How do you get book reviews before your launch?

Why do reviews before launch matter so much?

Because a stranger deciding whether to buy your book reads the reviews before they read your blurb.

Think about the last time you bought a book by an author you'd never heard of. You probably scrolled down first. An empty review section on launch day asks every visitor to be the first to take a chance on you, and most won't.

My wife is an indie author, so I've had a front-row seat to a few launch weeks. That's when the most people are looking at a book, which makes it the week reviews do the most work.

Where do you find ARC readers?

Start with the people who already open your emails and comment on your posts.

If I were starting from zero, I would begin with your newsletter subscribers, your Facebook group and the readers who message you about your last book. They make the best reviewers because they already care how your stories end.

Put one application link everywhere they already are. If you need reviewers you've never met, reviewer-matching sites can help. ArcBunny won't find readers for you; it takes over once they apply. I'd rather you hear that from me now than discover it later.

How do you run an ARC campaign, step by step?

This is the order I'd follow, and the second step is the one I'd never skip.

1. Share one application link with a few questions that matter to you, like where they post reviews and what they usually read.
2. Read the applications and approve the readers who'll actually review. Saying no is allowed.
3. Pick your delivery date, a few weeks before release, and let every approved reader get their copy that day.
4. A week before launch, send one friendly reminder with the links where reviews can go.
5. After launch, thank your team, and make a note of who came through for next time.

How many ARC readers should you approve?

More than the number of reviews you're hoping for, because life gets in the way of reading.

Some readers won't download in time, some won't finish, and some will finish and forget to post. That's normal. It doesn't mean you did anything wrong.

I won't pretend there's a magic ratio. For a first launch I'd take a team you trust over a long list of strangers, then grow it one launch at a time and keep the readers who showed up.

Is it safe to send your book out before it's published?

It is, as long as every copy can be traced back to the person it was sent to.

The risky way is also the common way: one EPUB emailed to everyone, or one download link shared in a group. If that file turns up on a pirate site, it could have come from anyone.

Give each reader their own copy with their identity woven into it, and tell them so before they download. Sharing stops feeling anonymous, and if a copy does get out, you can find out whose it was.

This is the reason I built ArcBunny. I watched my wife stress over ARC chaos and leaks, then read posts from hundreds of authors whose books had ended up on pirate sites.

How does this look in ArcBunny?

One application link, one approval queue and one delivery date.

Readers apply through your link with no account needed, and you approve each one yourself. On the date you set, every approved reader gets their own watermarked copy automatically. If a reader's link expires before they download, you can resend it up to twice.

You only pay when you launch. Your first launch is free for up to 10 approved readers, with every feature included, and there is no monthly subscription to remember to cancel.

Questions authors ask

Read next

• How do you stop ARC leaks and piracy?
• ArcBunny vs BookFunnel: which is better for ARCs?