Thanks to my new fixation on the Publisher’s Weekly website, I learned that publishers are now numbering their galleys and ARCs to try to track down those who offer those galleys and ARCs on eBay.
They keep track of who got what number, and if they find it for sale, or receive word it was sold, that person is removed from the distribution list.
So I have to ask then, what do you authors prefer that folks do with their ARCs? Should there be an ARC-Etiquette?
As an author, I don’t have a preference. But it seems like if you’re on a reading list like that, you want to stay on it for the freebies, so it becomes a no brainer. You either keep it on your bookshelf or you destroy it. Because under these new rules, if you give it to someone to read and the friend hocks it on Ebay, you’re the one who’s screwed.
Eek, scary.
I have a rule for signed books that I think might apply here. If I get a signed book, personalized to me, I cherish that book. However, I cannot keep them all…not enough shelf space. So those books, instead of going to a random library or USB, they go to a friend. Someone I know reads books, loves books and cherishes books. After that, it’s up to them. Two of my friends that I often give books to, however, pass them along to retirement homes.
If it were my ARC, that’s what I would want the reviewer to do—pass it on to someone who loves reading. I think the objection is not to passing the ARC around, but to selling it for a profit.
Though I could be wrong about that.
I would love to know the answer to this as well. As someone who gets ARCs (lucky me), I’m paranoid about giving them away. Instead I loan them to all my friends but always ask for them back. I can’t really control where it goes after it leaves my hands and I don’t want to see it end up for sale.
On the other hand my shelf space is limited, I can’t donate them to the library, and it feels like sacrilege to destroy them. So for now I keep them until I have no more room.
Since ARCs are distributed for free, often well in advance of a book’s release, it really isn’t good manners to put the things up for sale on eBay. And for the people who give their ARCs to friends, and then the friends sell them on eBay…well, how cheap are you to take a book you got for free, not even have to write a review of it, and then try to make money off it?
Still, aside from the sheer crassness of it, it doesn’t seem like the worse thing in the world to do. ARCs are rarely as nice as an actual book- they often have mistakes, cheap covers, etc.- so why people who rather pay for one of them than for a final printed book is beyond me. I mean, ARCs are for a book that is COMING OUT SOON. It is not as if this is the one and only chance to get a copy of that book. There are no ARCs of Big Famous Author’s out-of-print-and-completely-unavailable-in-stores backlist for sale on eBay.
For myself, I would prefer the ARC go to someone who wants to read it, because I’ve been too poor to buy all the books I wanted and have been the grateful recipient of books (including ARCs) from friends.
I get ARCs all the time because I review. It’s pretty darned clear what you’re supposed to do. And one of the last times this topic came up (here, or somewhere else, I forget which) I asked the handy family intellectual properties lawyer for the ‘final’ word. The ARC says “NOT FOR SALE” on it. That means the ARC is…. not to be sold. It’s clear language. Um duh?? What’s confusing?
Since I get so many, I run out of space sometimes. It’s very sad, because those I don’t keep, I have to destroy. Yes, it feels ‘wrong’ somehow to destroy a book in any form. But it would feel (and be) even more wrong to give it away or even donate it and then see it up for sale on eBay or on the shelf of a UBS. So I recycle them. First, I rip them apart, literally page by page. It’s an amazingly effective way to de-stress, and it gets rid of the ARC.
I’m glad that publishers are going to start numbering them. That’s a good way to find out who’s profiting from the work of others and stop them. It’s clearly the only way that some will figure it out. When the ARCs dry up, maybe they’ll get a clue. And bitch and moan about it, I’m sure, but there you go.
I review, so I get a fair few ARCs as well, and I’m stuck with the same dilemma – limited shelf space. And, unfortunately, there are just some ARCs that I have no desire to hold on to. So my question is this: What if the ARC was given away/sold on Ebay or whatever AFTER the book has gone to print? As a collectors item or whatever? Should there be a statute of limitations? One can sell the ARC 6 months after publication?
Just when I thought this subject had settled down… but I’m actually glad to hear about this move by the publishers. I wonder if they’ll be able to carry through.
Here’s my druthers when it comes to ARCs of my books:
1. the reviewer holds onto the ARC until after the pub date, whether or not s/he reviews the book
2. after the pub date, the reviewer can give the book to a friend (with the understanding it can’t be sold) or donate it to a non profit. I don’t mind if a library or school or whatever makes a couple bucks off an ARC of one of my books—as long as it’s after the pub date.
