New to Requesting ARCs? Here's How!

Are you a new book blogger, Bookstagrammer, or Booktuber who just started out and isn't quite sure how seemingly everyone you follow keeps getting advanced copies of books that you want to read? Then don't worry, because everyone starts out in that boat -- and we're here to help you out with some tips to get you on the road to receiving advanced copies of anticipated reads that you can review and gush about to your heart's content. So without further ado, let's get into it!

First: Some Basics

What ARCs Are

ARCs are Advanced Reading Copies of books that are coming out a few months (sometimes even longer!) later into the year. Publishers print advanced copies of these books as a way to distribute the book to press and media writers/agents/associates as a way of drumming up buzz for the book. You know how some books have glowing reviews from trade reviewers such as Kirkus *on* the day the book comes out? Yeah, that Kirkus writer didn't read and review the entire book in that single day. They read it and wrote their review waaaaay in advance, often by reading an ARC!

Why They're Important

Being able to review a book before its release drums up buzz about it, which helps everyone. Not only are people interested in what you have to say about it, but you're also giving positive press to the author and the publisher, because the more hype that builds around the book, the more other readers want to get their hands on a copy when it releases, either through preorders or hearing everyone else talk about the book. This happened to me just last month with The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which I eagerly purchased on release day because of all the great things I heard some other bloggers said when they read ARCs of it! 

How to Get Them

There are two steps to requesting an ARC that you're excited about: Finding out who you're supposed to contact, and then sending them an ARC inquiry email.

Finding Your Contact

Our hardworking, fabulous friend Angel from Avid Reader has created this incredibly helpful Book Publicity Directory, which she is constantly refreshing and updating. Pretty much any publisher that we ever want to reach has a contact email address on there (and if they don't, you can usually find it by doing some digging on the company's site). We recommend bookmarking that page, because we are constantly referring back to it, even after book blogging for 8 years! 

Crafting Your Email

The email part may seem daunting, but once you create a pretty solid template, you can always feel free to refer back to it whenever you want to send an inquiry. We drafted up a template years ago that we keep in a folder and tweak whenever we want to send a request out!

Sample Email

Here is a sample draft of the ARC inquiry email we use when requesting a book. This is the exact email we use, just editing out our stats! 

Hi [Publisher/Publicist Name], 

My name is [NAME], and I am a Young Adult book blogger at [BLOG]. Our blog is run by three longtime friends and avid readers, and we use it to share our passion for books. We aim to have between three to five reviews posted per week, broken up with Waiting on Wednesdays, Discussions Posts, and Debut Author features, and other ways to promote authors and their books. 

I am interested in reviewing:

[BOOK TITLE] by [BOOK AUTHOR]

We have previously received review copies in the mail from you for review. I believe that this title would be a good fit for us and our blog. All of our reviews get posted on our blog, Amazon, Goodreads, and also get advertised on our Twitter/Facebook accounts.

Our blog has been running full-time since [DATE], and our stats are the following:

about [X] Views Per Month

about [X] Page Views Per day

about [X] Unique Page Views Per Month 

[X] GFC Followers

[X] E-mail/RSS Subscribers

[X] Bloglovin' Followers [INCLUDE LINK TO YOUR BLOGLOVIN']

[X] Twitter Followers [LINK]

[X] Instagram Followers [LINK]

[X] Page Views since the blog's beginning

If it is possible to receive this title for review, it could be sent here:

[YOUR MAILING ADDRESS]

Thank you for your time and consideration! 

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

And that's it! When it comes to finding your blog's stats for this email, every blogging platform is different, but they all have a way to view your analytics. A quick Google search should clear that right up for you!

*IMPORTANT: Make sure that you're updating your stats regularly! Right before we send an inquiry, we pull this template out of our drafts and tweak the stats to make sure they're accurate.

FAQs

Am I supposed to follow up with someone if I don't hear back?

