Let’s Talk About ARCs [Discussion]

I did a post a few months ago talking about how ARCs are helpful and yet can hurt. I thought I was also going to end up reading less of them, but this did not happen. I said I would only be doing like one or two a month or stop requesting them. This did not happen at all. I ended up getting way into NetGalley all over again, and I have so many pending and to read.

I even joined this thing called ARCpocalyse, where you are supposed to like get all of your ARCS read in a timely manner. It’s been a cool way to meet friends and see how other people are doing, but it hasn’t worked out in the way I anticipated. But that is just fine with me. I know sometimes reading plans can change. I just ended up finding a lot of books I wanted to read so I just have not been able to stop.

I know ARCS are a good thing, but also sometimes not. I am very lucky to get the ones I do, and I am so grateful to every publisher who gives me the chance to read books early. It is one of my favorite things. I was even auto approved by a publisher, which I never expected. I hope I will get lucky more and more with this, but I am still so happy with what I am getting at this point.

I just want to say that ARCS are great, but they can also be bad. I think they can be bad when they are not given to the right people. I know that books need hype and promotion, but I think just always giving them to the big name people misses out on chances to make those books really mean something. I admit I have had back listed ARCS, but I have tried my best to stay on top of everything. But I have seen people who have so many that they never read them and just like sell them. I think there are some ARCS that should be going to like teens, POC, and those in the LGBTQIA community. There are so many people who deserve them, and I just get sad sometimes about how it seems like it can be unfair. But that is just how the world works and sometimes we have to do more for changes.

I am so thankful for all of the ARCS I receive, and this will never change. Here are just a few things I learned the past months of being a book blogger and the whole thing about ARCS:

• Update your NetGalley stats regularly and make sure you update all the places you talk about books all of the time.
• Share photos on Instagram and tag the publisher. You can also share in your stories.
• Be concise in your bio and talk about the genres you read.
• Be honest in your reviews,
• Favorite your fav publishers so you know when books you may like are coming your way.
• I still don’t understand how Edelweiss works.
• ARCS are a privilege, but don’t stress yourself out.
• Just try to have fun with them.

I am not sure why I wrote this, I just think I wanted to talk about my weird thoughts about ARCS. What are your feelings about ARCS? I would love to know all about them. Please share all your thoughts about them with me below.