3.
DO NOT SELL IT. That’s number one.
If you’re a bookseller, give it to a customer.
Reviewer or bookseller, give it to a reader friend, donate it to a non-profit, hand it to your mama if she likes to read or throw it away.
I was fortunate to receive the ARC for King’s upcoming Lisey’s Story—to do a review thereof for Amazon—and was delighted to read the letter from the publisher on the cover. I was also absolutely thrilled with what’s between the covers. This is one hell of a book.
I am throwing them away. I can’t a) keep the books and sometimes they are just print outs and b) I am afeared of giving them away and having them sold and then someone accusing me of sellling them so I rip them in half and throw them away.
I’m with Rosina. I hold onto ARCs until after the pub date, then donate them to a non-profit that needs reading material.
The publisher who doesn’t want a copy sold shouldn’t give it away. Period.
Distributing freebies guarantees a certain number of resales. Stamp “NOT FOR SALE” on it all you want, but reselling what you were given isn’t against the law, crass though it may be. How crass? Perhaps not so much as regifting among family or close friends, but certainly more so than the usual used book sales. The logical antidote is to limit giveaways to an intended audience, the ones with the grace to treat the freebies as the publisher wants; this would seem to be what the numbering and trimming of lists would accomplish.
If some folks are going to use their right of resale, then why shouldn’t the publisher track, unobtrusively, the recipients who aren’t treating these books with sufficient reverence?
You know, I never thought about giving ARCs to a retirement home. That’s not a bad idea. What other nonprofits benefit from fine trashy books?
Depending on the ARC, I’ve donated them to women’s shelters, youth crisis shelters, retirement homes, and the Friends of the Library. But I always wait until after the publication date to drop them off.
I just donated a bunch of books (not ARCs, however) to a military hospital where soldiers who are recovering from surgeries have to stay for a while, usually without any of their personal possessions. I mainly gave the suspensy books, but threw in a few straight romances since so many of our soldiers are women. I would think that ARCs could do well here too.
An ARC is, by its nature, a promotional vehicle. If it is put in the hands of a reader who might then go buy that book (or another by the same author) later on, it has done its job.
It is NOT, however, simply a freebie giveaway. It has a purpose, which in my experience, is clearly stated on the cover. Just my opinion and one that I know many people disagree with.
While I am against selling ARC’s in advance of book releases, I honestly don’t see how numbering is going to solve any sort of problem with this. #1—how will the publishers discover which particular number is being sold? If the seller chooses not to list this information, or blurs the number out in a picture, then what can the publisher do?
#2—as many authors advocate, booksellers are encouraged to pass the books on to others. Who is to say these “others” won’t choose to sell the books?
#3—as a former bookseller of 10 years, I can tell you that from what I saw, ARC distribution was like pellets from a shotgun—the publisher mails a certain amount out randomly to bookstores, gives a bunch to sales reps, and then sends out to specific people on a list. IMO, the vast majority are mailed out to “A. Bookseller” with no specific person in mind. When it comes to tracing these sorts of ARC sales, it will be impossible to track.
So, while it seems nice that the publishers are doing *something* about the issue, I highly doubt they are going to hire a few full time people to keep an eye on e-bay and e-mail sellers and buyers—which is basically what they would have to do to make the smallest dent in the problem. Additionally, all they could do if they caught someone stupid enough not to cover their tracks is to ban them from their ARC list. An awful lot of work for so little payoff.
I wait until after they’ve been released then donate them to my nieces/nephews school book sale…everybody loves the ARC’s and pay good money for them. Had one group of kids ask me what ones were coming next because they love to buy the book and then compare it to the ARC, see who can find the most mistakes – they’re young 🙂
What with used books being soooooooo easy to get via Amazon, AbeBooks, etc. I just can’t get my knickers in a twist over this one.
If someone honestly wants to pay WAY over the cover price (let alone the used price) to own the ARC, I say call them my BFF, cause that person is probably buying all my books the week they hit the shelves.
Darlene has the right of it. It’s not illegal to sell ARC’s. Even if there is a signed, sealed and delivered contract (and I really doubt that a contract exists since so many ARC’s are handed out indiscrimately at book events and are sent—unsolicited—to reviewers and bookstores), it’s still not a criminal matter and going after the culprit would be financially beyond moronic.
