Up Close and (un)Conventional – ARCs and International Bloggers
Welcome to my newest Up Close and (un)Conventional. This is where I discuss both things that have to do with reading and blogging, and things that just have to do with life in general. This week, I wanted to chat about ARCs. I have been quite lucky so far in my blogging career, as I have received many ARCs. Both those I have requested on either NetGalley or Edelweiss, from various book conventions I have been to, as well as from authors who send review requests my way.
Last week, NetGalley informed their users that their platform would no longer accept requests from international bloggers or reviewers. Some people were quite upset about this, while others told those who were upset to get over themselves. That if they were blogging ‘solely for ARCs, they should find another hobby’. Or another one ‘just use your library’, it’s free! And ‘it shouldn’t matter if you can’t review newer books’.
Let’s just think about this from a different perspective for a moment, shall we? First of all, I totally agree – no blogger should reasonably think they can only write about ARCs on their blog. I am in total agreement with that. However, international bloggers don’t all live in English-speaking countries. Which might mean that libraries just don’t carry any English books. At all. So while using the library is awesome, I, for one, do not enjoy reading translations if I know the original language. And most of the authors I read are English speakers. And the library here in Geneva does not carry English books – apart from very old ones, or some of the classics. Even the library at the high school where I work has a very meager selection of books in English. Which means that I sometimes make donations so that my ESL students can read something other than the books we read for class.
Buying books in a local bookstore is really expensive! A paperback of a newer book costs $18! And the English section in the bookstore (if they have English books at all) is very small, so most of my favorite authors never show up on their shelves. A few years ago, almost all bookstores had a good selection of English books, which did make it easier even though it was still expensive. Now, I think with competition from online stores, the selection is much weaker. And while I can buy two or three books online rather than one in a store, it still makes me sad that now I kind of have to buy online.
Of course, I can totally buy my own books. Which I actually do. More often than not, I add books I buy to my library ever week. Either kindle versions, as that’s the kind of instant gratification I have trouble resisting – my one-click finger always gets enough exercise. Or, I order from book depository because of free shipping, and they also pack books individually so I won’t have to pay import taxes on the books I buy.
Also, blogging can be a pretty expensive hobby to have. I’m sure all bloggers agree on that. I pay for my url, for hosting, for security measures etc. Plus, recently, the linky I use for my features also became a paid service. Which I understand – they have a great tool, and to keep it that way, they need people to pay for it.
In November alone, I spent a lot of money on books. And I actually get a lot of ARCs. However, when I read an ARC I love, I will pre-order the book, so that the author can continue to write stories for me to enjoy. If I never got any ARCs, I might actually spend less money on books, because several authors I also love are self published, and their books tend to be a bit cheaper. Plus, I own hundreds of books I haven’t actually read yet – so I would be set for quite some time.
So while I don’t think I base my blog, and my hobby as a reviewer, on ARCs, they sure do make my life a lot easier. Sometimes, I’ll click on a new to me author on NetGalley or Edelweiss, and I’ll be amazed. Which brings that author a new fan who might have never tried reading their books. Or chatted about their books online with friends. Sharing tweets and bookstagram posts to make sure as many people as possible hear of them.
There is one good thing that has come from this specific discussion, though, I discovered more or less 50 new to me bloggers who are international bloggers, and that is a total win in my opinion 🙂
Do you receive ARCs? Do they help you decide which books to buy once they’re released?
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Wow! And for some reason, I was under the impression that Net Galley was expanding to have a few other int’l platforms in the way that there is more than one Amazon. Bummer that I had that wrong.
I don’t think people should only review to get free arcs, but at the same time, I know I personally could not review as many as I do without them b/c of the cost. And like you, I’m willing to tryout new authors and series b/c I got the arc first and that gains them a new reader. I do have access to a library, but its not always easy to get the book I want or if they do have it, there might be a long waiting list or it has to be loaned from another library. So, yes, ARCs are very important sources for a blogger/reviewer and I think it would affect more than half my reading numbers (though yes, I have plenty already I can be reading) and even more than that in book buying amounts if I didn’t have them (b/c I wouldn’t be trying as many new to me authors).
