Today on Twitter someone commented on having seen a proof copy on ebay.There were various reactions, the author whose book it was remained unphased, some bloggers shrugged, some of us (and some other authors) were up in arms over this. I am not naming everyone because they can always chime in here if they wish to share their views.
My views on ARC's.
I don't expect people to keep all of them, but they are sent out for a particular reason, to encourage reviews, they are part of the relationship between the publishing industry and the reviewers. They are not payment for a good review, they are not payment for anything. To me selling them means you are turning it into a payment.
I love getting ARC's. I love reading them, I love being in on the stories before they hit the shelves and I love that someone somewhere thinks my comments are worth soliciting.
If you can't keep them all you have various options, you can give them to friends, offer them up as prizes on your blog, for me I pass a lot on to the other reviewers for Un:Bound and Young & Un:Bound, much as I hate to part with them. If they have proper covers i'd accept giving them to charity, you could even build a book bar. Apparently, in spite of the whole "not for resale" stamp often on these books, some people think it's ok to sell them.
I don't like it. It does not sit well with me at all. This isn't a second hand book you are getting 50p for to make room for new books. This is selling something that was supplied to you for a reason, a reason you may not actually have fulfilled. To me this behaviour is not only disrespectful to the people who supply the books, but it also reflects badly on the bloggers. You know the assumption will be that it's bloggers right? I don't see the reaction to this assuming that newspaper reviewers are doing the selling. Here we are, working our butts off, supporting the authors whose work we love, reviewing as honestly as we can, trying to do a good job and although we mostly do this in our spare time we take it very seriously. No matter whether or not you think we have an influence on the market, and opinions vary, we work hard at this!
Building relationships with authors and publishers is not always easy, it is always time consuming and I can't help but see this sort of behaviour as potentially damaging, especially to new reviewers trying to get established. I felt like throttling someone, one of the authors had a much more sensible suggestion, which was that if proofs where numbered it might be possible for publishers to take reviewers who make a habit of this off their lists.
It's an issue of profit to me. I review because I love it. If I was paid to review then that would be accepting payment for a service. As it is I get books sometimes, certainly no where near every book I review was free, and I have been buying more books since I started Un:Bound than ever before. I don't think we should be profiting through selling those books that we are sent.
So, I am officially unimpressed with this act, I hope it's not a blogger, but it's interesting that we all sort of assumed it would be, which is damage done as far as I can tell.
I don't expect everyone will agree with me on this and the floor is yours folks. What do you think? And what do you do with your excess books?
43 comments:
Thank you for this.
As for what I do with my excess ARCs...if they're for my books, I give them away as prizes, and if they're for other people's books, I send them to a high school library program that teaches teens about writing and the various stages it involves. Everybody wins.
@Seanan I think the School Library project sounds like a fantastic idea. I must talk to some people locally to see if there is something similar here that would benefit from some of mine.
You nailed it. I find it appalling that one, because ARCs are a privilege you know and as such it must be treated with due respect you know and not like this.
I don't have a single ARC yet but honestly as a writer trying to get published and become an author and as a reviewer. I would cherish them. My normal books, already released copies I give away in multi-pack givewaways like my one for my 100 followers going on right now but ARCs... those to me are worth more. They aren't something you can just replace on you re-reader or that you can sell, they are precious and show the work that the author put into getting published and marketing as hard as they could or there wouldn't be any ARCs being given to reviewers. So personally, If I had an ARC I would treasure it. Seanan what a great thing to do with the library! I think anyone who isn't like me and wouldn't make a special little spot on their favorite bookshelf for their ARCs should follow Seanan's example. That is a lovely way to make sure the ARCs are put to wonderful use.