I understand some people making the rational and for them, ethical, decision to not resell ARC’s. But the reality is this, it’s a free market out there and while someone might bid wildly for an ARC of a Mary Balogh or Judith Ivory book, there are very, very few authors whose work would garner one red cent on ebay. Who, except one’s mother, would bid on something they could likely pick up for under a dollar in a couple of months? I once read an ARC, loaned to me by a friend who bought it on ebay. I loved the book, helped spread the “buzz” before publication that it was worth the wait, and when the hard-back came out, I bought it at full price. I remember Laura Kinsale came to the board on which I was posting and twitted me terribly for being a part of a nefarious plot against authors and freedom—and God is my witness, I am not exaggerating. What a crock. The author never “lost” a cent, and I performed the purported purpose of distributing ARCs in the first place (praised it to high heaven; increased the “buzz” over its upcoming publication, etc. etc.) and did not—in any way and by any stretch—break any legal, moral or ethical law (I didn’t even give any spoilers). Ms. Kinsale’s personal attack against my honor and “morality” had no basis in legal fact or “moral” principle and served no purpose except to offend a previously avid fan who thought she was brighter than this incident demonstrated.
Oh, and the publishers less than bright idea about numbering the ARCs? Tell me. If one shows up on ebay, how are they going to find out which copy is being sold? Demand ebay give them the sellers information? Not likely. Ebay has better lawyers than that and knows it would open itself up to a massive law suit from the seller (Privacy laws and all that). Make the buyer give it over? I’d love to read the deposition, if ebay’s lawyers were moronic enough to hand over the buyer’s info. The whole thing would be a financial wash and potential public relations disaster and open the idiotic publishers up to massive law suits. Who’s kidding whom? Me thinks the emperor is nekkid as a J-bird.
So those of you who still think there’s some law involved, please give us a citation that would support your claims. And for those who think there’s a moral principle involved, please consider that it’s precisely the same “principle” involved in government contract personnel accepting golf trips and sports tickets from potential government contractors. Handing out freebees to those who judge your work or decide who gets the “attention and press”, which is the heart of book sales, is exactly, precisely the same principle involved in government contractor and federal lobbying laws.
I found three things impressive about the article:
1. the publishers aren’t claiming that it’s illegal to sell the ARCs (and the beef, as least as PW presents it, seems to be pre-pub date sales);
2. The upshot of the whole thing is that the seller was removed from the ARC list (no ARC jail!), and the one specific find cited happened because a buyer complained to the publisher, who contacted the publicist, who was able to identify the seller, who was removed from the ARC list ((who’s supposeed to do all the tracking down?);
3. There was a balanced acknowledgment that such a practice might actually add collector’s value to the ARCs, thereby spurring their sales instead of deterring them (I could see where they would be valuable, then, even after the pub date)
From a reader/collector POV:
I read all the time, and definitely buy more books than I should. Mostly retail, although I have bought some books, especially out of print books on EBay. That is because some authors I really love I not only buy their books to read, but collect them as well. JD Robb, MJD, Charlaine Harris… just to name a few. In some cases I have books both in hard and soft cover, one set for reading one set for display or that I try to get autographed when possible.
I was given two ARC’s by a friend who received & read them but didn’t want to keep them. They were two of the Undead books by MJD. Now she knew I’d already read them, and owned the paperback versions, but thought I would like the ARC’s because I am such a fan and she was correct. I didn’t think anything about accepting (and I believe she didn’t feel she did anything wrong in giving) as it was years after the published date.
I am not a writer, but really think if the ARC goes up for sale (or is given away) well after the publishing date, how is that any different than say me reselling or giving away any book I’ve bought or been given? As pointed out ARC’s do have errors, do not have the fancy cover art, and personally would not keep me from purchasing the retail version. I seriously doubt there are folks out there clamoring to buy ARC’s just to beat out authors or publishers, and am willing to bet most buyers are people who buy many retail books. I’m not sure what the ratio of ARC’s is to books actually printed for retail sale but is this really a financial burden on the publishers? With paperbacks running $6 sometimes upwards $20 for the over sized books, and hard covers $20 or more, I find it hard to believe that the few ARC’s that are ending up on EBay is causing so much trouble.
