NetGalley Book Reviews: ARCs and Authors

What if I told you there’s an easy way to share your book with dozens of potential reviewers . . . (and get reviews) for marketing and publicity purposes before publication?

Would you be interested in learning more?

If you’re an author or you’re in any way connected to the book industry, you need to know about NetGalley.

So what is it? How does it work? Is it worth it?

As a nonfiction book publishing coach who has gotten a lot of questions about NetGalley over the years, I’m writing this article so all those who are curious to learn more about NetGalley—especially you authors wanting to know how NetGalley might fit for your traditionally published or self published book marketing and publicity plans—will have some answers all in one place.

Below, you’ll find detailed answers to these frequently asked questions about NetGalley ARC book reviews: What is NetGalley? What is a NetGalley ARC? How does NetGalley work? Does NetGalley require reviews? What is the NetGalley app? How much does NetGalley cost? NetGalley for Indie Authors: What is a NetGalley co-op? Is NetGalley worth it?

What is NetGalley?

NetGalley, launched in 2008, is a platform that allows for the distribution of digital review copies of books and audiobooks.

Similar platforms include BookSirens and Hidden Gems.

NetGalley enables publishers, authors, publicists, and book marketing professionals to upload and make available—typically before the official publication date—“ARCs.”

What is a NetGalley ARC?

An ARC is an “advance reader copy,” also known as a “galley proof”—and it’s shared on the platform with registered NetGalley users who wish to discover, read, review, and talk about those books.

On NetGalley, ARCs are available in PDF format. Audio files are also available for audiobook formats.

Who can use NetGalley?

NetGalley is designed for people in the book industry.

As NetGalley explains, “Any publisher, author or PR/media agency in North America, the UK, Australia, Germany, France, and Japan can utilize NetGalley to build buzz, receive feedback and reviews, and discover early trends.”

NetGalley publishers include the Big 5 publishing houses—Hachette, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Macmillan Publishing. A growing number of independent presses, including university presses, Christian publishing houses, small presses, and indie authors—use NetGalley to distribute ARC copies. “It has a great mix of independent and bigger publishers,” writes Hawthorn Book Reviews.

“If you are a book trade professional, bookseller, educator, member of the media or journalist, librarian, or reviewer you can use NetGalley for free to request, read, listen, and recommend books before they are published,” NetGalley notes.

How does NetGalley work?

NetGalley for publishers, PR/Media agencies, and self-published authors:

Publishers, indie authors, or publicists sign up for NetGalley and pay in order to be able to list books. (If you’re a publisher, indie author, or publicist and you want to sign up for NetGalley, get started here. Authors can sign up individually or through co-ops; more on that later.)

The next step is to set up a profile and specify the criteria used to approve review requests. (This can be time-consuming, however!)

In NetGalley’s words, you will also “have access to create widgets (a pre-approved link you can use to invite your own contacts to view your book), and can view detailed profiles of the members who request the book from you.”

NetGalley continues, “Detailed reporting about activity for your book is also included. These reports will show whether members downloaded the book, and specific feedback including reviews, star ratings, reason for request, suggested keywords, and opinions.” You can also see whether people give the cover a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Here’s an example of a listing on NetGalley in 2024:

 
 

If one clicks on “See Full Details,” here’s the page that it leads to.

And scrolling down, here’s what you’ll see:

On-site, email, and other promotions are also available. NetGalley Promotions are purchased when titles are listed, “subject to availability.”

Whoever lists a book on NetGalley and makes it available for requests can approve all requests or can approve each individual request. In the latter case, it’s possible to put inside the request button for their book the criteria for requests to be approved. Most publishers require an 80% feedback rating.

NetGalley also offers a widget invite that, when sent by email, offers instant access to books.

NetGalley for booksellers, educators, members of the media or journalists, librarians, or reviewers:

To discover, read, and review books using NetGalley, people sign up for a free account and create a profile showcasing their influence. See NetGalley top tips from Hawthorn Book Reviews on how to best do that.

