The Value of ARC Readers

When I got ready to publish my first book, a collection of poetry, back in April 2023, I had no idea what ARC Readers were. I’ve learned so much since then about the different types of readers authors, especially indie authors, need to have a successful book launch that sets them up for continued success. There are alpha readers, beta readers, and ARC Readers before you even get to the ones who purchase your book at or after release. Today, I’m just going to talk a little about ARC Readers.

What is an ARC?

ARC stands for Advanced Reader Copy. These are readers who sign up to get an early copy of your book with the hopes that they will post a favorable review on important reviewer sites (Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc) once the book goes live. Some ARC readers will catch typos or other issues that have made it past all your rounds of edits, and there are always typos/issues that make it through. There are no guarantees, though, that these readers will love your book, or that they will even post their review, but one can hope, right? Authors can decide if they will send out physical ARCs or digital eARCs. Most indie authors stick to eARCs because they are more cost-efficient.

How to build an ARC team

The easiest way I have found and heard of to build a team is to create a form that potential readers will fill out, so you can collect their information, especially email addresses if you’re sending eARCs. This form should share all important information about the book, including a summary/blurb and any trigger warnings. I also ask my potential ARC readers what their favorite reviewing sites are to read and post reviews. I learned about a new site through this question, and I was able to go on there and add my book’s information. I also ask potential readers if they’d like to subscribe to my newsletter, which is a quick and easy way to increase your number of followers.

Here is a link to my current ARC team form in case you need an example. If you’re interested in open-door romance that leans on the sweet Hallmark side with spice, feel free to sign up, but I’m simply putting this here as the example.

Once your sign-up period has closed, or you have the number of ARC readers you’d like, you can close the form to additional readers and download a spreadsheet. The first thing I do is filter for those ARC readers who want to subscribe to my newsletter, so I can copy and paste their emails into my subscriber list. Then I re-filter the spreadsheet for everyone who has agreed to review the book. I copy and paste those emails into my Book Funnel page for the book I’m about to release. I never send book files or newsletters cold without the person having subscribed.

Book Funnel is a paid website that authors can use to send eARCs to readers, or really any digital book. The beautiful thing about this site is that with the mid-range subscription, they will add a watermark to your document, so if someone shares it to a pirating site, you can know who it is and not allow that person access to your free books again. It also allows you to track who has downloaded the ARC. For my last release, I had 22 people sign up, 11 people download, but only 5 people write reviews. Considering it was my first novel under the Leya Layne pen name, I was not upset by the small numbers, but it is still helpful to know the percentages. ARCs are not guaranteed reviews, and trying to enforce reviews is only liable to blow up in a negative way for you.

Positive Aspects of enlisting ARC Readers

• You receive additional early feedback from readers who are interested in your genre.
• You get reviews on sites before release day, so more people will see your book.
• You develop a list of loyal readers who will help share and hype your book.
• Word of mouth is one of the best free tools that indie authors have at their disposal.
• Good ARC readers will reach out to help you make last minute corrections to your manuscript that might have made it through your rounds of editing.

Negative things to consider before enlisting ARC Readers

• Unrealistic expectations for ARC readers can create negative feelings for readers and authors
• Not every reader will love every book, so be prepared for low ratings.
• Not every reader will provide a review.
• It is hard to differentiate between those who legitimately want to read your book and those who just want free books.
• The wrong readers sign up for your book because of incomplete descriptions.

All that to say that once your book is ready for release, finding legitimate ARC readers who are excited to read your book is invaluable to your marketing strategy. We just have to go in with realistic expectations for 1) how many people will sign up, 2) how many of those people will follow through and read the book, and 3) how many of those readers will actually leave a review. Don’t scrimp on your ARC team by limiting numbers, especially if you’re sending out digital copies of the book. I think the averages I have seen say that 20% of those who sign up will read the book and 20 percent of those people will leave reviews. So set yourself up for success by trying to build a large ARC team.

This information was so helpful to me as I moved into my first round of ARC readers, and I’m excited to share it with others as I begin the second round for my next release. I hope you find it helpful.