That’s because it is not illegal. I haven’t found even one case or codified law which would support a copyright infringement for the sale of an arc. I have found cases, for analogous items, which take the opposite view for various reasons a) de minimus harm; b) it is a gift and the giftee can do with it what they will; c) is protected by first sale. And the copy of the ARC, if it belongs to anyone, is the publisher and not the author. The author sells the distribution rights for an area (ie the US or the World, etc) and then the publisher owns that distribution right and the copies generated pursuant to the distribution right.
I do think that authors are shooting themselves in the foot because the argument that I saw in the previous debate was that it would lead to loss sales but if the ARC is passed from friend to friend in the three months prior to publication how is it different from the purchase of the ARC that is then passed from friend to friend. Any one who buys an ARC has to be a great, great fan and not one who wants to rip the author off.
I can only conclude that the best thing to do is to throw them away. I’ve even thrown away books I haven’t read because I don’t know what to do with them. And I can’t be arsed to take time out of my schedule to remember when the publication date is for each ARC and then drive them, once a month, to the Salvation Army or the Elder care home, or what not. Neither can I store them in my house. I don’t want the clutter. Thus, to the trash they go. Personally, unless the book is selling for hundreds of dollars, I can’t even see the appeal of taking the time to sell it and put it in the mail.
Everyone has their own line—morals, ethics, whatever. It’s a personal line.
Mine is to consider it unethical to sell for profit something accepted knowingly as not for sale.
It is not a few ARCs that end up on e-bay. It’s a bunch. It’s different from receiving one from a friend because the friend didn’t profit. The friend held to the purpose of the deal by giving it—gratis—to someone who would enjoy it.
Do I think the buyer—the collector—who just can’t resist paying .50 or five hundred bucks for an ARC should be flogged? Nope. But the person who put it up for sale is, in my opinion, engaging in an unethical practice.
Can publishers stop the practice? Unlikely.
And while I don’t spend my days worrying about this particular problem, I appreciated the letter on the cover of King’s ARC, and the idea behind the numbering system.
Eventually, if this practice continues or grows, publishers will severely limit the number of ARCs produced, and cut them most dramatically—possibly all together—for newer, unproven authors.
That would be a shame on a lot of levels.
Eventually, if this practice continues or grows, publishers will severely limit the number of ARCs produced, and cut them most dramatically—possibly all together—for newer, unproven authors.
If this happens, I would seriously question the intelligence of publishers. Logic seems to suggest that it’s the known authors whose ARCs are really at issue here—it’s Neil Gaiman not Nell Newbie we’re talking about here. If ARCs are a promotional tool, then why would publishers across the board tighten the reins when it seems that it’s the big authors who really have the extracurricular ARC market? It just seems stupid to cut back on ARCs for unknown and newbie authors, since they haven’t got the cache yet to command big bucks on eBay (hell, without some attached scandal or major publicity, could any of them even command the cost of postage?). And if it’s the case where a newbie author has the press to make an ARC saleable, then isn’t it the press that’s going to make the sales? And in that case, limited ARCs might even up the talk (like Wonka golden tickets). If publishers want to sell books, won’t they really keep doing whatever they can—even if that differs from author to author—to do that?
Correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand it the ARC is basically a promotional tool. It gets the product out there to those who can promote it via a review. The issue comes up when a person in possession of one decides to sell it. If it is after the release date, I honestly do not believe a sale of an ARC is in detrimental to the publisher. That’s like saying garage sales are detrimental to Wal-mart. What publishers should do is make it a caveat that there could be repercussions for sales before a certain date. But days, weeks, months or more after the books hit the stands what’s the big deal. It’s not like you can get ARC’s for loose change. In most cases after you add shipping, it certainly is not a great deal. Stopping the practice all together is like cutting off your foot because you have a hangnail.
Is it tacky to sell an ARC, probably. So is selling the lime green spandex pants that great aunt Betty gave you last Christmas at last week’s garage sale, such is life. Unethical? Maybe. Is it any more unethical than the Taco Bell employee selling the Starwars promotional signs & cut outs on EBay after they are no longer in use? It happens, and you don’t see George Lucas having a hissy. Because in the grand scheme of things this really isn’t hurting him.
The thing is if it is ok to give it away, once the original recipient has given it away they are no longer held responsible. And as the recipient of a gift I am free to do with it as I please. Pillows have tags that say do not remove, meant for retailers not to remove it before the customer sees it. That doesn’t mean I can’t remove it then re-sell it on EBay or at next week’s garage sale.