We wouldn't nudge them more than once, if that. We mention this later below in the post, but it bears repeating here, too: Sometimes, you're just going to get ghosted. Publishers are busy people and receive a whole slew of emails every day, so not only do things fall through the cracks, but sometimes they just may not be able to send you an ARC.

Can I use a private contact email that another blogging friend used for a specific publicist/editor?

No, we don't recommend doing so! If a publicist or editor reaches out to us from their own email address offering us a review copy, we do not share that person's email address. For example, we are in touch with several publicists at Simon Teen, but if a friend asked us how to contact Simon Teen for an ARC, we would do one of two things: We would either ask the publicist directly if it was okay for us to share their email address, or we would refer the friend to the general publicity email address that the company has. 

Can I reach back out to a publicist for another ARC from the same publisher in the future?

Yes, unless they specifically ask that you don't. If we were in conversation with a publicist for a Simon Teen book, and then a few months later another book comes out from Simon Teen that we'd love to read, we tend to just find that old email chain and respond right there, as a way of refreshing their memory of who we are and how we've worked together before -- and then we politely ask if receiving an ARC of this new title is possible! But you can always re-send through the general publicity email address you find if you'd prefer that or lost the contact info of the publicist from a prior request.

*TIP: Keep a list of the publicists you're in contact with from each company, as well as their email address. DO NOT SHARE THIS LIST WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION, but it is helpful to keep on hand if you're trying to reach out to someone you had already connected with, but couldn't remember their info!

What do I do with an ARC when I'm finished reading it?

There's pretty much one golden rule here: ARCs are not for sale. Seriously, don't do it. It's very not cool. Authors don't receive any portion of those sales. But there are so many other things that you can do with an ARC if you're finished reading it and decide that you don't want it on your shelves anymore! For example, you can donate it to a local library, give it to a friend, or host a giveaway for it on your blog, Twitter, or Instagram account. Whenever we have a chunk of ARCs that we finished reading and want to pass along, we take a drive around our neighborhood and drop them in Little Free Libraries around town for new readers to enjoy. Any option is great, but just remember -- don't sell them!

How early do I post an ARC review?

That's up to you, but we usually post reviews about a month or two in advance of the book's publication! But everyone does it differently and it's totally up to you. Sometimes, if we don't get to an ARC before its release date, we still post the review after the publication date. There's no hard and fast rule here!

Do I send my review/feedback to the person that sent me the ARC?

Yes -- but not the author. Reviews are for readers, not for authors. However, sending the link to your review over to the publicist that you connected with is a good idea! And if you forget/lose their contact info (which you shouldn't, if you keep that handy dandy list we just suggested), you can always tag the publisher -- again, not the author -- in your posts about your review.

Some Things to Keep in Mind

Only request ARCs that you're genuinely excited to read. ARCs are often printed in limited quantities, so you don't want to just go around requesting every single book that's out there, whether or not you actually care about reading it. If it's something that you're interested in or really passionate about, then of course, request! But we don't encourage you to just request a copy of the hottest upcoming novel just because everyone else is, even if you have no intention of reading it -- because there are readers out there who really do want to read that book, and it isn't fair to take that opportunity away from them.

Sometimes, you're just not going to hear back. Publicists are busy people and have a million different hard tasks to accomplish every day. Sometimes emails slip through the cracks, which is why sending one nudge is alright, but if you still don't hear back after that, then it's just best to make a note on your calendar for when the book releases so you can read it yourself, or enter some giveaways or borrow a copy from a friend. Even after blogging for 8+ years, there are still plenty of ARCs that we don't get our hands on! That's totally okay, and sometimes it just happens that way. The ghosting may hurt a little bit, but don't take it personally -- there are plenty of great books out there just waiting to be read.

Some growth is required in the process. When we had just started blogging and barely had any views or stats, we got rejected from almost every ARC inquiry we sent. It stung at first, but then as we started to work hard and grow, one publisher sent us an ARC and gave us a chance, and then two, and then so on. So if you're just starting out and don't get a lot of bites right away, that's totally alright! Focus on reviewing books that you already have, generating awesome content, and growing an audience. As those numbers start to climb, you may find some more success with requesting ARCs. 

