Today I don't have a book review for you, I'm going to start a short series on some things that have come up recently in the discussion boards of some book groups I'm in on Facebook.
There are three issues that have caused controversy and/or much discussion among the different members of the group. Discussion is good, but sometimes they get heated, and often the posters come off as condescending (at least to me). And since this is my blog, I can air my feelings on this issue without getting into a fight with anybody (I hope).
Today's issue has to do with ARC copies. This is the issue that most irritated me personally. A couple of weeks ago, completely unsolicited, someone posted a long, long rant on one of the Facebook groups about ARC (advanced reader/review copies) and how they aren't just free books and if you get one you need to read and review it right away. She also went on to say that if you just want free books, look for giveaways, etc. because by taking ARCs from places like NetGalley, you're taking them away from people "who really take it seriously."
I had a lot of problems with this rant. The first and foremost is that giveaways, whether through publishers or authors or Goodreads, are almost all also ARCs. So the idea that ARCs from NetGalley are different than ARCs given away somewhere else is just ludicrous. Publishers have a certain number of copies to give away for free, and they're separated out to different medias for disbursement. There are also "fail-safes" if you will to guarantee reviews are done. The ARCs given to bloggers go to bloggers with large followings: unless something extreme happens, I'll never get ARCs as a blogger. NetGalley also has a system: publishers may choose not to give you an ARC of a book if your profile isn't filled out to their satisfaction (or your blog doesn't have enough followers) and/or your review percentage (calculated by the number of reviews written to how many you've been granted) isn't high enough. I never get anything from Harlequin because my review percentage is too low. I'm working on getting more reviews done, but I'm a mood reader, so while I only sign up to get books I want to read, I have to be in the right mood to get them read. This person definitely came across like she knows better than the publishers and their marketing teams, which I find very hard to believe.
Another point that she completely left out of her rant, which she either didn't know about or chose to ignore, is that publishers CAN NOT require reviews for ARCs. Amazon in particular has recently cracked down on reviews that seem like they may have been given in exchange for free product. This makes sense, because if reviews are required, reviewers often feel like they can't be honest if they didn't like the book. And despite what some people believe (I'll have another blog post about this later), I appreciate a well thought out negative review. I'm not fan of "this book was stupid" reviews, and I don't always agree with a negative review, but I'm certainly skeptical of a book that only has positive reviews. Books are subjective; there's never going to be something that everyone in the world agrees on. In order to keep reviews honest and unbiased, publishers can't require reviews.
The final thing that really bothered me about this rant was that other members of the group suddenly felt the need to justify their reading habits to this random stranger on Facebook. All these people started commenting on why they might not always get their ARCs read and reviewed in a "timely" manner, and the original poster then would very condescendingly give advice on how they should improve their ARC habits. These readers legitimately felt guilty about their reading habits because of her. And I'm not okay with that. Reading is a very personal experience. You do you, don't worry about what others think about it. I really don't appreciate someone shaming a reader, however unintentionally, for their reading habits.
The whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way, and made me a little sad as well as irritated. I'm sad because I honestly have found that book social media has been a very welcoming and fun place, and this kind of stuff takes away from that. I also can imagine it turns off other readers, and why would we want to potentially scare people away from the wonderful world of books?
I am a strong advocate for reviewing books, even if it's a short couple of sentences and rating, because it's important to the authors, but reviews should never feel compulsory or forced. It is my belief that if authors and publishers want more reviews, which we all know they do, making it an obligation is not the way to go about it. If the community is welcoming and reviewers are made to understand that reviews are appreciated and important whenever they get written, more people might not find reviewing a stressful and miserable and more reviews will get written. Let's make the book community a welcoming space, especially to new readers in order to keep the community active, engaged, and a fun place to be.
I am a strong advocate for reviewing books, even if it's a short couple of sentences and rating, because it's important to the authors, but reviews should never feel compulsory or forced. It is my belief that if authors and publishers want more reviews, which we all know they do, making it an obligation is not the way to go about it. If the community is welcoming and reviewers are made to understand that reviews are appreciated and important whenever they get written, more people might not find reviewing a stressful and miserable and more reviews will get written. Let's make the book community a welcoming space, especially to new readers in order to keep the community active, engaged, and a fun place to be.
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