Great discussion, Lexxie!
Yes, they are expanding to have country-based platforms. German and French are already up. However, they are also for German and French books – not only English. And many of us don’t enjoy reading in the main language in our country. I find French to be a beautiful language, but it’s also pretty wordy – and so, I think, are some French authors.
I didn’t even think of the fact that your library might not have the book you want for various reasons, which means that even if you have a reasonably stocked library nearby, that doesn’t mean that you’ll get to read any and every book you want.
Thanks for commenting Sophia!
I rarely request ARC’s but once in a while I would browse Netgalley to see if something catches my eye. When I do read an ARC it’s just fun to be ahead for once. I’m usually behind on pretty much all the hyped books (I finally read Illuminae and Gemina last week) and I don’t really mind. I just read whatever I want to read. I don’t blog to get presents, I blog because I want to talk about the books I read.
The thing that bothers me in the whole Netgalley (and Goodreads) discussion is that they act as if international bloggers and readers don’t matter when it comes to the big picture. I’m a bit hurt. Yes, I live Belgium so it would be more logical if I read Flemish and Dutch books, but I’m not interested in those stories (the language annoys me). I read books in English. So, to end this rant 😉 I get the feeling that I can spend my money on their product but will never be accepted as a part of their community. Yes, I’m bitter… I’m sure it’ll pass but uggghhh it’s so annoying.
When I first discovered NetGalley, I went a little crazy there. So when I was suddenly approved for quite a bit of ARCs, I was both over the moon and a little stressed. It is fun to be able to read some books before everybody else, though. And I still haven’t read Illuminae and Gemina, even if I own both books.
You’re right, it does feel like we don’t matter anymore in the big picture, and that isn’t a very nice feeling. And I really don’t enjoy reading in French. The language and the story just have a better flow to them in English, I think. And translations always miss something.
Thanks for stopping by Ellen.
Hey Lexxie! I totally agree with you! The thing that annoyed me the most about the entire thing was the fact that I saw way too many people saying “blogging is not about the arcs”. Which is true. I completely agree with that. I’m one of those privileged people that, like you, can afford to buy their own books, and even one of the lucky ones that got ARCs. But there are some people, especially teenagers, that can’t afford to buy books, either because of money or because they want to read something that their parents don’t want them to (shall we talk about the parents that never allowed their children to read Harry Potter because they thought the book had a negative impact on their kids???). I’m also aware that this thing is also a blessing in disguise, since I have a ton of long overdue arcs, freebies and books I bought that I never got to read because of the hype surrounding other books. Like you, I hate reading translations if I know the original language, and tons of other readers are the same way. It’s not about the arcs, it’s about having access to the books people want to read. I will not even talk about the English books selection present in the bookshops in my town, let alone the prices. Again, it is not about the ARCs, and the fact that some are missing the point is the most infuriating thing ever.
Luckily, I found some amazing international bloggers due to this, so it’s not all bad.
Yeah, I don’t think I personally, will suffer from this, as I can definitely afford to buy books. And it’s not really about the money aspect. It’s also partly about the excitement of getting a book before it’s released. Of sharing that excitement, and possibly finding new authors we may come to love.
You are totally right about younger bloggers not always able to find books at all if they can’t get a single ARC. Parents sometimes won’t even try to read a book themselves to see if it could be something great, either.
Ha! Blessing in disguise… My review ratio on NetGalley is 88%, so that means I still have ARCs to read. It just makes me sad that this might not be the case in the future.
You’re one of the bloggers I found the other days, so that’s a big positive for me. Thanks for stopping by to comment, Ruby!
We’ve discussed this already and as such, You know I support you and all international bloggers, especially book bloggers as prolific as you. You’re extremely active and that should be taken into consideration when sweeping decisions like this are made. It’s like NetGalley has left an entire audience to fend for themselves. Basically turned their back on partnering with the rest of world. YEP, I’m mad for you.