(Register for NetGalley as a Member/Reader here.)

The next step is to select one’s affiliation. It’s then possible to request digital ARCs.

The publisher (or a representative of the publisher) has “full control” over which requests to approve or decline.

Whoever has created the NetGalley listing can choose whether or not their approval is required each time a request for an ARC comes in.

If the request is approved, the user can download the PDF file that the publisher has uploaded (if it’s a print book or ebook) or an audiobook file if it’s an audiobook.

They then have the opportunity to read the book and to share their review and their thoughts on their website, blog, or social media, as well as provide feedback to the publisher.

Does NetGalley require reviews?

NetGalley does not require reviews.

While NetGalley encourages members to share feedback through the site, it does not require members to share feedback through the site.

See “How NetGalley Encourages Members to Share Their Reviews” for more, but know this:

“If a member [reader/reviewer] has connected their Goodreads, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts to NetGalley, they can share their reviews with one click to these social media sites. They can also provide links to any reviews that they share elsewhere (for example, on their blog or podcast) when they submit feedback. Links for these reviews will appear in your [the publisher’s/indie author’s/marketing company/publicist’s] Feedback Report.”

Still, they may also share reviews, say, on their YouTube channel, and you might not even know it.

What is the NetGalley app?

While NetGalley can be used from any laptop or desktop, the NetGalley Shelf mobile app was launched in 2020 for mobile and tablet users.

How much does NetGalley cost?

NetGalley costs publishers and indie authors a one-time pay-per-title fee for listing 1 to 4 books per year; the fee is not publicly disclosed. Yearly subscriptions are also available.

For more information or pricing, reach out to NetGalley here.

NetGalley is free for users.

NetGalley for Indie Authors: what is a NetGalley co-op?

A NetGalley co-op is an arrangement whereby a number of indie authors pool their resources and share a NetGalley publisher account. It’s a cost-saving way to gain access to NetGalley for their book(s).

It is by far the most common for fiction authors—especially in the romance genre.

Here’s how it works: NetGalley co-op members reserve slots from the account owner or administrator and make their book available for a period of one or more months.

Here are some of the best-known NetGalley co-ops:

1. The Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, run by Anne Victory, is one of the biggest NetGalley co-ops.

It offers one-month and one-year rental slots for authors (who tend to be mainly fiction authors). Pricing is $50 per month and $450 per year. Additional promotional opportunities are available for a fee plus a $25 service fee. “Each author will manage requests, widgets, and follow-ups with NetGalley members.”

➡️Here are the current and previous Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op ARCs.

2. The IBPA NetGalley Program is another well known NetGalley co-op.

It’s available to paid members of the IBPA (International Book Publishers Association). For ebook or print book files, pricing is $249 per three-month listing, $449 per six-month listing. For audiobook listings, it costs $129, $208, and $287 for a one-month, two-month, or three-month listing, respectively. Promotional opportunities are available, ranging from $130 to $450.

➡️Here are the current and previous Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Titles on NetGalley.

➡️Here are the current and previous Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Audiobooks on NetGalley.

NetGalley: Pros and Cons for Authors, Publishers, and Publicists

Pros of NetGalley

Popularity: It’s used by 300+ publishers of all types, and it provides access to 650,000 NetGalley users— booksellers, librarians, professional reviewers, educators, and others (including indie booksellers). NetGalley has way more readers/reviewers than its competitors.

Reviews before the launch date: NetGalley offers a way to get reviews before the launch date, which equal editorial reviews for the Amazon page, the publisher or author website, social media posts, and more. And it may lead to Goodreads reviews and Amazon reviews, but it rarely does. See below.

Potential exposure: Anyone who requests a book on NetGalley could tell their own followers about it and post the review outside of NetGalley, thus increasing a book’s visibility. Anyone who requests a book on NetGalley can see an author’s social media handle, i.e., Instagram, and follow or contact the author that way.