The funny thing is… you can’t control other people. While I would never sell my ARC’s, someday I know I will pass them on to my children, who have no interest in them. And at that point they will probably end up on EBay. So I guess that makes my good friend unethical because her gift will end up on EBay someday. (rotten kids! LOL)
And more power to them. Because as far as I am concerned, it is a greater wrong to burn or throw out a good book, than to sell it. And it boggles the mind that authors, who of all people should love books, would even consider tossing away any kind of book even a ARC
This is my own speculation. According to King’s publishers they’re stingy with his ARCs because of this problem. Mine have opted to be stingy with mine—and I’m no Stephen King. Others are doing the same.
This isn’t just because it annoys them (which I know it does) but because it costs a considerable amount of money to produce and distribute ARCs.
Traditionally, publishers are more likely to spend money on promotion for known or bestselling authors than they are on unknown or authors with smaller sales.
It follows—to me—that if Nancy Newbie’s ARCs are being sold on e-bay, the publisher may very well decide it’s not worth their promotional dollars to produce them for her next book.
They’re likely to continue—maybe in smaller and smaller numbers—to continue to produce them for King, even though his ARCs are going to generate more profit for the seller on e-bay.
His promotional budget is bigger in the first place. Nancy doesn’t have nearly as big a slice of the pie, so it may be that she loses the ARC potential before an author whose sales are surely to be considerably bigger.
Or I may be completely wrong.
This is my own speculation. According to King’s publishers they’re stingy with his ARCs because of this problem. Mine have opted to be stingy with mine—and I’m no Stephen King. Others are doing the same.
For authors who have an established place in the market, I can see the logic here, even though I frankly think it’s going to make the ARCs more collectible and therefore make fewer people richer from eBay sales and the like.
But for new or unknown authors who don’t have fans eagerly awaiting their next book, it doesn’t make so much sense to me. In the case of those newer authors, if they already don’t have big promotional budgets, then it sounds to me that fewer ARCs might already be produced—and that’s sort of interesting all on its own to me.
While I understand why established authors get more promo, it seems amazing to me, then, that unknown authors “catch,” so to speak, with the reading public. In other words, it seems kind of ironic that the newbie author has to work so much harder to get known, so that the publisher will invest more in him/her, even though by that point she/he has an established audience. I know it works this way in every industry, but I always find it fascinating.
I’m not a reviewer, but when I came across an ARC for “Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife” by Linda Berdoll, I knew exactly what to do with it—burn every page so that no trace remains.
~In other words, it seems kind of ironic that the newbie author has to work so much harder to get known, so that the publisher will invest more in him/her, even though by that point she/he has an established audience.~
Every established author was a newbie once. And most every one of them had to build their name and audience. There are exceptions, of course—the first book out of the box runaway bestseller.
And there are negative exceptions—a huge advance for a new author, a huge promotional push. And a big, stinky bomb with the reading public.
But most of us work away, hopefully making that climb.
So, by and large, the promotional pie is divided with bigger slices to those who generate bigger sales.
This is short-sighted of publishers. I get reading copies sometimes, and when I’m done, I give them away (for free). When it’s out of my hands, it’s out of my control. Who knows if someone down the line might sell it on eBay. Do publishers want us to start burning these books? I don’t have room to store everything forever, and I don’t like throwing books away. Nope, doesn’t make sense.
Every established author was a newbie once. And most every one of them had to build their name and audience. There are exceptions, of course—the first book out of the box runaway bestseller.
Yes, of course; I understand this. It’s just that I have this image of Romance publishers throwing a bunch of pre-selected, par-boiled authors at an enormous wall, deeming the ones that stick worthy of serving. In the case of pasta, it’s pretty clear that the strands that stick are ready, but in terms of authors, I’m not sure it’s always the most talented ones that stick, or rather that there seem to be quite a few talented authors (i.e. Tracy Grant, Carla Kelly, etc.) who get dropped for low sales despite the high quality of their writing. I’m not saying that I can easily identify a better way, nor am I saying that the writers who do sell are untalented hacks. But as a reader who really enjoys longer, complex Romance with more focus on strong and risky characterizations and unusual settings and plotlines, I feel that the authors being thrown at me are largely not what I’m hungry for to begin with, and so many of the ones deemed ready to serve for the long run just aren’t to my taste.
