Welcome to my first official Tips and Tricks post! Today I’m going to be talking about requesting e-ARCs (I will try to do one on physical ARCs in the future, once I have a bit more experience with them). If you have a book blog, you probably have been wondering about, or trying to get some ARCs. So, I’m going to share with you guys what I do when requesting. Update: I’m noticing this post is actually really similar to a pro NetGalley article that I read ages ago, and that you can find here.
While there are a few different sites you can use to request digital ARCs, I have found the most success with NetGalley. It’s very user-friendly, and the requesting process, as well as what publishers look for, is pretty straight forward. After you’ve created an account (it’s free), here are the steps I recommend taking.

1. Fill out your bio: This is super important! Publishers look to your bio for personal information about you as a reader, as well as some of your reviewing stats. In mine, I include why I started reviewing books, as well as the sites I review on, and the kinds of books I most enjoy reading. Then, I include a list of stats for my various reviewing platforms (ex- Blog: average of X monthly views, X comments per post, X likes per post, and X followers). I wouldn’t include too much info in here, but enough that the publishers get a sense for your style. Don’t be afraid to switch up your bio if it isn’t working!
2. Look at approval preferences: Each publisher will have a list of their preferences on their page for the kind of info/reviewers they send Galleys out to. Some may have really high standards–for example they only send out to reviewers who have reviewed a high number of titles they have been accepted for, or prefer people who use certain reviewing platforms over others. Some may have directions for reviews, like “post reviews as soon as you finish” or “wait until publication to post reviews.” Others don’t really care!
3. Take advantage of “read nows”: Unfortunately, using NetGalley involves a certain amount of paying your dues, so to speak. You probably won’t be accepted to review the most popular titles right away (unless perhaps you have amazing stats). To build up your profile, you can read books that don’t require approval from publishers, that are in the “read now” category. When I first started, I reviewed lots of short stories and children’s books to boost up my ratings quickly.

4. Don’t request too much at once: I know, it’s SO HARD not to go overboard. I mean, who doesn’t want to have a copy of every unreleased book out there?? But try resisting that urge. You never know how many you will get approved for, and it can be really overwhelming if all of a sudden you have 20 books to read, and a 0% feedback ratio. Then if you come across a book you really want, you don’t look very credible to the publisher.
5. Review your titles: You’re probably thinking “wow thanks for that obvious tip,” but I think people underestimate it! NetGalley recommends having an 80% feedback ratio, which is harder than it sounds. Sometimes you get a rush of approvals all at once, so it’s a good idea to stay on top of your reviews. Plus, publishers like when titles are reviewed in a timely manner.
6. Don’t get discouraged: It can be really tough when you don’t get approved for that book you’ve been dreaming about. It’s happened to me several times, but don’t take it personally! There aren’t enough ARCs for everyone to get, and sometimes it may just come down to timing. Use rejections as tools to boost your profile in the future. Is one publisher in particular rejecting you? Take another look at their approval preferences! Try tweaking your bio a little. Or, it may just be a matter of building up your platforms and NetGalley credibility more.
Those are all of the tips I can think of for now. If you have more, have questions, or think I misconstrued anything, please let me know! While I do have a fair amount of experience, I don’t pretend to know everything about requesting ARCs (not even close). This is just what has worked for me.
Please feel free to tell me what you want to see a tips and tricks posts about in the future (:
Happy reading!

