Why I’m quitting ARCs
Hello dear readers!
Today I want to talk about ARCs and why I don’t want to be an ARC reader.
For those of you who don’t know ARC stands for Advanced Reader Copy. This is a final copy of the book that gets sent out after all the edits have been complete but before the book is released to general public for purchase. The purpose of sending out ARCs is gather reviews head of time to help build traction for your book and boost it in the algorithm. This can be especially important for Independent Authors who relay on positive reviews to help readers who might be on the fence decide if they want to buy the book or not.
This is different from a Beta reader in that Beta readers will read your book while it is still in the editing phase and provide feedback to improve your story.
So why quit ARCs?
I have written before about how I have wrestled with feeling conflicted on if I should leave a negative review or not, especially knowing how difficult it is to write a book. I struggle to balance not wanting to hurt an author’s feelings vs wanting to be truthful. And granted, I know that reviews are for other readers, not for the authors, but I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t looked at reviews of my books. Sometimes we see those things. Ultimately it boils down to a matter of preference, trying to be kind and constructive, and not saying anything online that I wouldn’t want to say to another person directly.
Further, I’ve looked at applications for requesting ARCs and a several of them specifically request you hold your reviews if they are negative until after the book’s release. Now, I get it! I completely understand why they make this request. As I said above, having a lot of positive reviews on release could potentially help improve sales. However, and I will fully admit I haven’t looked into all the details around this, but some sources indicate this could be considered tampering with reviews by some entities like Amazon who could then take negative action against your account. That seems like an unnecessary risk to take. I’ve also seen some ARC applications try to guide readers towards giving only 4 or 5 star reviews, or 3 at the very worst, which I think also falls into that category.
To me, it just feels kinda… icky. I’m absolutely not judging or trying to throw anyone under the bus. Like I said, I completely get why an author would ask someone to hold negative reviews until after release or try to encourage them to only post 3+ star reviews. But should authors do this? If you’re an author you have to make the decision that is the best for you and you alone, but for me it is a no.
I also feel it’s important to say that at the end of the day, as the author, it’s not up to us. Once you release your book out into the world, it’s out of your hands. Do I want people tagging me in posts saying that my book is hot garbage? No, of course not. No one does. But also, that is someone’s opinion and they’re completely entitled to it. If you as an author are genuinely worried about getting 1 and 2 star reviews, maybe you should ask yourself if your book could use another round of editing or some beta reader feedback before you go to publish? If you really, genuinely, truly did the best you could, then don’t worry about bad reviews. Your audience will find you. I have looked up reviews for books that I absolutely love with a burning passion and seen that they have 1 and 2 star reviews. Honestly, this kind of fills me with relief. If bestselling authors are getting 1 star reviews, I can expect to as well. It will happen. Not everyone is your audience.
This is for you readers and reviewers: if you are leaving 1 and 2 star reviews, in my humble opinion, you should be articulating in your review what it was that inspired such a low rating and which type of reader might really enjoy the book. Was it the pacing? Was it the grammar and writing style? Was it the characters? If an author does happen to read your review, they will know how they might be able to improve in the future. And for other readers, they may like slower or faster pacing, they may like flowery prose, and so on. This will help a book find its intended audience rather than just saying “This book was stupid and I hated it.”
For me, I really struggle with books that stay more surface level. It’s one of the reasons I can’t stand Hallmark movies. I find them boring and predictable. But sometimes people want that; sometimes you just need something cozy and predictable where you know there is going to be a Happily Ever After. And there’s nothing wrong with that. So for me, if I end up reading that type of book and leave a middle of the road rating, I make to indicate that in my review. “If you like xyz, then you will probably really love this. I wasn’t the target audience for this book.”
(For what it’s worth, my version of a hallmark movie is a high stakes, spy, espionage, action, thriller type movie with ridiculous amounts of over the top fight choreography and explosions. We all have our niche.)
Anyway, as is my M.O. I’ve tangented quite a ways off track.
I have read some really good ARCs. I’ve read some really not good ARCs. I don’t like feeling obligated or pressured to leave a good review. (Even if it is my own internal voice pressuring me to leave a good review to help them.) I don’t like leaving negative reviews. I feel bad for not leaving any review at all since, again, I know it’s an ARC and the whole point of reading it was to review it and help the author. So what am I to do? Easy. Stop applying for ARCs.
While I’m on this planet, I want to help people, lift them up, give them hope and encouragement. I know I would do a much better job of this by being a Beta Reader as opposed to being ARC reader. I can get way more hyped when I know that I can leave comments for the author, let them know what parts I’m really excited about, and which parts might be confusing for other readers, which moments ring really true, where I feel a lot of suspense, where something might fall a little flatter, and so on. THAT I can get excited about.
So there you have it. You have to stay true to your values and go where your strengths are.
Till next time dear reader, if you’re in need of a Beta Reader let me know. And if not, enjoy your reading, have a great day and be kind out there. <3 Tiff