~It’s just that I have this image of Romance publishers throwing a bunch of pre-selected, par-boiled authors at an enormous wall, deeming the ones that stick worthy of serving.~
Why Romance publishers? Your complaint isn’t exclusive to the genre. And if, indeed, some very talented authors—in any genre—are dropped or not as promotionally supported due to low sales, it’s simply because publishing is a business. You may find Author A exactly to your taste, and so might many you discuss books with. But if Author A’s books have huge returns, if the bookseller—despite what might be her very best effort—simply can’t put that book in enough reader’s hands, why then is the publisher incorrect for turning their money and attention to those authors who are selling? And interpreting those sales to mean the majority of the readers enjoy that author, or that style?
I, too, have a few authors I particularly enjoyed, and who weren’t able to develop enough of a readership to keep the publisher pushing them. I don’t blame the publisher. If I were to cast blame, I’d blame the big chunk of the reading public that didn’t appreciate as I did, and failed to buy the book.
As to ARCs while NOT FOR SALE is pretty clear, I’ve never heard of a publisher getting twisted at one being sold well after pub-date.
Ok. For arguments sake, we’ll pretend I am lucky enough to get the ARCs w/#s on them. I’ve done what I’m supposed to do and end up throwing them away *shuddering*. What happens if after I throw them away someone comes along looking for recyclables (cans, bottles, etc., it happens all the time around here) and sees the ARCs in the trash. They help themselves, know about selling ARCs on ebay, and decide they want to sell my throw aways.
I’ve done what I’m supposed to do with them yet suddenly they are for sale. I’m going to be taken off the ARC list for something I haven’t done. And yes, you can make the arguement I should have destroyed them before they were thrown out. But realistically, how many people who receive these goodies would go through the trouble to do this? Most might think, ‘Never mind. They’re too much of a pain to deal with.’ Who wins then? Or does everybody, publishers, authors, reviewers, and readers, lose out in the end instead?
O/T Question for Nora.
Not making light of this, honestly, but I’m a fan of yours. If I sign an affidavite swearing I’ll never sell/give away/trash your ARCs, can I be put on the list to receive them?
I was disgusted recently to see three shelves full of ARCs for sale at Forbidden Planet in Bristol (England)—some for books that aren’t out for months yet.
I don’t really have an opinion on the sale of ARCs on eBay, except that if it makes publishers send out less review copies it hurts all writers.
But for a large retail outlet to be selling them…
I’ve been following this line closely, and while I understand where you, Nora, are coming from, to me it still smacks somewhat of sour grapes – ie. the publisher isn’t making the money off them, then nobody else damn well better!
For all the joy that I get out of receiving ARCs, it seems to me that the publishers are forgetting one important thing. Yes, we may be the plebes outside the industry, but as a reviewer and someone who actively promotes romance novels, I Am Doing Them A Favour. I am a cog in that great big wheel of publicity, and to be told what to do and what not to do as if I were a wayward child is really starting to rankle.
I understand the importance of not having ARCs available before the publication date, though I still believe that people who are going to bid mega-bucks on an ARC are still likely to rush out to bookstores on the publication date, but after publication, as long as I’ve written my review – and I review every ARC I receive – my contract is fulfilled.
To have the publisher slap me over the hands and threaten to send me away without dessert doesn’t chastise me, it makes me feel militant. A little respect is in order, because we reviewers do a lot for the industry. By actively talking about romance novels, promoting romance novels, sharing what we love and do not love, we not only help the novelist we’re reviewing but the whole industry.
So the publishers can tell us they don’t like us selling ARCs, that’s fine. There are a lot of things I don’t like about the people I deal with in my day job, but I do wish they’d try to treat us like the mentally competent adults that we are.
Publishers wanting more control could send prepaid postage for ARC returns and cut non-returners from ARC programs. The staff tracking where books are sent can also manage which books are returned. The cost of return postage will result in fewer or no ARCs for some authors, but some publishers already operate this way.
~ If I sign an affidavite swearing I’ll never sell/give away/trash your ARCs, can I be put on the list to receive them?~
Appreciate it, but I don’t make the list, basically have nothing to do with it. I write the book, and that’s pretty much it.
This is weird altogether as I’ve also pretty much resigned myself to not getting my panties twisted about ARCs. But I have an opinion, and I perfectly understand the publisher’s stand.
The reviewer is doing a job—or the reviewer is doing something he or she chooses to do. This is not a favor.
