Finding Arcs and Avoiding AI

 Finding Indie Arcs and 

Avoiding AI

 

I posted on Bluesky about my disappointment in finding out that both Booksirens and BookSprout allow ARCs to be submitted that have used GenAi, both for the book cover and the writing itself (bleh). 

 

But despair not! A lot of very knowledgable people came forward to offer me alternatives and to explain how NetGalley can be made accessible for indie authors. 

I wanted to share that valuable information in a concise and easy to reference way, hence this blog post. 

 

 Co-op for NetGalley

This is more for authors rather than reviewers, however, I wasn't aware of its existence and it seems like too valuable of a resource to not include!  

This is a way to make NetGalley more accessible for indie authors by offering reduced fees through Victory editing. 

Victory editing will then advertise the author's book on NetGalley.  

 

More info: https://victoryediting.com/services/netgalley-co-op/ 

Victory editing's NG page: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/publisher/81418  

 

 

LibraryThing

LibraryThing has an Early Reviewers programme which provides free pre-release books to people willing to review them. It's free to join and they also have an app. 

I'm fairly new to LibraryThing but I know they don't allow AI and they seem to have a relatively wide selection of pre-release books to choose from. 

https://www.librarything.com/ner 

 

 There also seems to be a giveaway feature, as shown on the bottom right. 

 

Voracious Readers Only 

This is another way to get access to review copies. In your reader dashboard, you can select your preferred genres and the number of offers you want per day. 

You will then receive an email with review copy offers that match your preferences. It seems like you have the ability to snooze the offers, if you don't want any for a specific period of time, and you can also change the number of offers you receive.

 

 

 

 At the bottom of the dashboard is a section for open offers. This will have previews of the books that have been suggested to you via email. 

Whilst this is a good alternative, it doesn't seem like there's a browse option. I could be wrong as I've only played around with it for a few days, but it seems like the only way to see ARCs is to be offered them.  

 

Asking the author direct  

This one is so painfully obvious that I always seem to forget it's an option. As some lovely and patient indie authors reminded me on the post, you can always ask the author directly for a review copy. 

You never know until you ask! 

If for whatever reason you don't feel comfortable reaching out directly via DM, you can always comment on their social media posts and ask if they would offer a review copy. 

As reviews and word of mouth are so important to getting eyes on indie books, it's a win win for both of you. 

As a disclaimer, if an author gives you a review copy, it's for you and only you. Do not upload it anywhere or send it to a friend. 

 

Author newsletter/socials 

This one has worked so well for me personally. If you have a favourite author, check if they have a newsletter. This will be one of the first places they'll ask for ARC readers, so it's definitely worth it. 

Similarly, follow them on social media! Most authors will advertise for ARC reads by asking them to fill out an interest form. The majority of interest forms I've filled out have been through google docs, but some authors do use other platforms. 

It may sound formal to fill out an interest form, but it's just for the author to get an idea of why you're interested in their book, what social media you use, and which platforms you're happy to post your reviews on. e.g goodreads, storygraph, amazon etc

It's worth keeping in mind that just because you fill out an interest form, you won't automatically be guaranteed an ARC. 

Readers aren't entitled to ARCs and you may not be successful for a whole multitude of reasons. Indie authors are people too, so always be kind and respectful! 

 

That's all the methods for finding ARCs without genAI that I've been made aware of, but if you have ones that I haven't included, please feel free to comment them!