Tuesday, October 12, 2010

My View on Asking for Review Copies Do's and Don'ts

Good Morning Teacups! It's midnight and I am probably asleep by now so yes you're right! This is a scheduled post ;) Anyway a few weeks ago I posted a blogging do's and don'ts post about blogging etiquette. Being polite is just as important as being a good blogger!!! You can find that post HERE. Anyway I'm posting about asking for review copies do's and don'ts, I talked about it briefly in the last one but this on goes into it deeper, again it's my view only and most of it is common sense but you never know....

Do's
- Address publisher/authors with politeness ( Be friendly but keep it professional, don't go on talking like you have been best friends forever)
- Give a brief background about your blog ( Include abit about your blog, when it was established, what you blog about, why you blog etc.)
- Include a Mailing address ( Publisher and Authors are very very busy people, so the easier you make their life them more likely they are going to send you a copy!)
- Include Statistics ( Publisher and authors don't send you review copies just for the sake of it, that's giveaway, make sure you include statistics, everything is to do with marketing!)
- Be Specific with your request ( Give them titles and authors name's, don't beat around around the bush and go on about this genre or that genre, straight to the point!)
- Post reviews according to Publisher/Authors request ( If they ask you to post it three weeks before the release, do it, always listen to their requests!)
- Donate your book to a ARC tour or a giveaway ( Publisher's love it when you pass a book around the blogosphere, it saves money and everyone can enjoy it! Plus, ARC's are very expensive so think economy)
- Report it when you see someone sell an ARC ( This is bad bad bad, so don't do it, respect that Publisher/Author have given you an ARC. Making money from their good will is just low so don't do it)


Don'ts- Be Demanding ( Publishers and Author hold the upper hand when you are asking them for review copies, don't demand anything, they are doing you a favour not the other way around)
- Ask for more review copies than you can review ( We all get abit greedy when it comes to books I mean, we are book blogger! It's in our genes but only ask for as many as you can review at a time. Don't ask for ten when you can only read three.)
- Linger around with your reviews ( If you finished a review copy post it up straightaway, unless of course Publisher/ Authors have special requests)
- Not read the book and review it ( DO NOT DO THIS, if you can not finish a book on time or you are overflowing with review copies, talk to the publisher/author and explain, they are people after all so they will understand, do go around writing reviews when you haven't read the book!!!)
- Hesitate to post a bad review ( It's better to write a honest review than sugar coat a book, after all Publisher/ Author's want to know what you really think about the book, not everyone likes everything)
- Post a two sentence review ( A review is like an essay it has a intro, a body and a conclusion so don;t write a paragraph, that's a opinion not a review, you're ripping the publisher/author off)
- SELL YOUR ARC ( Let face it, if you're really that desperate for money get a job, don't go selling you ARCs, it only shows your bad blogging spirit and it's really low for a person so guys, please don't do it, your actions affect all bloggers, if this keeps happening someday there will be no ARCs)


That's it! What are you views?
Badass Bookie xx

8 comments:

  1. This is very helpful. I'm pretty far away from requesting ARCs, but it's good to know for future reference. Probably my absolute favorite thing that established bloggers do, other than review books, of course, is provide great advice to new bloggers. Thanks for taking the time to post this!

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  2. I also love going to conferences where they give ARCs away. Besides it being a great experience, I walked away with over 70 ARCs :-D

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  3. They don't do that thing here in Australia, LM. There's not as much of a market for it here than in New York or wherever...

    One thing. I have to disagree with the "linger around with your review" "Don't", though. Since, you know, if you read a review copy and it's not out for five months, then most publishers would want you to wait until a few weeks before its release date. Since people may forget they wanted it in the first place or something like that.

    Everything else you said is, for the most part, spot on. ;)

    Oh, and don't judge me for still being online, Lisa! I'm listening to my notes right now as I'm typing this up.

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  4. Lisa, how long do you think a blogger needs to have been blogging for, or what level of traffic do they need to be bringing in, before a publisher will likely take their requests for ARCs seriously?

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  5. And, perhaps you could tell us, what the best time period is for asking for an ARC. How far ahead of the publication date is it safe to ask for an ARC and when is it too late?

    AND...lol, sorry, where is the best spot to look for the up and coming books that might be available? On the Coming Soon page of the publisher's website?

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  6. Great post and great timing because I have been thinking about approaching publishers and authors about reviews when my schedule clears a bit.

    I can't believe anyone would sell an ARC. I have a few floating around I would consider passing on the ones I don't like to others for the fun of it. I'd never sell them. I'd rather keep them! If I'm going to sell a book it'll be something I bought and couldn't stand. ARCs are too precious.

    Anyway enough of a ramble, thanks for posting this one.

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  7. This was really helpful ... thanks a lot :-)

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