How-To: NetGalley and Edelweiss for Newbies

*****HI ALL! I'M AWARE THAT EDELWEISS AND NETGALLEY CHANGED THEIR FORMATS!  HERE IS THE UPDATED POST******

***I want to stress that ARCs are not everything in the blogging world. They are a privilege, not something you are entitled too***

As a new blogger you see the terms "NetGalley" and "Edelweiss" thrown around and I guarantee your head is spinning. Those are both sources of digital ARCs. As a new blogger, Netgalley and Edelweiss are ideal places to get review copies for your first 6-9 months of blogging. Most major publishers don't send out physical ARCs until you typically build up a following, so until then these are your best resources!

"NetGalley is an innovative and easy-to-use online service and connection point for book publishers, reviewers, media, librarians, booksellers, bloggers and educators. NetGalley delivers digital galleys, often called advance reading copies, or ARCs, to professional readers and helps promote new and upcoming titles. Professional readers--reviewers, media, journalists, bloggers, librarians, booksellers and educators--can join and use NetGalley at no cost." -Taken from NetGalley's site

I first started on NetGalley about 3 weeks into blogging, and was approved for my first title shortly after. Digital ARCs and what a publisher looks for varies, so you may get accepted for one title, but denied for another. They are all different publishers as well so keep that in mind.

Important things to rember:

I get that it is so easy to hit the request button but limit yourself, because that feedback number (that also helps you get approved) does matter! Mine took forever to read 91% and that is now with almost two years into blogging. At one point it was at 10%, and I got denied for everything. This shows publishers how likely you are to read and review their books! 

Also, make sure your account is set to blogger (Unless you are not a blogger) it gives the publisher an idea of where you will be reviewing. 

I use Edelweiss a lot more then NetGalley now, though a little more confusing to use it is a great place to gain access to HarperTeen, Simon Pulse and other titles. I know some people have no luck on Edelweiss but some do. I'm assuming it depends on the demand of the ARC and information you have provided. When I first started on Edelweiss I was seriously confused on what was going on. As time went on I got into the swing of things, but I saw that a lot of bloggers miss awesome review opportunities because they don't know how to use Edelweiss. Here is a walk through on how to use Edelweiss :

Requesting:

Seeing if your approved:

You're approved:

Writing the review:

(It was easier with graphics then explaining it through text! These graphics are a few months old too. I just never wrote this post *sigh*) 

*Information to include in your profiles*: 

For example this is what you should include in your profiles: 

My name is _____ and I am a Young Adult book blogger at _________ (blog URL). 

♥ Page Views (Overall)

♥ Page Views (Per Month)

♥ Page Views (Per day)

♥ GFC followers (If you are a Blogger blog) 

♥ Blog Lovin' Followers (Bloglovin' URL)

♥ E-Mail Subscribers

♥ Twitter Followers (Twitter URL)

♥ Facebook Likes (Facebook URL)

I update my stats weekly or bi-weekly considering they change day to day. Everyone has a different style for their profiles, I keep mine neat and broken down, I've seen some people combine all their followers and include that number as well. It is open to how ever you want to do it. When it comes to this stuff the right and wrong lines are a little blurred, honesty is always the best policy! 

Was this post helpful to you at all? Let me know in the comments below, and what How-To I should do next!