I’ve never been a fan of NetGalley; I’ve never liked the philosophy behind the site. As troublesome as the site is (but they’re working on it), I’ve always preferred Edelweiss. It’s more straightforward. It’s getting the Publisher’s attention on that platform that is the hard part.
If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I’ve tweeted the above link 🙂 I’ll sign anything, too!
By the way, people are stupid… those comments people were making? Look who was saying them. How old were they? How long have they been blogging? Young and not long probably…. *sigh*
Ha! That might be true. But trouble surrounding ARCs does show up every now and then.
Thank you for your support, Kristin! Can you imagine that in July last year, NetGalley actually interviewed me as one of their bloggers? And now this… Sweeping decisions are usually not that great, because they don’t take all details into consideration.
I use both NetGalley and Edelweiss, and I enjoy both, I just hope that I won’t get into the same kind of trouble over there.
Most of all, I’m really sad for bloggers who live in countries where their income just can’t permit them to buy as many books as they’d like. I am lucky, even if I have to get my books from abroad, I can afford it. And I can also afford to go to conventions in the US, so it’s not as if I’m going to suffer too much from ARC withdrawal myself.
Thank you so much for your nice comments! <3
Twitter: Mlsimmons
Wow. I’m just now hearing about this, but I don’t review a lot for NetGalley and I’ve never Edelweiss, as most of my reviews are audiobooks. I completely agree with everything you said. No, bloggers shouldn’t depend solely on ARCs, but most can’t afford to buy every book that we read and review. I know that I couldn’t afford to buy that many audiobooks, even with the help my library.
I’m personally not in trouble, even if I won’t get many ARCs through NetGalley in the future. As you know, I can travel to the US for conventions, and I do have some contacts with various publishers.
I just think it’s really sad for bloggers in countries where the economy is not as good as it’s here. Where the choice might be between buying a book and having dinner. And I think it’s sad that some bloggers didn’t take into account the fact that foreign country might mean foreign language, too. And that translations can take years. And sometimes, books aren’t translated at all.
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
So maybe since I am not international I haven’t heard of this and this is a real bummer as I know a lot of international bloggers. This sounds like they are isolating themselves from foreign publishers and that is not cool. 🙁 I know it shouldn’t be all about the ARC’s as I myself have been trying to cut down on those pesky things as I get so behind. This just really sucks for all my international friends. 🙁
I totally agree, Stormi, it really shouldn’t be all about the ARCs. However, if international bloggers won’t get access to ARCs at all anymore, I’m a bit afraid we might just disappear, you know? Especially if a blog has some reviews for upcoming books, and some for already released books – it’s not very difficult to check which of our reviews get the most traffic.
I keep telling myself I’ll cut down on ARCs a bit, but it’s hard – now, it appears the choice has been made for me…
I didn’t hear that netgalley was closing for international bloggers! I’ll have to look up more about this. are they just going to remove our accounts then or won’t we be accepted when we request a book anymore? I am so sad to hear this :(.
And I am so glad you made that point about the library. I totally agree and get what you’re saying. I always feel awkward when someone brings up that point that I can get books for cheap from the library as that just doesn’t work for me. Most books are dutch here and we have to pay for a membership as well.
I love receiving ARC’s and being able to discover new authors that way. Often when an author is new to me I am a bit hesitant to spend a lot of money on a book, so I love when I am able to get it for review instead or for cheap.
Great post Lexxie!
They’re not deleting our accounts, but instead of requesting most titles, we will mostly only be allowed to ‘wish for it’ now.
Yeah, the library is great for many things, but not for finding current books in English, unfortunately. I think people who live in an English-speaking country just don’t realise that libraries here will have most of their books in the native language of the country. Which is understandable, right? Why should a library in a French-speaking city have English books?
I think we have to pay to use the library, too, but it’s a one-time fee, and I can used my student card still.
I am hesitant sometimes to spend my money on new-to-me authors, too. There are so many books being released, and if I read an ARC and really enjoy the book, I’ll still buy it once it’s released, but only if I really enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by, Lola.
