by a publisher before the book is printed. Authors ARE NOT PAID for these copies and in fact often have to make an INVESTMENT in ARC copies that are then given out to reviewers, bookstores, magazines, libraries and book bloggers.

It is true that for most titles the ARCs will represent one of the biggest outlays of the marketing budget and they are given away for FREE.

Every book sold makes a difference to the success of that particular book and it’s author and publisher. By selling ARCs you are taking away from that success and the author receives nothing.

One of the best things to do with a physical ARC is to freely give it to another reviewer so that they too have a chance to read and review and continue the buzz about that book.

The more times a person sees a book around, the more likely they are to add it to their TBR.

Running a giveaway can also help get that book onto people’s radar, even if just for a moment so this is also good publicity and I think an acceptable practice for bloggers.

If you don’t want to do either of the above, you could donate the book (but not to a library because if I’m correct they aren’t allowed to use ARCs to lend and they also cannot sell them). You could donate them to a teacher, a prison, books for soldiers or even a shelter or charity that would be able to use the books for people that may not be able to afford their own.

NO! NEVER!!

ARC copies are advance reader copies of a book, meaning you are getting a pre-published proof that is exclusive for bloggers/reviewers. You haven’t bought the book, the author isn’t getting money for it, and author and publisher are - like Di says - making an investment. The book is yours for reviewing/marketing purposes only. It is not up to you to sell the book and get money for it.  That’s abuse of position - you’ve been given the opportunity to review it, and you are harming both the author and the publisher by selling something you have no rights whatsoever to sell.

Go over to their collab posts to know my answers!:

❤ Book Reviews by Di
❤ A Magical World of Words

We hope you’ve enjoyed the latest in our series of discussion posts! Please talk to us and let us know YOUR answers below. What do you think of our responses? If you have any specific questions you’d like us to address in the future, please let us know in the comments section below.