The Grumpy AUTHOR- ARC REVIEWS AND YOU

Hey all, this is gonna be a short one this week. I just wanted to touch on something massively important for authors, both new and veteran alike. That's ARC reviews. Why do you need them? Why are they important? And why the hell do some people say reviews aren't important?

ARC (Advance Reader Copy) Reviews do something important on Amazon, and that's to show your book in the most positive light possible come release day. When new readers are seeing your book for the first time, it doesn't hurt to have a dozen or more (or MANY more) 5-star reviews talking about the book's strong points and excellent story. It's your endorsement from fans before anyone else has really gotten to take a look at it.

Why is this important? Well, you can certainly sell a book that has no reviews yet. For a new book/product, that may even be expected by the majority of readers. There's just one little problem with NOT getting these ARC reviews. You know what that is? Let me break it down for you.

Who's going to be the first people to leave reviews of your book? You might be thinking "those super-fast readers who read it in one sitting!" And you might be right. But chances are, the first reviews you get are going to be from people who don't finish the book (DNFs) because they don't like it. And take a wild guess what their reviews are going to look like if they post one.

So, yes, ARC reviews are important, not necessarily because they're going to convince readers to pick up your book, but just as likely because they're going to offset those potential DNF/hate reviews you get early on. The last thing you want is your new book sitting there on Amazon with a 2-star rating when your promos are sending hundreds of people to the page. Do you buy 2-star products? Most people don't. So it's a risk.

Putting together a good ARC/street team can be tough, but in my opinion, they can be worth their weight in gold. If you need help doing so, ask the other authors here for their advice and guidance in the comments.

Now get writing and selling!

~Grumps

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