Ah I noticed that more and more titles were wish for it now, but I thought that was for everyone and that the publishers made those decisions. The wish for it thing always confuses me a bit as I like to make decisions about if I request a book on whether I can read it and fit it in etc and with the wish for it thing it always feels a bit weird as you never hear of you get it or not. And I never got a book i wished for so far, but I heard it’s more like a giveaway or something?
Our library has a payment per year and per book/ item. So it still costs some money and then they don’t have the books I want to read. And it does make sense that they don’t have english books, but if that’s what you want to read the library isn’t very helpful sadly.
And indeed if you enjoy a book you can always still buy it as well or buy the authors future books.
I agree, the wish for thing is a bit confusing, and sometimes, I have had wishes granted, but with only a few days to go until the release date.
WOW, so you have to pay for each book you get from the library? Then even if they did have English books it would cost you quite a bit, I’m sure.
Twitter: avalinahsbooks
I’m going to post my “other options” post tomorrow. Hey, how did you do that tweet thing? Is it a plugin? I’d also do it if I knew how xD
I look forward to reading your post, Evelina. The tweet is a plugin, it’s called ‘better click to tweet’, and I believe it’s free – at least it was when I got it 🙂
I was really sad to hear about NetGalley’s decision on this because I know a lot of bloggers depend on NetGalley. Maybe, if you have a network of publishers that you already work with, they’ll send you NetGalley widgets for the books you want? But it’s a shame that you have to jump through hoops all the sudden!!
I will probably be fine, personally, Nicole. But there are many international bloggers who really can’t buy that many books, and whose blogs will have less content if they get zero ARCs in the future.
Plus, I also manage to travel to various conventions, so I think I’ll even be able to find myself some not-yet-released books in the future.
I also live in a country where it’s quite easy and fast to get books sent from BookDepository, so this is more about showing solidarity to other international bloggers. Thanks for commenting 🙂
First I’ve heard of it Lexxie. Bummer. I love NetGalley for getting ARCs and just this week for example I read an arc for an author I’ve wanted to read, and I’ve since bought 2 of her books. It feels like Netgalley is biting the hand that feeds it 🙁 We might be small in number, but lots of us have been around a long time and this is disappointing.
I’ll still be ok as my library is fab, and I’m lucky enough that I get arcs from publishers too. But I’ll miss browsing Netgalley and taking chances on books.
Where did you hear about it?
First of all, I noticed it myself that there were hardly any books I could request anymore, most of them were only ‘wish for it’. Then, I read about it on Twitter, several international bloggers were talking about it. And there is some information – for publishers – about how NetGalley will work in the future. It appears that publishers can opt out of the ‘wish for it’ button, but that also means they will have to make sure they know all about it – who knows if they have time for a webinar about it.
I agree, getting books via NetGalley is such a great opportunity to find new authors. And if I give a book five stars, I pre-order it, just to help authors being able to continue to write stories I enjoy.
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
I know some of it has to do with publisher rights, I do feel your pain with the English aspect. Some of my authors have sold their books to foreign rights and those are translated. I think they could have explained things better. I am often shocked with the insensitivity of others. We live in a society that is so quick to judge. You are so right about blogging and discovering new authors/series you might not have discovered otherwise. I cannot tell you how many authors who I discovered that way and went back and bought all of their backlist and added new ones to my bookshelves. Great discussion Lexxie.
Even if it has to do with publisher rights, wouldn’t that mean that BookDepository would also have to stop shipping books everywhere? And have publisher rights changed recently, or are they trying to make up for something that was not done correctly in the past?
As long as I can still get my hands on English books, I’ll be fine. I just feel really bad for bloggers in countries where they can’t get their hands on many books at all, and where eARCs is one of the few ways for them to get their hands on English books.
I have done the exact same thing, Kim, bought entire backlists because of a single book I got from NetGalley. And those authors also become auto-buy authors for me. If they can keep me mesmerized throughout different series and universes, I’m a big fan for life 🙂
Thanks!