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Good points. I love Net Galley and it is so easy to get overwhelmed. Requesting too many can definitely get you in a jam. Excellent post 😀
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Very easy! I have like 8 books to read right now 😭
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Great post!
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Thank you so much 😊
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This is super helpful! Thank you!
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No problem (:
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If only I had read this when I first started using Netgalley. I remember thinking that as a new blogger with a new account there was no way I would get approved from much so I went and requested a whole bunch of books that I liked the look of hoping I would at least get one or two. I was surprised to find that almost all of them got approved and basically I am still working through a huge backlog even now and it’s been 5 months since I started lol!
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I am going through a backlog right now too. Hahaha. 🤣🤣🤣
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I did the same thing—I have a few books I genuinely don’t even remember clicking on haha
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Hahaha…that made me laugh
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These tips are on point. They’ve worked for me so far, and it’s great that you’re sharing it with us.💙
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I’m so glad 😊
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thank you so much for all these super helpful tips!! 💞
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Of course ❤️❤️
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Such a great post and really helpful! It’s true about the don’t go overboard on requests. I went from finally being at 80%, requesting and getting all these unexpected approvals at once, to now at 53% trying to catch up again.
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I know, it’s awful when that happens ):
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Really loved that you included the “filling out your bio” tip, a simple change of my bio really affected the amount of approvals I got. And a lot of people don’t put much thought into it, but it makes a difference!
I use Edelweiss to get ARCs as well, I know most people prefer Netgalley but I kind of got used to the way Edelweiss works.
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It’s so important! And I tried Edelweiss but got suuuper overwhelmed haha
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I think that’s why I tend to go for it, I’ll only go through the hassle if I really want the ARC then I won’t spend time over requesting!
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These are decidedly solid tips! I know I have a hard time remembering not to just request everything and then getting overwhelmed. My review percent is pretty terrible because of that, but I’m working through it bit by bit
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I def relate, I’m only just getting close to 80 again
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Awesome tips! I definitely can go a bit overboard when requesting 🙈
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Thank you! So do I
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Great tips! I agree, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed with NetGalley because there are so many titles that look amazing.
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Exactly! I wish I could read them all
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Thanks for this post! I’ve been thinking of getting started on netgalley but feel a bit intimindated since I’m just starting out and don’t have a ton of followers.
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I’m pretty sure when I started I didn’t even have my blog yet (just goodreads with maybe 600 followers) so I’d say go for it!
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Thanks for the tips! I’ve had a NetGalley account for months but haven’t really done anything with it. This is really encouraging!
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Yay! I hope these help you (:
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This is such a good post! Very helpful😊
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I’m so glad 😊
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Thanks for these tips! I made the mistake of requesting too many books, then they all flood the shelves and my ratio tanks! I’m trying to catch up on my list ASAP so I can fix my ratio.
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Love this post! It is perfect for both those just starting out and those that have been at it for awhile. Agree completely with the read now as I started with those before I even had a blog and it helped me establish myself on the site. I am still not great at keeping myself from requesting too many at a time…but eventually I’ll learn (I hope) haha 😛
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Haha no worries, I still do it sometimes too. And read nows also got me my top reviewer badge, so I def think they’re worthwhile
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I was extremely lucky when I started Netgalley as my first ever 5 books requested that all ended up getting me my top reviewer badge. Once I discovered the “read now” books,I think that’s when my too many novels to read happened and my ratio went way down. I’m very happy to know that a more established blogger/review like you also requests too many! It makes me feel better to know that I’m not alone. ❤
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Great post! Thanks for sharing. Do you have any tips for Edelweiss? Cause I have never had any success on there and I don’t know why it’s so different to NetGalley!
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No problem! Unfortunately I don’t know anything about Edelweiss, but if I do start requesting there un the future I’ll make a new tips post (:
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Thanks! I’m useless with it!
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I requested too many last year and I’m STILL catching up 😓😂
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Haha we’ve all been there!
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Do you reckon I should include my blog stats if they are really low? I’m quite active on my blog, but don’t have a large following (I only started blogging last June) and think that’s quite embarassing, lol… Though I haven’t had much trouble receiving the ARCs that I wanted (apart from the biggest publishers, of course) and even have established continuous contact with one publisher
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I think so, a lot of publishers specifically say they want to know stats. When I was just starting I only used goodreads, and I got my first physical ARC when I had about 300 followers here so you never know! You could mention that you’re new to blogging as well
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This was super helpful especially since I just opened up a netgally account a little while ago.
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I’m so glad!
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Thank you so much for sharing all of this! I look forward to giving Netgally a more in-depth try (I had registered and done little) and can’t wait to read and share with you and everyone!
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Can’t wait to see how you like it!
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I love this! I know o had no idea how netgalley worked when i first started! I think i requested a few off shoot books where i tweeted at the authors and i somehow got approved so I’m hoping my tweets helped lol
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I never knew about Net Gally until your post! Thank you so very much for sharing this information!
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Thx for this post! I never knew I could sign up to try and get these…
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Love NetGalley! I’m so bad for requesting lots 🙈
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So helpful tips.. Thank you
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This is very informative and helpful post for beginners. Thank you for sharing your experience and tricks with us 🙂
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Really helped
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