*cough* sorry for the mini rant *cough*
Hi Hagelrat,
Great post! Personally I never have and never will sell on any ARCs that I'm lucky enough to get sent to me. It's a despicable thing to do, and may the Book Gods take out the eyes of anyone who regularly does so. It's something I feel so strongly about that it forms one of the points of my book pledge:
* No review or advance copies will ever be sold on for personal financial gain. RobAroundBooks.com is and always will be a non-commercial venture, where the only motivation for blogging is a passion for books and reading.
What to I do with unwanted ARCs? Well for me they never become unwanted. If space is an issue then I make more space, somehow, some way :). And that's because the 'gift' of words is the most precious gift to me, and regardless of whether those words are in a fully-bound retail copy or 'throwaway' review copy I'm always reluctant to part with them. On the rare occasions I get duplicates, or a copy of a book I already have then as you say, giveaways and competitions are the way to go.
As to the thought of building a bar out of unwanted books Hagelrat - *shiver* *cringe* that thought is going to haunt me all night :o)
Warmest
Rob
Harry thank you
Emma you are very welcome to rant here, and thank you for your thoughts on this.
Rob, i know it's slightly twisted, but it amuses me in a way. Done right you wouldn't actually have to damage the books.
As I say I do quite often pass on arcs to the other reviewers in my team, especially the youth reviewers on Young & Un:Bound but I am always sorry to let them go, even though it's still contributing the site.
First of all you hit the bull's-eye!!!
So far I received less than five ARCS and a guard them like gold because they are unique with their personal dedication.
And to be honest I would never by an ARC on ebay!!
I totally agree--an ARC is not a book that should be sold on eBay. That's just plain tacky.
As for what I do with all of my books ... I have many bookshelves, as well as piles of books scattered throughout my house. ;-)
edi - thanks love, they are a privilage to me.
Lisa - yup, sounds familiar. Book Piles are decorative.
It was my book that sparked the debate Hagelrat's referring to here.
I suppose I was fairly unappalled at someone selling the ARC.
However, that's more to do with my character than any realistic assessment of the offence.
I'm the sort of person on whom you actually have to perform a physical injury before I'll get annoyed by your behaviour.
What I'm trying to say is that I do think it's wrong that people resell Arcs, and for all the reasons Hagelrat has outlined. It's bad but perhaps the author isn't the main injured party. It's more injurious to other morally scrupulous bloggers and reviewers. I might lose a sale but maybe not either. I think if someone's willing to spend £24 on a ropey ARC then they'll probably buy the hardback too - or at least tell their friends if they like it. I know I wouldn't be lending out a book I'd paid £23 for, not to my ketchup spilling, greasy fingered, tube-train leaving friends.
So maybe this is why Hagelrat's more annoyed than I am. The offence is more against her than it is against me - it tarnishes her reputation by implication, along with all other bloggers.
I was annoyed that the book was offered 'unread', though. If it had been read then I might have got a review out of it at least.
Interestingly, I know the BBC has this problem. They used to give all the ARCs to Oxfam. Then someone came along and said 'that's favouritism, why not other charities?' So it went to a committee. For six months. During which time books piled to the ceiling and had to be thrown away!
Also, hey, I'm confident I'll have my revenge on this book parasite.
The book will become a massive bestseller and the ARC, like early copies of Lord of the Rings, will start selling for thousands of pounds.
That's almost bound to happen, I feel. ;)
Mdlachlan, I hadn't really thought of it that way in terms of sales for you. Maybe I am more indignant because I think it's bad form for a blogger, which it is. I think the BBC thing is a real shame and that perhaps they should look for youth projects to donate to.
And yes, undoubtedly soon Peter Jackson will be filming your masterpiece.
I pack mine up every so often and ask a few of the people who showed an interest and give them away ...
I mostly get contep romance so it's good to share, thats a genre that's quite easy to share...
Some I take to my ladies... but I always mark them - because, you just never know and I make sure the release date is long pass.... I know it sounds mean spirited, but if it looks too good to be true, it will bound to happen and I woud hate to know that some one take a book I gave a care home and sold it...
but I agree with you - It is poor showing an any bodies part who sell these...