I hadn’t heard about this but that really sucks for international bloggers. Did NetGalley say why they are dropping international bloggers? I’m in the US so I am okay for now. I do think this will limit what some bloggers review and some may drop out. Getting ARCs from NetGalley is easy and, yes, free. That last is important for the many bloggers on a tight budget. Libraries and bookstores have limitations, as you pointed out. It will be interesting, and probably a little sad, to see how this shakes out.
They’re not fully dropping international bloggers, but it will be more difficult for us. For most books, instead of being able to request books directly, we can ‘wish for it’ instead. It is going to be a bit sad to see how this will play out. Especially in countries where books are very hard to come by, I hope bloggers will still be able to continue.
I think one of the things I enjoy the most with getting ARCs is that it’s an excellent way to find new authors.
Wow, I can’t believe people in the US are saying these things in response. As if they wouldn’t be upset to lose access to ARCs??? I sure would! So I definitely understand why international bloggers are upset. Blogging IS an expensive hobby, so getting free ARCs does help many of us be able to read more and try more books even if we do then buy the ones we love.
I’m sorry intl bloggers are having to deal with this stuff :-/
Yeah, it was a bit brutal. And I mean, why would our libraries even carry English books? I’m sure most bloggers would be upset if they would lose all access to ARCs. It’s a good way to bring traffic to our blogs if we can talk about a book in the week(s) before it’s released, right?
Thanks for stopping by, and for your kind words, Kristen.
Thank you for your post, Lexxie. I never used NetGalley though I do have an account there. But I rarely read eBooks, and if, on my tablet (quite exhausting for my eyes) but I share your thoughts. I am one of the lucky bloggers who lives in a town where the library is well sorted. Good, my English books I either buy (which can be very expensive – as you said), or in some cases, I got an ARC sent to me by the author itself – which cost them a fortune!
But the changes that some publishers in the US, UK and CDN made lately or Goodreads and NetGalley now, I fear are due to some legal issues or because the missing foreign licence etc. That is, however, not the best way for the book industry and for sure not good for all the bloggers outside those countries or area. I hope that the effects those changes will have will be visible very soon not only for NG but also the publishers who agreed to handle things now this way. Because we bloggers give them free commercial with our reviews. No matter if we bought the book or got it for free from wherever.
As I said, I don’t use NG but I will support every blogger/ author who tells her/ his thoughts and worries about it. And when I am aware of them, I will spread their words because I think it is important to let others know about it. We can’t do much about already existing laws and licence rules, but maybe some changes NG or those publishers made, can be reversed when they see and feel that some of those changes weren’t good at all.
Nest wishes
Vi @Inkvotary
I understand the argument about international rights, and publisher rights… but I can order a book from BookDepository and even have it delivered to my house for release day! In Switzerland. I don’t understand how that is different from receiving an eARC in advance. I will never buy translated books, as I don’t enjoy reading in French, and I also feel like there’s always something that’s lost in translation.
I, personally, am very lucky, I have some good contacts, and will probably still be able to get eARCs, even if I might get fewer than now. I just worry about bloggers in other countries, where it’s difficult to get books, and where BookDepository won’t even deliver. How are they going to be able to continue? Some of those bloggers bring a lot of hype to new books in their countries – which in turn might bring a local publisher to want to buy the national rights to those books, and them translate them to the local language.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts, Vi.
I sign evety word you just wrote in your reply.
Best wishes
Vi @Inkvotary
🙂 thanks!
I hate this for all of the international bloggers. I spend a lot of time visiting bloggers from other countries and know that a lot of my traffic is international as well. When don’t talk books only locally, it has become global. I do understand publishing rights are locked to a certain countries. I wonder if there is some kind of setting that has changed on NetGalley? I live in an area in the US that has a decent sized community of individuals that speak Spanish yet our local library has a rather limited supply of books written in any language other than English. I hadn’t really thought about how hard it could be just to gain possession of books written in English in other areas. I hope this gets sorted out quickly.
