I'd love to get your thoughts on this.
I like reading reviews on GoodReads when picking new books for my TBR list.
I see SO many reviews (usually VERY positive, over-hyped ones) ending with "thanks to the publisher for gifting me this ARC!"
How should I rate reviews like these? I must admit I'm very unsure about how the whole ARC-thing works, and so it's hard for me to judge whether I can trust these reviews or not.
How are people chosen to receive ARCs? And are they indirectly obligated to give good reviews in return? I know it always says "in return for my honest review!", but it seems to me many of those reviews are very positive and often 4-5/5 stars.
I know next to nothing about how ARCs are distributed and what the terms are, does anyone know`? Do they just get sent to book-influencers or do regular people get them too?
Do you guys trust an ARC review, or do you skip them entirely? I'll admit I get a little frustrated when ALL the reviews I can find on GoodReads are ARC reviews, I wish there was a way to filter them..
Thoughts on this?
by ParadiseLost91
11 Comments
Most people who receive ARCs are requesting them through sites like Edelweiss and NetGalley. Give them as much weight as you’d give any other review.
If you go to the giveaways tab on Goodreads and win one of those for a book that hasn’t come out yet it’ll be an ARC, if you work for a literary magazine/bookstore/professionally review books they send them out for upcoming books. No one’s forcing anyone to do anything review-wise, but people don’t tend to be particularly harsh about things given to them for free. If all the reviews are ARC reviews it’s probably because the book hasn’t come out yet, only way to read a book that doesn’t exist for public purchase.
Some are honest. Some are not untrue but skewed very positive. Some are outright dishonest. My favorite are those that sound like they are roasting the book in the written portion but give it 4-5 stars anyways. Best practice is probably to just omit all ARC reviews from your research.
Publishers try as much as they can to get ARCs to people they think will like the book. It’s business, after all, and the goal is to sell books so publishers are looking to find the audience for the book they thought was good enough to publish.
My pet hate is people who use acronyms that I have to google.
ARC = advance reader copy
I’m someone who receives a lot of arcs (librarian so I’m auto approved for a lot of publoshers on NetGalley). I personally leave honest reviews because that’s what they’re asking for. In fact most of the arcs I read this year got around a 3/5 from me. As with any reviews you have to take things with a grain of salt. People will rate their favorite author higher then they possibly deserve. Or there could be a review bombing thing going on if it’s extremely negative. That’s why I tend to read reviews that are right around the middle of the road to get an idea if I’ll enjoy the book.
ARCs can be sent to influencers but also book sellers, librarians, teachers, other writers… basically anyone who has a bookish vibe and would be likely to read and recommend it. They can also be requested at places like Netgalley.
I do think people tend to be a bit more flattering with ARCs, not because they are lying but because they are the very first reviewers for books and are very tapped in and conscious of how the algorithm works. I tend to go a star up in my ratings of ARCs, because while I would normally rate something like… a 3 say, when I’m only the second person to rate the book I might dissuade other people from reading it when it’s still a good book.
I usually request ARCs through edelweiss or netgalley. I only request those books that I’m interested in either because of the author or reading the synopsis, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if I and other people like this rate the books positively.
I also occasionally receive thriller or romance arcs that I can’t be bothered reading, since I’m not the target market. I read one thriller book I received. I hated it and I’m one of the few ones that rated it 2/1 stars. They usually send arcs to their target audience, so also not surprised why other people receiving arcs are giving it 4/5 stars.
They’re shills; ignore them.
While they’re not explicitly told to give a good review, publishers will only give ARCs to people who are (for example) fans of a long running series, so when number 11 of the dresden files comes out, this person who has given 1-10 five star reviews is very likely to give number 11 another five star review.
Consequently, since they will be universally gushy, they will not have useful information in them.
Same as any product, only look at 1 star reviews. If the complaints are legitimate, you will know what the flaws are. If the complaints are either stupid (this book arrived in blue shrinkwrap instead of red, 1 star) you can ignore them or if they’re things you like (I hate this book because i’m racist and there are too many minorities in it! 1 star) they will be front and center of the review and you’ll know to green flag it.
They’re shills; ignore them.
While they’re not explicitly told to give a good review, publishers will only give ARCs to people who are (for example) fans of a long running series, so when number 11 of the dresden files comes out, this person who has given 1-10 five star reviews is very likely to give number 11 another five star review.
Consequently, since they will be universally gushy, they will not have useful information in them.
Same as any product, only look at 1 star reviews. If the complaints are legitimate, you will know what the flaws are. If the complaints are either stupid (this book arrived in blue shrinkwrap instead of red, 1 star) you can ignore them or if they’re things you like (I hate this book because i’m racist and there are too many minorities in it! 1 star) they will be front and center of the review and you’ll know to green flag it.
I like ARCs. I’m always very honest so I don’t get approved that often. I’ve noticed that people who constantly rate 4 or 5 stars keep getting ARCs. I’ve given 2 or even 1 star reviews, so I don’t get approved anymore.
I ignore most ARC reviews. And most reviews on Goodreads if I’m being honest.