Review Writing Part 4 – ARC

The Advanced Review Copy, or ARC as it is called in the trade, is a book that has been released in advanced of the public release for review purposes. Usually they are sent to well known and established reviewers who the publisher feels will give the book the best coverage before it is actually released to the public. Each publisher has their list of chosen reviewers who receive ARCs depending on topics or authors, or who the reviewer works for.

To be in a position of receiving ARCs is very coveted within the book reviewing community for many reasons. First and foremost, the books are sent to reviewers for free. Not only do you get a free book, you get it in advance of anyone else and you usually get plenty of advance time to read and review the material. Many times it is a finished product. Some major publishers will mark the book as an ARC, others will not.

It also establishes the reviewer as one who has “made the grade”. The reviewer is now one whom publishers recognize has excelled in the book reviewing community, one who has the ability to influence the readership and one who has a vaguely perceived power over the actual sales of the book. After all, a good review from the right person can boost initial sales of the book tremendously. In some cases, the review of the book is almost as important as the content of the book itself, as the review will influence buyers.

ARCs are not sent to every reviewer and it is a position that is earned within the various publishing communities. It is sometimes perceived as a “one hand washing the other” position, with the expectation that the reviewer will give the book a fair and unbiased review.

It can be an ethical dilemma for some people should the book turn out to be a lemon, but it has millions of dollars tied up in its actual publication and release. Consider for a moment the amount of money involved worldwide in the release of the final Harry Potter series book. A couple of poor reviews from the right reviewers could have flattened sales of the final release and cost the publisher millions. It does not surprise me that ARCs were not available and the book handled the way it was. (Ah, so that’s why so many copies sold – Ed). However, the book was a winner. Did we expect anything less?

So, we go back to the ethical ramifications of being a review writer who receives ARCs. I have been in that position for many years, and allow me to tell you it can be a problem for the reviewer.

How do we handle the issue of good author/bad book? We did cover this a bit in the last article – So You Didn’t Like the Book. But in this scenario, you received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, you have seen the promotional material (just as a side note, the publisher will always include promotional material with an ARC) and you know the author carries the publisher to an extent, the publisher is counting on this book being a good seller, but the material from the author this time is not as good or well written as previous books. Or maybe this book is just a real stinker.

I do not want to say not to write the review. There could be some serious reasons why you should. And it may not endear you to the publisher or author. Do you want to bite the hand that feeds you? If the review, once published, does affect sales that much, you could lose the support of that publisher.

What about the readers? Are they going to appreciate your half hearted attempt to make a bad book look good once they plop down as much as $25.00 (15.25 GBP) for it? Will they respect your opinion in the future?

Each reviewer will come across this situation at least once in their reviewing career. It has sparked many debates within the reviewing community. Mind you, not just publishers send out advanced review copies. Many product manufacturers send out samples to select reviewers for comment and promotion. The music industry also powers its sales with advanced review copies. And I’ve received advance copies of television shows and received copies of movies for comment and review.

To be continued…

6 Responses to “Review Writing Part 4 – ARC”

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   February 12, 2010 at 7:30 pm

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2. Boudica says:

   February 13, 2010 at 12:48 pm

   Thank you, glad you found it informative. Part 2 of this article will be coming up shortly, hope that you find it as informative as Part 1.

   Boudica
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