If you are new to book reviewing, you might be wondering what an ARC is. It stands for Advanced Reader Copy. Publishers print them and send them out to early reviewers to create buzz or hype about a book. They can also be sent to other authors to get blurbs for the cover or jacket of the book.

As a book reviewer, ARCs can help you review a book before it comes out and help more people find out about it (for better or worse).

Sign Up For NetGalley

This is the number one tip I give everyone who asks me how I receive ARCs. Sign up for NetGalley. Creating an account is relatively easy and then you can start requesting any books you want. But there is a catch.

As a new book reviewer/blogger, you’re unlikely to be approved for popular books from the big publishers. But there are still plenty of interesting books to choose from. And as you review more books and post your reviews publicly, you will eventually get the chance to review those most-anticipated books from those big publishers.

But beyond consistently reviewing books, you'll also want to make sure to keep updating your bio on the site. Include how many people view/retweet/like/follow your reviews. Publishers want to know how many people are seeing early reviews and the more followers you have, the more likely they are to approve you for an ARC.

Edelweiss Plus is another service like NetGalley but NetGalley is much more user-friendly and from my experience, I have gotten approved for more books there than I ever have from Edelweiss Plus.

Look For Blog Tours

Blog tours are another great way to receive ARCs. There are lots of blog tour companies that you can sign up for. It really just depends on the type of books you’re looking for. There are blog tour companies that specialize in young adult books, fantasy books, and historical fiction and romance.

Some companies like to have people with a decent following but others will take anyone who signs up.

Once you are signed up for a blog tour, you'll receive the book early and then usually have the choice of posting a review, interviewing the author, publishing a spotlight, or sharing an excerpt. Just make sure you remember what day you're supposed to post!

Reach Out To Publishers

Reaching out to publishers doesn’t have as high a success rate as the other two options above, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.

Find the publisher of a book you want to read that is coming out soon, see if you can find an email for the PR department, and then send them a polite email asking for an ARC of the book. The worst they can say is no or that they don’t have enough ARCs to send out. Whatever the response, it's worth giving it a shot, especially if you really want to read a book..

Eventually, either through blog tours or sending emails, you’ll build a relationship with PR people and it will be much easier to get advanced copies.

Post Your Reviews On Social Media

Whether you’re reviewing the next bestseller or a book from an indie press, posting your reviews on social media or a site like Goodreads is vital. Not only does it attract other readers to your reviews, but it also attracts people running blog tours and people from publishing houses.

Oh and expert tip: when you post, make sure to tag the author and the publisher (only if it’s a positive review. Tagging them in a negative review will not do you any favors).

Do this enough and you may get a message from the publisher about what they have coming up or from an author offering to send you an ARC of their next book.

The more you post, the better chance you have of a publisher, an author, a PR person, or a blog tour company noticing you and thinking of you next time they are looking for reviewers.

About the Author: Sarah Perchikoff is a writer of many different things: novels, short stories, articles, and blog posts. When she's not writing, she likes to play with her dog, Gracie, read way too many books, and blog about them at Bookish Rantings. She’s also known to hoard Sour Patch Kids, spend too much time on social media, and eat as many french fries as possible. Sarah currently lives in Michigan where she, unsuccessfully, tries to stay warm.