Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Hi,

A lot of people seem to be getting books from NetGalley. Do I have to be someone with a big following to do this? I would love to get review copies to read and write reviews on, but I am scared people will not allow me to as I do not have a big following.

Review a bunch of books first, then you can apply. Even if you don't have a huge following, that'll grow over time.
https://yassreads.wordpress.com/2022/...

Hello! No, you can get books from Netgalley even if you do not have a big following. There's a whole section on the site with books you can read immediately (on the Netgalley app or with a protected file on Adobe DRM), and these, too, reflect on your score.

In order to maintain a good score, you must review books after reading. Most big-name publishers sift through the pool of reviewers to find credible and dedicated readers, and the first place they'll look to is your score.

On Netgalley, you have to request a book you want, and the author/publisher/publicist approves your access to the book. Some readers have a long-standing relationship with some publishers. They might get an auto-approval on new releases, so they'll have immediate access to any new ARCs without requesting them.

I'm not sure if the distributors are shown the ratio for approved-declined books for every reader, but what I do know is that your score is the most important thing you'll want to build on the platform. About the large following, I don't think this is too important, especially when you're looking to get e-ARCs. I think this is more important if you're looking to pitch yourself as a prospective reviewer to publishers/authors/publicists to receive physical ARCs.