TTT: ARC Distribution

For those of you not in the blogging world, have you ever wondered why some of your favorite blogs get certain Advanced Reader Copies and some do not? Reviewers, have you ever wondered the same thing? Many publishers are now requiring a certain time of operation before they will even consider sending a ARC even if that blog has 200 followers. Last I heard, a blog had to be in operation for 6 months to a year roughly to be considered. On another note, before NRR switched to Blogger, we were told we had to have 300+ "followers" to even be put in the pot to draw from for a Rachel Caine ARC. However, some publisher work primarily off a first come first serve basis as long as you are an established reviewer. So to those of you who may or may not blog, which do you think is more fair?

From a new bloggers point of view, I see how 6 months- 1 year or 300+ followers could seem intimidating and so far off. You might think, "How am I supposed to get 300 + followers without reviewing good book?" This is true. The more ARCs of popular books you get, the more likely you are to gain followers. However, this does not mean you cannot get ARCs. If you are a new blogger looking to branch out to the review copy world, try eBook publishers. Ellora's Cave, Liquid Silver, and Evernight are great places to start. You can even try NetGalley, but there are a lot of picky publishers there as well.

For those of you who, say, have 1,000+ followers and have been blogging for 2 years the process of first come first serve probably seems unfair. NRR has just recently crossed over that straddle. About 2 months ago, we began to see a significant difference in what publishers would send books (for the better). But I still remember those days, about a year ago, when we were struggling to get copies of print books from any publisher. Sure, like I said, we could get eBooks from pure eBook publishers, but could not seem to break down the wall to larger publishers. So those that sent out copies first come first serve seemed like the best thing ever. However, becoming a more established book blog, I can see where that outlook was not quite fair or realistic. The blogs that you see getting copies of books like Insurgent (There is a huge faction party going on right now. I am SOO jealous!) by Veronica Roth have worked long and hard for many years to become that popular. Book blogging and reviewing is a ton of fun, don't get me wrong, but for those readers who think it is all fun and games... well it is hard work. Long hours some days.

So, this all sums up to I think that publishers who are a little more choosy with distribution are doing things the most fair way. Some are too choosy, mind you, but those who are considerate of newer blogs while still catering to the long time favorites have found that perfect medium.

What do you think? Do you agree with the way some publisher distribute ARCs? What are some ARC distribution issues you have had in the past?

Thanks for reading this TTT,
Lenore