For What It's Worth


Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Do you request ARC's?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 

It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life  and me) 

Join in by answering this weeks question in the comments or on your own blog.

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Question: Do you request ARCs? Why or why not?

Answer: Very rarely. Looking at my Netgalley dashboard - I only requested 4 titles last year and none for 2022, so far.

I have accepted 2 arc's this year. One from an author I have worked with before and one from a publisher with a title I was pretty sure I would like (I did). 

The only other arc's I accept on a regular basis are libro.fm's ALC's (advanced listening copies - audiobooks) but those are a monthly list that you choose from. You download only the ones you are interested in and while they provide links and #'s for you to share your review on social media - there's really no pressure to review or anyone to report to. 

Why?

I only want to take on books for review that I'm sure I'll enjoy.

I don't want pressure to read on a deadline.

I want to read for fun.

I don't want to have to review a book if I don't really have much to say.

I'm not against taking arc's anymore. I'm just super picky these days and I've become a big fan of Libby and Hoopla! I can get almost every book I'm interested and have more than enough to read, for free, with 0 pressure.  

Do you request ARC's? 





36 comments:

  1. I really love this discussion and topic that you have here and I definitely agree. Even though I have a super high percentage, I keep to the amount of books I request to under 5 so normally its always a book I would auto buy ya know. And I don't like the pressure either so I always choose books that have months before I need to read it so I have plenty of time as I can be a mood reader.

    Hope you are well and reading some goodies!

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    1. My percentage on Netgalley is almost always over 100 (not sure how that's possible lol) but I do 2 at a time.

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  2. I've never requested ARC. I've had a few sent to me, but I'm happy reading books when they come out and when I can get them.

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    1. Really? I think you have the right idea. I never got overwhelmed with requests though - more book conference books.

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  3. Can you believe I've never requested an ARC? I've had a few authors reach out and offer them (made my day ha ha) but I've never done Netgalley (although I do have an account).

    Are you watching Welcome to Eden? And I don't remember- did you watch Vigil?

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    1. I've never requested many because I don't like deadlines but I've gotten hundreds through the book conferences and I do still take on very few.

      I haven't heard of either of those shows. My husband and I both have covid so we binge watched Stranger Things, watched Venom: Carnage, the new Ghostbusters movie. I'll look them up. We have several more days of isolating ahead.

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    2. I'm the same with deadlines. Such a mood reader...

      Oh no! I hope you guys stay mild. I'm watching Stranger Things now and it's a trip. too long though, I feel like :) Eden is on Netflix and it's a trip, and Vigil is on Amazon Prime I think and is SO good.

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    3. Is Vigil the submarine one? That's what I found when I googled. I'll watch that with Kevin - he was interested because he used to be on subs when he was in the Navy.

      Welcome to Eden might be a good buddy watch for my friend and me.

      Stranger Things really leaned into the horror this season and it's super bleak. There's so much story going on with them separated and some of the 11 stuff feels like a repeat - although there are some great reveals.

      I think we're both turning the corner with COVID. We had totally different symptoms. He was super congested and had one night of full body shakes (no temp) I had super achy muscles, on and off horrible headaches and a fever one night.

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    4. Vigil's the submarine one, yeah. It's very good. Welcome to Eden is good too and a trip- definitely a good buddy watch. :)

      Stranger Things- it is very bleak and honestly, feels like too much. The episodes are SO long. I'm 5 in but struggling. I don't need characters like Murray either just taking up space... or the stoner guy.

      Glad you guys are feeling better. Those body shakes are no fun

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    5. I had a really hard time with El's arc. I don't know how many times we need to see her bullied and beaten. Maybe I'm just being oversensitive with the shootings or something but it's A LOT for me. And same with Hopper. I think they could have streamlined it better. BUT - I do like the plot payoff you have coming up if you continue.

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    6. YES! It felt like bullying porn? That was the only way I could describe it- it just went on and on. Same with Hopper. I feel like we've seen SO many bullying storylines and prison escape/ recapture storylines over the years- I know this is a nostalgia show kinda, but it felt... unnecessary. I will say though that now that I'm in ep 5 and El's story is progressing, it keeping my interest...

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    7. Let me know what you think after the end. I liked how it turned out, even if I didn't like how it got there lol El needs a big hug - not more bullying.

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  4. I do request ARC's. Mostly from NetGalley and only the ones that I really want to read.

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    1. I limit myself to 2 at a time there. I've never really gotten into trouble on there. To me - it's scheduled reading and I don't like that so I'm wary to take on more than I can handle.

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  5. I only pick out ARCs and ALCs that I think I will enjoy and try to space them far enough apart that I will have time to read and review. I will continue until I don't want to review or I can't keep up.

