Thursday, March 26, 2015

Poll: ARC Reviews

ARC reviews and book reviews are my favorite thing about being a book blogger. I'm a rather opinionated person, and I love being able to read a book and share my thoughts on it to possibly help other people make a decision about purchasing or reading new books.

I've been thinking about this issue lately because some of my ARC reviews don't get very much attention. To be honest, that concerns me because those are the posts that I want people reading and interacting with more.

So... I'm asking for just a little bit of help. I'd like to be able to reach out to you, my readers, more. I want to know when you like reading ARC reviews.

If you have a moment, please consider answering the poll. It will help me reorganize my posts, and when I'll be posting ARC reviews from now on. If you answer "other" in the poll, please leave a comment to let me know when you like reading ARC reviews. I usually post mine a week before a book is published, but I am willing to change this to help my readers make better book buying decisions.



When do you like seeing ARC reviews?

One Week Before Publication
Two Weeks Before Publication
One Month Before Publication
Publication Day
Other
Poll Maker

16 comments :

  1. This is an interesting poll because I've found my release day reviews often get a lot of attention, contrasted with my one-two week prior-to-publication reviews. (Of course, it also might be the books themselves.) I like to hear about books a week prior personally, because then you feel like you have the 'inside scoop'.
    ~Litha Nelle

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    1. I've noticed that a lot of bloggers do release day reviews, and they work for them. I've done a few, but they weren't any more read than the reviews I post a week before the release. I'm just trying to find something that works for me and other readers.

      I like seeing ratings way in advance, but I like reading reviews about a week before a book is published. It gives me just enough time to either order it online, or remember it to buy it when I go to the bookstore.

      Thanks so much for helping me out, Litha Nelle! :)

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  2. I like seeing ARC reviews before the book comes out. I get a lot of my books from Paperback Swap, and there are usually huge waiting lists for popular books on that site. If I know about a book before it’s published, I can get on the waiting list sooner.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. OMG. First of all, I have never heard of Paperback Swap, and I just Googled it. I am definitely checking that out to see if I want to participate. So thank you so much for bringing that website to my attention. :)

      I definitely like posting reviews a week in advance, and it seems like a lot of other people from the poll do too. I do think that I might do little teaser reviews in the near future, especially if I read a book months ahead of publication.

      Thanks so much for the input, AJ! I appreciate the feedback! :)

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  3. I love ARC reviews whenever - I am not picky! But it looks like a lot of people want it a week before!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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    1. I am okay with them whenever too, but I'm so confused as to how to get people to actually read them. And yes, it does look like a lot of people like them a week before the book is out, which is what I've been doing. I'll definitely stick with that.

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  4. I think arc's are best ahead by a week, but for what it's worth, it doesn't matter all that much to me! I think it's awesome that you are being interactive with us (the poll and whatnot). This post is cool, though I had to look up what ARC meant!
    I recently did a post on reading multiple books, and it's the start of a new feature of my blog- 'Into the Pensive' Check it out!! http://books4ev.blogspot.com/2015/03/hello.html

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    1. Oh no! I should have put that in parentheses or something. Oops.

      Thank you. I've been trying to be more interactive with everyone. I'm even going to start adding polls to some of my discussion posts for the people who don't leave comments.

      Thanks, Erica!

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  5. This is such an awesome post because I actually, to tell the truth, don't know when I like reading ARCS. I usually like the idea of ARCS because it makes me feel special that I get to read a book ahead of time before everyone else and it's a great opportunity to promote them before they have even came out. I would have to say that I love reading ARCS a month or two before they come out because that gives me enough time to read it.

    Awesome post!

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

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    1. Alex, I've been trying to figure that out too! I have some that are still months away from publication, but I like reading them pretty close to publication date (one-two months ahead). If I have time, I start one way ahead of time, and then just schedule the review. I already have two reviews scheduled for June, but I'm thinking of doing short teaser reviews to promote them ahead of time.

      Thanks, Alex! :)

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  6. I hate to be "that guy" who picks other, but... I picked other! And here is why: I like a variety. Basically, it drives me kind of insane when every. single. person. posts their review on the SAME day. Because at that point, am I really going to read them all? NOPE. So I love when I see a couple reviews a month out, then maybe a few more 2-3 weeks out, a few the week before, a few the week of, a few AFTER the release, and then some like, a year later when I almost forgot the book existed ;)

    What I am saying is, whenever you post it, I am probably going to read it, unless everyone and their mom decides to start posting on the release day or something and then... I will be kind of sick of that book, you know? Plus, if I have multiple review books coming out on the same day, then I can't really post them ALL the week before, you know?

    If I have to pick, I'd say do a big old mix! Keep us on our toes ;) I love this post, and seeing what everyone thinks!
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Shannon, I love when people are "that guy" because I was getting so sick of always posting the week before because it seems like so many people do that! I love that you went with something else!

      I'm definitely playing around with when I post my ARC reviews. I have so many for June 2nd that I need to think of something so I'm not too review heavy at the end of May/beginning of June. I hate when I feel like all I'm doing is posting reviews.

      I will definitely start keeping people on their toes! You just gave me so much more confidence to post them whenever I really want!

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  7. ACTUALLY although I like seeing ARC reviews a week before, I would also like to see them months before because I want to know if they are worth getting off of NG, you know? I rely a lot on word of mouth when it comes to requesting ARCs :)

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    1. Oh! Good point, Val, especially because NG doesn't let you see what other people have to say about a book. I might have to shuffle some of my scheduled ARC reviews (except Bloomsbury because they want them no more than a month ahead of time).

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  8. I chose one month before publication, because that is when *I* post my ARC reviews (and also what most pubs want you to do). But I actually love what Shannon said--I don't like seeing constant reviews of the SAME book because there is no variety there. I definitely see an influx once people start posting their reviews within a few days of each other. Almost like people are trying to compete a little bit? Not saying that is the case! And I know I've done that before, but usually it was because I didn't have room in my schedule beforehand. I try to stay within that month, though, to like a few weeks AFTER the book is published. It just depends on when I have time to post and if I get my reviews written up. Lol.

    This is a really great question! Are you gonna share your results? :)

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    1. That's when I used to post mine when I first started getting ARCs, but no one read them! They'd have like 15-20 views, and I was so upset that I switched to closer to the publication date. Now it seems like I only post reviews on Tuesdays, which is something I want to stop so I have more variety.

      There have been times when I have posted a few days before just because I had a few ARCs for the same day, and I kind of liked that too just because I felt like I was giving myself more original content.

      And yes... I have noticed that a lot of people seem to post their reviews within a few days of each other, especially this weekend with The Start of Me and You coming out on Tuesday. To be honest, I skipped over most of them. :(

      But I am playing around with them. I have one ARC review scheduled to post this week, but it won't actually be published until the middle of the month.

      Oh... I never thought of sharing the results. I could do that after the week is up - like give an update again next Thursday!

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