I understand the publishing rights, too, but if I can get books shipped here, I don’t see what the big deal is about ARCs, you know?
There is a setting that has changed on NetGalley, and publishers have to manually put in the zone for everywhere if they want that. Now, it appears that the new automatic setting is for US only.
Yeah, libraries tend to get books in the language that is the most common, I guess. And libraries don’t have unlimited funds for books, either, so it’s quite normal that they get books they think will be the most popular.
Thanks for stopping by to comment Carole.
I do get ARCs – I’m in the U.S. but I don’t request or accept a ton – but I like that I CAN. I like that I have the chance to learn about new-to-me authors and books and find people I wouldn’t otherwise because I can get ARCs. International bloggers are already out of luck sometimes because so many publishers won’t ship worldwide, so what the heck, Netgalley? That’s not cool at all! I’ve seen books on there that are ONLY for Non-U.S. folk, so what about those? It doesn’t make sense and I think it just hurts authors/publishers in the long run because it’s like the U.S. is the only country that buys books. I’m sorry about this! It’s not cool.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
I think the possibility is just as important as the actual getting, Lauren. And I definitely have discovered a lot of new authors through ARCs. I have never seen the non-US books, I wonder why they’d do that? It doesn’t make sense, either – because the book community is definitely international.
Thanks for commenting.
l hear ya, homie. We should just be in charge of everything, then it would run smoother. 😉
Who runs the world? Book-bloggers… I’m not sure we’d get much done – apart from reading, reviewing and chatting about books 😉
I’m a little sad about what NetGalley has done. ARCs isn’t the sole reason I blog but that doesn’t mean I don’t want them. Reviewing ARCs does help bring traffic to my blog, as little as it is. I’m not sure how books will be marketed now to international readers if their own local bloggers say nothing about upcoming releases. I don’t know why they would shut us out considering it’s ebooks and not physical copies.
I don’t have a library nearby, so I will have to opt to emailing publishers. Great post!
I don’t think any bloggers I know are in blogging only for ARCs. But of course it’s exciting to get them, and as you said, it does bring traffic to our blogs when we can share a review for an upcoming book.
And you’re right – how will other European bloggers, for example, hear about new books if they don’t follow US bloggers now?
Emailing publishers is definitely an option, and I hope you’ll get some good contacts, Cam.
Thanks for commenting.
Great post Lexxie! I follow a lot of international bloggers and think it’s a shame that this decision has come about from Net Galley. I think there are a lot of people out there who have no understanding how difficult it can be to get books in some countries… especially books in English. And while suggesting the library is great, even in the US library access isn’t available everywhere (I just moved from an area that closed all of their libraries). I think these discussions are important, and I’m hopeful that some solutions come about that will help book bloggers in all countries to have easier access to books
You’re right, it can be so hard in some countries to find English books. Not to mention really expensive! I am lucky, because I can find books online and have them delivered to my house, plus, I have my kindle. But not all international bloggers are that lucky.
Really? All the libraries closed? That makes me so sad.
I have… lots of thoughts on this topic. Basically, I dont think being a blogger, internationally or not, does not entitle you to arcs. Arcs are a perk and not a right to us no matter how long weve been blogging, how much time or money we spend on books or how many followers we have. I get why international bloggers are annoyed and it does suck (especially when some instagrammers just get books without even having to review them) but at the same time this is a hobby. No one is forcing anyone to buy/review/blog about books…
I do wish things were different and where you live didnt make a difference if you received arcs or not and it was based on reviews and honesty instead.
I think that sometimes, the ARCs I receive do bring more traffic to my blog, though. And I definitely don’t love all the ARCs I read, and I share my honest feelings, Nereyda.