In the long run it reflect badly on everyone not just the few ...
E.H>
EH thanks for dropping by, what a lovely thing to do and no I wouldn't put it past anyone, but i'm glad your ladies get enjoyment from the books. :)
I've actually been wondering what to do with my ARCs. Some of them I know I won't want to read again but I would NEVER sell them on for profit. I review for Fanlit as well as my own blog and would rather send them on to one of the other guys so a few of us can get a read out of it.
Here's something for you: when you REALLY like a book that you have the ARC for, are you tempted to then buy the "real" thing when it hits the shelves, or is that just me being weird?
magemanda not just you, I do occasionally buy books when they come out either for myself if they didn't have the final cover or for friends I think will love it. In the case of a few signed ARC's or especially precious ones i've bought extra copies so I could lend them to friends and make people realise how good they are. :)
I think we are all a little crazy in this game. ;)
Most review copies are marked as such and are not for resale. Shame someone decided to capitalize on this.
Love the bar though!
I'm the person who bought the book.
I'm a fan of MDLachlan's work, and I follow him on twitter. Its through his feed that I saw the auction, actually.
I apologise if anyone is offended by my purchasing it, and I previously stated that I'll still be purchasing the hardback when its released - and indeed, I will.
I guess I didn't give it any thought when I clicked on the "bid" button...it didn't occur to me until after I'd won that I might be offending both the author, and other authors who (quite rightly, I now believe) resent the fact that ARCs are sold online.
Thankfully, he doesn't seem to be too put out, and I'd like to reassure him that its not something that I'll be selling on once the book becomes a classic.
I make no promises as to my actions once its made into a three part epic blockbuster movie though!
I hold review book giveaways everyone month for any books sent to me for review, arcs and finished books. I want the books to go to readers, as opposed to sitting on my shelf forever (I'm not much of a re-reader). I've seen a lot of reviews posted of the books I've given away by the winners, so I feel it helps me, helps the winner and helps the author.
I'm not in this for money. I'd imagine most people aren't. And I don't see how anyone who is lucky enough to be sent an arc deserves to profit beyond the free book and people reading their review.
LDW - kind of funky huh?
Eirsoft - you have caused no offense, I think we all assumed the arc had been bought by a fan and it's not the passing on of such things that is an issue really, it's the profiting financially. Thank you for dropping by and I hope you don't feel too savaged by this because honestly, this particular sale sparked a wider discussion and it's that I wanted to consider here, not a specific incident. We don't know how the seller came by the ARC in this case, so it's not a personal attack on them (now that we've all calmed down) either.
Jennifer - fully agree.
I would never and will never sell my ARC's. To be honest I find it difficult to give away any books/ARC's I have and therefore have piles of books around my feet ;) However, If I find that I really didn't like the ARC/book then I may offer it up as a prize on my blog or even just pass it on to another blogger. I love getting books from publishers and authors, it's a real privilege!
Many arcs are kept, passed to family or passed onto the library or local school's libraries. Selling them is WRONG!
Nobody touches my ARCs! Nobody!
Book Chick City - well who needs to move anyway huh?
Sarah - which is how I feel.
Yagiz - have you constructed a lead lined bunker for them yet. ;)
I would be interested to hear from anyone who thinks we are all horribly uptight too? I promise you won't be hunted down. :)
Not a bunker but if I keep buying more books, my wife is probably going to build my tomb with them :).
Yagiz - has your wife been talking to my husband? :p
Heh heh! :) They may know each other from the "Book Widows" club :) (I hope she's not reading that, I don't wanna sleep on the sofa. The light, there, isn't great for reading...)
Wow - that is a LOT of comments!
If I do get rid of my ARC's I do so after they're published, and then it's typically a donation to my hometown library.
Yagiz - hah, have fun on the sofa. ;)
Chris - which seems perfectly reasonable.
