The Thing About NetGalley…

July 28, 2014     erinbook     Feature, The Thing About...

For new reviewers and old, NetGalley is a great tool to start reading and reviewing advanced copies. Sure, they’re ecopies and that is a sticking point for some people. Some of us, myself included, still prefer the physical copy of a book. But for titles that we really want to read sometimes you have to take the plunge and request the e-galley.

I’ve had my NetGalley account since last September and here are a few things I’ve learned:

DO…


1. Write a detailed bio. Talk about your blog, the stats, what you’re interested in book-wise. Give the publishers a look into your online presence: your Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook Page, BookLikes, LibraryThing, etc… 


2. Keep an eye on your approval ratio. Your profile keeps track of how many of your approved books that you review. Publishers will look at this.


3. Review as many of the titles you are approved for as possible. This goes back you your approval ratio, you want to keep it in the 80 percentile. If you couldn’t finish the book, say so in your review and why. This counts. 




DO NOT…


1. Request every title that you think looks cool all at once. I know you feel like a kid in the candy store but you will not want to review all of them later and it will screw with your ratio. 


2. Just use the site for reading advanced copies without reviewing them. This is not what the site is for and no one will want to approve you if you aren’t reviewing. 



NetGalley is great but you will not be approved for every title that you request. Keep in mind that you are not the only person requesting the book and popular titles are harder to get. Rejection is ok, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong with your profile. If you get rejected a lot for smaller titles then maybe you will need to update your profile or go back and review previously approved books.

NetGalley is a great resource, especially for bloggers and reviewers that are just getting started. Do not be afraid to set up an account and get started.

Keep Reading!

 

2 responses to “The Thing About NetGalley…

  1. This is a great post! I only wish I saw this when I first made a NetGalley page back in January. I did #1 on Don'ts when I first started and its so true on it messing up your ratio!

    • I did it too. It took me a long time and a lot of work to get my ratio to a respectable level again. It is fixable though, just difficult.

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