How is it sour grapes for a publisher to say, we have sent you this with the understanding it’s not to be sold. You are a reviewer, review. If you decide to sell it, and we catch you, we won’t be sending you any more. Sounds like plain and simple. If the reviewer trashed the book in a review and the publisher said: No more for you then, THAT would be, by my definition, sour grapes.
You’re not being told what to do and what not to do. You’re a reviewer or a bookseller. You receive the arc for review or promotion and elect to sell it for profit, knowing it’s not the provider’s intent or wish. Your choice, and your consequences if you’re pinned and get no more.
Reviewers do indeed do a lot for the industry. So do publishers. So do writers. So do readers. I don’t understand the point.
Make your choice, do what you need or want to do. But don’t complain if you’re denied your dessert.
I’d like to address something—had to take a couple minutes on this because it did, indeed, twist my panties.
Wedgie-free now.
~For all the joy that I get out of receiving ARCs, it seems to me that the publishers are forgetting one important thing. Yes, we may be the plebes outside the industry, but as a reviewer and someone who actively promotes romance novels, I Am Doing Them A Favour.~
Okay. There are many reasons I write. Because I love it, beause it’s my job, because it gives me pleasure, because I want to do something with the stories in my head. None of those reasons include doing anyone a favor.
If indeed, you the reviewer, have reviewed my books in the past—lauded them, damned them or anything in between, I appreciate the time and the effort.
However, if you believe, sincerely, that doing so is a favor to me or the publisher, I want to relieve you of this. Let you off the hook. I can see to it that you are not asked to grant this favor again, for me or my publisher as regards my boos.
If indeed, you aren’t doing this because it’s your job, or your pleasure, or your passion—whatever—but feel you’re doing something for the author or the industry—as a favor to him, her or it, I’d like to remove myself from the mix.
I don’t know if it’s possible for one of the SBs to pass your e-mail to me, or mine to you, but if so, I’ll be happy to arrange so no more of my ARCs are sent to you so that feel, in any way, obliged to do me any favors. You’ve only to ask.
This isn’t said it anger. It isn’t even meant to be snarky. This offer is made to you as I don’t wish you—or any other reviewer who feels this way—to be put in the position of doing me a favor.
I have never, and would never, rant against the reader or the collector who buys or bids on an ARC because they just can’t wait, just can’t resist, or just want that version for their library. I said exactly that in the article in RWR on this subject.
I’m not going to hunt down or ask my publisher to hunt down a reviewer or bookseller who sells ARCs, even though I disapprove of the practice.
But if a reviewer feels that the review itself is some sort of favor, and is then free to profit from the ARC by selling it, then I do object.
I just think the publishers are coming down in an extraordinarily unfair way on people who receive ARCs. The sins of the (very) few are being visited on the many. And it’s a flash in the pan, an issue that in three weeks time is not going to matter anymore. In fact, I can’t see why it matters now. I’m never going to get rich off any of the ARCs in my possession, and the publishers are never going to go broke by giving one out to me. It’s a moral and ethical line, and, as with all moral and ethical lines (witness the other thread about bisexuality), no one is ever going to be able to convince the other side of the rightness of their opinion. But I firmly believe the publishers are going about this the wrong way. By slapping us ARC-receivers, not only are they insulting their reviewing base, but they’re creating bad buzz around the industry. I never sell ARCs. In my ethical universe, it’s wrong. But I am not going to lie down and be walked over, treated like a criminal, or kiss any number of body parts because I was lucky enough to be granted the very great priviledge of reading a book a month before it came out in print. By all means, punish those who sell, but find a way to do so that doesn’t punish the rest of us, or tar us the same shade of black.
Hmm…unattractive to backtrack, but I’m about to do that. When I said favour, it was, admittedly, a very bad choice of words, and I apologize for the erroneous implications. Especially as I so obviously upset you, state of panties not withstanding. (The other readers are all saying ‘Oh my God! She pissed off Nora Roberts!!’) I meant, and I still believe, that reviewers perform a service for the industry, one whose importance can’t be denied.
Yet it seems, especially in the context of our current discussion, that the respect that goes with that service is somewhat lacking, as is evidenced by the grouping of all reviewers and ARC recipients into one, unethical, immoral, illegal bunch that needs to be policed and monitored a la Big Brother in order to get us to behave. I didn’t like 1984 when I read it in grade 11. I don’t like living it now.