I agree, nobody is entitled to ARCs. That’s not really what this post is about. What struck me the most when this was first mentioned on Twitter last week was how bloggers in English-speaking countries were saying things like ‘why don’t you just use your library’? Which is a great thought – only, international bloggers don’t see many – if any – English books in their libraries. And as Lola said in her comment here, she has to pay not only a yearly membership fee at her library in Holland, she also has to pay for each book or other item she checks out. It upset me that some bloggers thought that because they have well-stocked libraries, and they would be fine without ARCs, and still not have to spend much money, they just assumed it’s the same everywhere.
It’s not only about the ARCs – though they’re definitely a nice perk of blogging! – it’s also about the perspective. Some people live in countries where buying a book costs as much as it would cost them to feed their family for a week. And where there are no new or interesting books left for them (if there was any in the first place) in their library.
Of course no one is forcing us to review or blog about books – however, a lot of publishers, both big and small, do count on word of mouth to let people know about upcoming books. And bloggers are definitely a part of that.
I never implied you arent honest. And like I said, I get why they are upset and it sucks. But being in the US doesnt mean you can get access to good books in the libraries either. I live in a tiny town and our ya section is so embarrassing. I have waaaay more books than the library carries in terms of ya. Our local library is in a small trailer so our selection sucks as does our ebook and audiobook selection. it is annoying for people to assume that libraries carry all the books we want to read, especially outside the US. Sadly, I think nowadays publishers care more about influencers rather than actual reviews…
Oh, I know you didn’t imply that, Nereyda, I just wanted to point out that I don’t post only five star reviews – because lately, I kind of have, since I’ve loved my latest reads. Maybe that came off wrong in my answer to you!
I know there are many places in the US where you can’t get access to good books, or even a library at all, at the library. And I’m sure that even if some libraries do audio and ebooks, far from all do.
You might be right about what publishers are looking for. And who knows if influencers actually lead to book sales, right?
I will continue to blog no matter if I get ARCs or not in the future. I just love chatting with other booklovers, and that’s another thing I don’t really have a lot of here. It was so eye opening to me to discover this huge online community where people get as excited about stories, books, and characters as I do 🙂
Wow. This is really short-sighted of NetGalley and very much in the vein of traditional publishers who don’t offer books in all regions. I mean, I literally do not care one bit who reviews my books or where they’re located. The internet is global, not local. It shouldn’t matter at all. This is just another reason why I won’t be giving my business to NetGalley again. I will continue to distribute my ARCs to bloggers worldwide.
I have since heard from NetGalley where they state that this is not their decision. It appears that now, to accept other regions, the publishers need to actually change something in the setting for each book they add – which seems like a lot of work. And they do say it has to do with publisher rights.
But I can buy books and have them sent here, from BookDepository, and from various amazon stores, too. Both paperbacks and kindle books, too.
As I stated, I probably won’t suffer too much from this, since I have been blogging for a long time, and I have a lot of contacts. But for other international bloggers, it might mean they won’t be able to get more than one new book each month. And that’s not the best way to keep a blog alive.
Thanks for stopping by Stephanie 🙂 And for always distributing your ARCs as you see fit!
My goodness, you’ve shared some important and shocking news that I was unaware of. I used to review novels back in 2009 – 2011, and the ARCS I received in the mail seemed to be never ending. Eventually reviewing for 3 sights just became much too overwhelming, so I gave it up. I can imagine that many are upset by this new rule, and as sad as it is, no one has a choice on the change. I find many of my faves in the library, but if there’s something that needs to be on my bookcase, I’ll grab it from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. I agree that meeting new bloggers is always the best part! Thanks so much for this info and great post! Hugs…RO
Yeah, I’ve seen that some bloggers receive a lot of unsolicited paperback ARCs, and while I’m sure that’s very exciting it must feel a bit overwhelming, too. I rarely get ARCs I haven’t requested anymore. I did get a bunch last spring and summer, suddenly, there were twenty in one e-mail, and I was almost afraid to open it 🙂 At the same time, it was fun, too.
You are right about us just having to adjust, too, Ro. That’s the way it goes. And while I truly hope that international bloggers in places where getting books is difficult will be able to continue, there isn’t much I can do to help.
Bloggers are awesome! Thanks for stopping by, Ro *hugs*