Cons of NetGalley

No reviews or negative reviews: Simply put, some genres do better than others, some requests never lead to reviews, and even when there are reviews, they may not be shared far and wide enough.

Even when there are reviews, they may not get posted to Goodreads and Amazon, where a lot of eyes will see them.

As Hayley Reese Chow notes, reviewers can post to Goodreads before your book’s publication date (if they choose to), but only about 25% of reviewers do. NetGalley doesn’t require them to.

NetGalley also doesn’t remind reviewers to post their reviews to Amazon, and fewer than 25% do, according to Chow.

Negative reviews could make your book look bad. And they’ll be on NetGalley forever. Some authors have found that NetGalley reviewers can be “downright mean.”

Cost: A 6-month listing costs about $499, which makes it cost-prohibitive for many.

Is NetGalley worth it for indie authors?

Individual results vary. Some authors swear by it. Others regret their investment.

It is probably a better investment for romance, fantasy, and children’s book authors than it is for authors writing in other genres. It may be better for debut authors.

Below are some reviews by authors, so you can see how it went for them:

“ARC Sites: NetGalley, BookSirens, or Hidden Gems?” by Hayley Reese Chow.

Some key insights:

  • “95% of the downloads . . . occur in the first month,” so indie authors probably don’t need a six-month listing.

  • If nothing else, NetGalley is worth it for indie authors to browse the covers of other books in their genre—they can see what’s attracting readers. “If you have an amazeballs cover, people will download your book.”

  • Listings expire, but reviews can trickle in for up to two months after the listing expiration date.

“I Tried NetGalley as an Indie Author so YOU Don’t Have to... But seriously... (YouTube video) by Bethany Atazadeh

  • It led to a good number of Goodreads reviews—but they weren’t necessarily great ones; Goodreads reviewers can be harsher than Amazon reviewers.

  • “I can probably do this organically for free, if I have the time.” You might be better off—cost-wise and result-wise—if you build up your own team of reviewers from your fans, rather than counting on strangers (who might not be your ideal readers) to leave reviews for your book.

  • “NetGalley would be almost more valuable for a brand-new debut author.”

Another author, Katie French, had this to say a decade ago:

  • “Anyone can blab a few minutes about their feelings on a book, but it takes a certain learned skill to convey what you felt and why you felt it in a way that helps identify if this book would be a suitable purchase. Sadly, with some of the reviews I was receiving, they were not deft in this skill.”

  • “I'll admit some reviews were downright mean and hurt my feelings.”

  • “Others gave away spoilers RIGHT IN THE TITLE of the review with no spoiler warning.”

 

Learn how to market your book—in a way that fits your personality, your budget, your audience, and your goals.

Take the online course, The Best Book Marketing Strategies.

It’s the nonfiction author’s guide to generating publicity and selling more books.

 

Is NetGalley worth it for traditional publishers and traditionally published authors?

As mentioned earlier, many of the Big 5 imprints are on NetGalley; a number of other trade publishers have books on there; and more than 30 university presses are represented on NetGalley as well. Not all publishers use NetGalley.

As an author, you won’t be able to control who reviews your book—your publisher will. But it is likely to generate potential “editorial reviews” for your book and exposure for the book, and that is a good thing. It will get more eyes on your book.

NetGalley, in sum

NetGalley is a viable way to generate reviews and exposure for a book before it publishes, and it’s by far the best—and the most-used—digital ARC service out there.

Not all reviewers who request the book will leave a review. Some genres, it seems, attract far more NetGalley requests and reviews than others. Individual results may vary.

But it’s safe to say that—for authors, publishers, and publicists—NetGalley can be a useful tool in the book marketing toolkit, a piece of the puzzle that can, at the very least, generate editorial reviews and exposure for your book.

You might also want to see . . .

Other takes on NetGalley (by authors)

Authors, MarketingDaniel J. Tortoraadvance reader copies, big 5, book marketing, book promotion sites, ebooks, NetGalley, print books, self-publishing, traditional publishing