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    1. That's a great policy. I never had a problem with Netgalley. In my early days I think I said yes to more authors than I could handle but it was really the BEA/ALA books that were out of control for me.

      It's not like anyone knew or cared if I didn't review them but I KNEW lol

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  6. That tracks with your relaxed stance about blogging (I swear, you and Linda could almost be twins LOL). I didn't know that Libro.fm offered Audio ARCs with zero pressure. That's odd. Good for you though!

    I only request books that I'm REALLY interested in (both on NG and EW). Some I never get anyway because my blog is small or (mostly, I guess), because I'm not in the US...though the rule seems to only apply to some publishers...The bad thing is, when I get an ARC, I have the compulsion to read it and draft a review at once, even if the book only comes out in 4 months LOL. I try not to freak out, but it's hard 😅.

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    1. lol Yes, Linda and are very similar bloggers. The thing with libro.fm is that they have a fixed set of 6-8-ish books and you just can download which ones you're interested in. They don't often have genres I read but then again - it's made me read (& enjoy) books I wouldn't have otherwise.

      I rarely ever got approved on Netgalley - especially YA (I totally gave up on EW) but when I do request books, I limit to 2 and I have to review them before requesting more. But really, that site has never been a problem for me. I never got into perusing book releases and it always felt like pressure to me. It's the book conferences that killed me. lol

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  7. I mainly stick with Netgalley as they either don't hound you to review by a certain date or the release date is so far away I can get to it at my leisure. I do have a few indie authors who offer me arcs and I find it hard to say "no" to them, mainly because it feels rude.

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    1. When I do request from Netgalley, I limit myself to two titles so I have plenty of time to read and review. I took on a lot of author requests in my early days and that is one of the reasons I burned out. I couldn't say no and I wasn't enjoying them all - then felt guilty.

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  8. Like many a blogger, I went ARC-happy in my early blogging days. But the novelty wore off quickly. Nowadays I rarely request. Like you, I don't like to read/review under pressure. I make exceptions for favorite authors but that's about it.

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    1. For me, it was the book conferences. I took way more books than I could read. I thought I could since I can read 1 book a day but I felt so pressured that it sent me into a book slump.

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  9. Yes read for fun is so important these days!!!!

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  10. Is it wrong that I don't really feel pressured to read an ARC by "the deadline"? I used to, but now I don't. I think it's great that you are doing what works for you while still making some space for a few special requests.

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    1. Not at all! First off all, you shouldn't feel pressured and also you get to do what works for you.
      It's not even so much as the deadlines for me as more that my brain immediately doesn't want to read whatever I get approved for lol
      I try to stick with things I want to pick up right then, rather than months ahead.

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  11. I do but not nearly as much as I used to. I'm slowly trying to get through some of my Netgalley backlist, though it's not too terrible. I have some for the upcoming months too. I really do try and only take on ones I'm pretty sure I'm going to love.

    Lauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. As I said in a few of the above replies - Netgalley was never a problem for me (except when they auto approved and added books I didn't request) it was the book cons that did me in lol

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  12. I'm an ALC girl too! I get access to more books with my job, but most times I end up listening to the audio.

    (This is amber btw. I'm struggling)

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    1. I google signing you in as anonymous too??? It's been doing it to me sometimes as I reply lol

      That's where I got the majority of my arc's. they were way less pressure than something like Netgalley but that they were months (or even a year) in advance and by the time it was time to read and review - I lost interest.

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  13. I definitely request more ARCs than I should and I'm still trying to get the older ones cleared out. I do think I've requested a lot less than when I first started blogging - maybe at the most I do 10-15 a year now when I used to be closer to 40-50 books. A lot of it is for the reasons you've mentioned, mostly reading for fun and only wanting to take on books for review that I'm sure I'll enjoy (though even those I tend to not read on a deadline even if I try my best to do so).

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    1. I know a lot of people who do just fine with arc's so it's whatever works is great.
      My entire reading has slowed down (from 200 books a year to maybe 20-30) so it's just not feasible for me to take a lot on anymore. I'm not in the mood and it will only add lots of pressure lol

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  14. I agree with all your reasons why, and I don't take as many ARCs as I used to (though lately I've been taking maybe a few a month). I try to mostly use the library, occasionally KU, but if I think it's a book I won't be able to get that way (like a self pub) and I really want it, that's when I'm most likely to request/accept an ARC.

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    1. That's how I do it too. If I'm pretty sure I'll like it and the ARC comes up, I'll take it on. But only if I'm in the mood to read it right then. Once a few months pass, I know I won't care anymore lol

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  15. I don't look for too many ARCs anymore, either. Like you, I mostly look for ARC from authors I have read previously and loved/liked. 📚

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    1. I'm very picky now. If I don't want to read it right at that moment, I don't request. I know I'll lose interest.

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