(Insider tip: We've worked as publicity interns for a few different major publishing companies, and sometimes we only accepted ARC requests for blogs/sites that crossed a certain threshold of views, because those sites had large audience reaches, which is what publishers want. So sometimes, you're not doing anything wrong and just need a little more growth!)

Whew, that was a mouthful! But those are just some tips, tricks, and advice that we thought we'd share, since breaking into the blogging/Booktubing/Bookstagramming world can sometimes feel so daunting as a newbie.

If you have any more questions about the process, feel free to comment down below or hit us up via our email here!

Do you have any ARC tips of your own? Comment down below and let us know!

5 Tips for Blogging While You're Busy

Are you finding yourself in the same predicament that we are -- trying to juggle blogging with working, school, and other daily life tasks that you have to get done? You're definitely not alone -- we struggled with this a lot back in 2016 when we first started college, and then all over again once we started our graduate school programs this year. But you're in luck -- because after many years of balancing blogging with daily life, we have some tips to share. Bloggers and Bookstagrammers have asked us for these tips in the past, so we decided to share them with you now as well! So without further ado, here are 5 tips for blogging while you're busy:

1. Read in short snippets wherever you can catch the time. When your daily life is as chaotic as ours can be, it's hard to find time to read. But that's what fuels our book blogs, so what can we do about it? We read whenever we can find small snippets of time -- while waiting for our nail appointment, on the walk from class back to our dorm, etc. We also try to read for at least 15-30 minutes before going to sleep every night. It may not seem like a lot, but those small snippets of time where you trade scrolling on Twitter for picking up a book actually adds up, and you'll be finishing books faster than you'd expect!

2. Make it your routine to tap into the book world for at least a few minutes each day. When you're busy, it can be hard to stay in the loop with what's going on in the book community -- and as you all know, stuff is happening there all of the time. So we make it our goal to log on for at least 10 minutes each day, just to interact with our followers, reply to some other posts, etc. It's only ten minutes, but it can go a long way with keeping you in the loop!

3. Schedule a designated "Blog Work Day" each month. We started doing this when we started college, and it has been an absolute godsend. At the end of every month, we pick one day -- usually a weekend day -- to sit down and schedule all of the blog posts for the upcoming month. We buckle down for a few hours and schedule our Top Ten Tuesday posts, our Waiting on Wednesday posts, book tours, posts like this one, etc. That way, throughout the month, all we have to worry about is writing reviews as we finish reading books. It makes the workload a lot less stressful if we just take one afternoon to get all of that big stuff out of the way!

4. Book blitz events can be your best friend! When you're not reading as quickly as you'd like to, it can be hard to generate content. But book blogging doesn't have to just be about reviews -- we also love signing up for book blitz events and spotlight tours, and we also love to share excerpts, host interviews, and even do fun posts like these. So if you find that your reading is slowing down because you're busy, there are plenty of other fun ways to generate content for your site!

5. If it starts feeling like a chore more than it does fun, then there's no shame in taking a break. Sometimes life gets overwhelming and you just need to step away from the computer for a little while. You shouldn't feel a sense of shame or embarrassment if you need to take a little bit of hiatus. It happens at The Book Bratz all of the time! Emily and Amber are both currently on hiatus due to an influx of school work and nursing school clinicals that make it really hard to get blog work done. Your site (and this incredible community!) will always be here waiting for you when you're done taking a break, so there's nothing lost by hitting the pause button for a little bit!

So those are our 5 tips for managing blogging while you have a busy life. Do you have tips of your own to share? Agree or disagree with any of ours? Comment down below and let us know!