One thing I will say about keeping ARCs: I feel like I have an obligation, as a reader, to purchase a copy of anything I read and really enjoyed. Since otherwise, that author may not get to put out another book for me to love.
I fairly regularly respond to requests for ARCs with "And you'll buy the book, right?" Since otherwise, I just sit around and twitch.
Seanan, haha, fair enough. If I really like a book I will often buy a copy for someone else, or for loaning to freinds (this ensuring new fans) or go and buy the back list or something. If I love it I do get guilt about the freeness of it.
I think that selling on Ebay is going too far - especially if it's a big release and lots of people are looking for them. But, in these economic times maybe the seller really, really needs the money. Then I can't really fault them at all.
What do I do with mine? Well, I'd keep every single one of them if I could. But, I somewhere around 200 books a year. I've been out of shelf space for years. Another box of books will drive my wife batshit (we don't have the room). I certainly don't have the cash on hand to give them away. So, that leaves me with a problem.
I still keep most. But others - well, I'll give some to friends or family, I'll donate some to local libraries, but most of what I don't keep end up at a local used bookstore. I find it a great way to help out the local store and I always get store credit for trade. So, in the end it just means more books for me (or audio books) - of course in the way of the universe, this does little solve my space issues.
I don't loose any sleep over it and hopefully those ARCs are finding their way into the hands of readers, readers who will one day buy the authors books new (though I'd be that they are already doing that).
Thanks Neth, excellent thoughts and no, I wouldn't jump on you for the second hand local store.
I'm not sure why that doens't bother me but ebay offends me so much, except to say it seems so cold and profit oriented.
As it stands I find it hard to not keep hold of books anyway. Even books I have not liked I have held on to.
However I take your point, we can't let other people feel that these books are rewards for positive reviews, because they are not. Also I think the Idea of someone reciveing a book and not reviewing it, just selling it on is fundamentaly wrong.
Or perhaps it is just my natural aversion to getting rid of Books?
any way interesting article
Harb - I share your aversion, your evil brother doesn't. *grumble*
For what it's worth, as an author, I'm generally not phased by the selling of the arcs on ebay outside of one point, that being the arc isn't doing its job, which is to generate word of mouth (but actually in this case it is, as everyone's talking about MD's book, so review or no review the book got you all talking and you're aware of his upcoming release, so job done)... It depends on your arc print run of course, but say with Silver there were 150 arcs produced, so you expect a great number of those will end up in second hand bookstores in the States, and a few will end up on Ebay. One did, the day it arrived at the reviewer's home... yep, that fast. But frankly, if the chap or chapess reads the back and has no interest, I'd rather they put it out into circulation rather than just shelved it and did nothing...
ah, the voice of reason Steve. Get out. ;)
As MD said, perhaps this is almost more offensive to bloggers than authors since we seem to be the ones getting our knickers twisted over it, I for one had my pitchfork & burning torch out when this was first mentioned.
Well also I think the nature of reviewing has changed... you need less 'credibility' (horrible word, sorry for using it) in your review site nowadays - a review in LJ or PW still reaches all of the right places, but outside that, I am sure a review in SFX say doesn't come close to the impact a review on a popular blog does, because it's immediate and because you have infinite space the likelihood of the review being placed is higher than say SFX with a short number of pages to slip something in. So of course, bloggers are going to take this as a slight, but I suspect the said review copy came from one of the old school review venues that simply get far too many to cover... the thing about bloggers is you're generally all fans of the genre, professional reviewers seldom are - check out Peter Straub's latest review in the Washington Post where the review opens with the gambit 'I knew this was going to be a bad book when I realised there was supernatural stuff in it...' (paraphrased but you get the point.
I keep stray ARCs of my own books. For one thing, these are versions of books that I haven't proofread for errors. Also, I may want to auction them for a medical fund or some other charity at a convention.
As for ARCs of other books - I rarely keep them. There's just so much space around here!
Lana cool, I like the idea of authors using charity auctions.
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