Coming up with Unique Author Interview Questions! (& Some Question Ideas)

In 2019 we have done A LOT of author interviews (to be honest, I've lost count at this point.) But the one challenge that I've found was coming up with unique interview questions that are going to intrigue readers. You don't want to be too generic, you don't want to be too specific (#SPOILERS) and you want them to be fun! To check out some of our interviews you can find them here!

In the years that we have been blogging and doing interview questions there is always that self doubt: This author is going to think that I am an idiot. Believe it or not, authors don't think that and many that I have talked to actually love answering interview questions of all kinds! They love the interest in their books and the eagerness in wanting to know more.

(I am the queen of self doubt so I'll think my interview questions are great and then I panic after I hit send. So if you do this too, you are not alone *Hugs*) 

The answer: YES YOU CAN! 

*Channeling my inner Dora the Explorer*

So, where do you start? Here are some of the ice breaker questions I'll use for the first question or two:

• {INSERT TITLE HERE} is coming out this year! How does it feel? 
• This is super important: Coffee or Tea? 
• What is the secret about being a writer? 
• Using only emojis summarize your book!

I try to make the first question as fun as possible and not all that serious. No need to dive into the hard questions right away. Think of the first question as an icebreaker, you know the ones that we all had to participate in on the first day of school: "Hi my name is ____ and I love reading." 

I found writing interview questions easier if I have already read the book that I am interviewing that author on, but sometimes this isn't always possible. But that doesn't mean you can't ask book specific questions! 

• Why did you decide on {INSERT TITLE HERE} as being your title?  
• Did you always know that {MAIN CHARACTER} was going to be the hero all along? 
• How did you know you wanted to write a story in multiple point of views? 
• What was your choice in having/not having a love interest in your book?

If you have already read the book that you are interviewing the author about, this is where I could get even more fun. I am going to use Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo as an example for these more specific questions! (Side note: I have never interviewed Leigh before, but it is one of my dreams to! These questions are just examples.) 

• Out of all breakfast foods, why waffles? 
• Why did you decide to continue on after Ruin and Rising ended? 
• Each character has their own unique back story, where their any challenges in making each character different? 
• Was it hard to find each characters voices? 
• Did you write Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom with the intent of Kaz and Inej becoming one of the biggest ships? 
• How did you construct the world building in a world post Darkling's rule? 

See how the questions are less generic and I can ask about certain instances? Interview questions can be fun and interesting regardless if you read the book or not. There are so many different questions you can ask. One of my favorite questions to ask is: If you can create social media handles for your characters, what would they be? I love asking this question to fantasy authors and seeing how the incorporate their character's abilities and powers into the handle. Think outside the box when you are asking questions. That burning question you have? Ask it! Sometimes authors can't answer certain things because the possibility of spoilers, but most of the time they love answering questions! 

Still at a lost for questions? Here is a few for inspiration: 

• Is {INSERT TITLE HERE} the first book you have written that is being published?
• Did you pull inspiration for your book from an real life experiences? 
• Can you tell me a secret about {INSERT TITLE HERE} that no one else knows? 
• What is your writing routine? 
• What is your favorite book?
• How did you know that you wanted to write this genre?
• Do you remember the exact moment that you knew you wanted to write this story?
• What is your method to outlining? 
• This or that: Cats or dogs? Coffee or tea? Physical book or e-book? SFF or contemporary? Ect. 
• Growing up did you know you wanted to become a writer or was it not until you were older did you realize? 
• Why did you decided to go this way in publishing vs another? (traditional publishing vs. indie or vice versa.)

At the end of the day you shouldn't stress interviews too much. They are fun for the author, blogger and the reader! In the six years of blogging we've done hundreds of interviews and it is always fun. Not everyone needs to be serious. Remember, your favorite author? They are people too! (and I say this as the blogger that still gets tongue tied when communicating with authors.) 

Sending tons of hugs to all who struggle with this! I hope this little guide helps and makes coming up with interview questions or at least thinking about them a little easier! 

Talk to me! Have you ever interviewed an author before? How did it go? Do you have a favorite question to ask? I'd love to know!