If you love reading, there’s nothing better than getting a free book or two … or twenty. You can do just that by registering for a free NetGalley account. NetGalley is a website where publishers and indie authors offer free advance copies of books in electronic or audio format so that they can get reviews rolling in before the book is released. However, there are a few things to be aware of before you launch in.
Pros
Free Books
This is the obvious advantage. If you’re on a budget, this is a great way to keep reading without paying a cent.
Wide Range
NetGalley has a wide range of books across 43 categories. If you mainly read Christian books, they have a category all of their own; but you’ll also find books categorised according to age group (e.g., children, young adult, new adult), genre fiction (e.g., historical, romance, sci-fi and fantasy), non-fiction (e.g. biography and memoirs, crafts and hobbies, entertainment), and other niche categories such as poetry or comics and graphic novels.
While most books are in eBook format (e.g. pdfs, ePUB, Mobi for Kindle), they also have a range of audiobooks. There really is something for everyone and you’ll find a lot of gems along the way.
Advance Copies
You can search for your favourite authors or publishers and read their new books months before they’re released to the general public. Keep in mind though that not all authors are on NetGalley, so some of your preferences will be missing.
Benefits of Reviews
By writing an honest review of the book on the NetGalley site, and also posting your review on sites like Goodreads or Amazon, you’re helping the author, the publisher and other readers. If you’re a writer, it’s also a good way of honing your critiquing skills which you can then apply to your own manuscripts.
Cons
Having to Write Reviews
Although I’ve just mentioned reviews as a pro, some people may also regard them as a con. If you download a free book from NetGalley, there is the expectation that you’ll review it. This may seem like an onerous task for some people; however, the review doesn’t have to be long.
Humungous To-Read Piles
As the books are free, there can be a temptation to request a whole bunch of books that sound great. However, you can end up feeling overwhelmed if you have too many books awaiting review.
Grappling with Duds
Just as there are many excellent books on NetGalley, you’ll also find some duds. However, if a book is not what you expected and you really don’t want to keep reading, you have two options. You can give the book a poor rating and indicate why you stopped reading, or you can choose the ‘will not review’ option and let the publisher know why you won’t be submitting a review.
Just keep in mind that if you download too many books that you don’t review, it will affect your reviewer statistics and may make it more difficult for you to receive books in the future.
Declined Requests
Most of the books aren’t available for immediate download. You usually have to click the ‘request’ button and wait until the publisher either approves you as a reviewer or declines your request. This usually takes between a day and a week.
Just like the Rolling Stones warned, however, ‘you can’t always get what you want’. Sometimes your request will be declined because the publisher didn’t feel your profile was strong enough (more about that in the ‘tips’ section below), but sometimes it can just be that a lot of people have requested a book and they can’t give it to everyone. It will be harder to get books from the more popular authors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try.
Trouble with Downloads
If your request is approved, most books are available in a variety of formats. However, there will occasionally be one that you have trouble downloading. I prefer books that I can read on my Kindle, but sometimes I’ll have a request approved and then discover it’s only available in a format I can’t use. If you have trouble downloading a book, however, there is a good ‘help’ section on the NetGalley site.
Not the Final Version
As you are getting a pre-release copy of the book, there may be some errors with the text, formatting or illustrations. I haven’t found this to be too much of a problem, but just don’t expect everything to be perfect all the time.
Some Books Expire
If you haven’t downloaded the book before the archive date, it will disappear and you will no longer be able to download it. However, if the book is already on your NetGalley shelf, you can usually renew a book if you need more time to read it.
If you have downloaded a book to your Kindle, your access doesn’t expire and it is yours to keep. However, some protected digital copies, such as pdfs you read through Adobe Digital Editions, will eventually disappear from your device. I use Adobe Digital Editions to read graphic novels and I’ve found you usually have a couple of months before they disappear.
Tips
Jazz up Your Profile
If you do register for NetGalley, the first thing they’ll ask you to do is add your profile. This helps publishers to decide whether or not to approve your requests for books. If you have some experience in reviewing books (e.g., you’re a librarian, you blog about books, you review books on sites like Goodreads or Amazon), definitely put that information in there. Also include information about the types of books you read, especially if you have expertise in a particular area (e.g., if you volunteer at a multicultural centre, that could help you to get books on multicultural themes).
Also don’t forget to update your profile from time to time to reflect your current expertise and interests. I was recently refused a book because the publisher said I didn’t have any reviews on sites like Goodreads. I was surprised at that comment, as I have over 400 reviews on Goodreads. Then I remembered that when my novel Scattered came out last year, I changed my Goodreads name to my author name (Nola Lorraine) so that it matched my author page. The publisher who declined my request would have searched under my NetGalley name of Nola Passmore. D’oh! I’ve since updated my NetGalley profile to say that I review on Goodreads as Nola Lorraine. Too late to get the book I’d requested a couple of weeks ago, but hopefully it won’t be a problem in the future.
What if You’re a Newbie Reviewer?
If you don’t have a strong reviewing profile, that doesn’t necessarily rule you out. As long as you’re a book enthusiast, you have a role to play. Some publishers will still be happy for you to review. You can strengthen your profile by reviewing books on other sites like Goodreads.
There are also some books on NetGalley that are available to read immediately (i.e., you don’t have to request them). Just click on a category you’d like (e.g., Christian books), then click on the ‘read now’ tab on the left-hand menu. That will bring up a list of books that you can download right away. Once you start reviewing, you will get some runs on the board that will help you to get future books.
Research Before Requesting
To avoid getting too many duds in your basket, always read the information about the book that’s provided, such as the back cover blurb. You can also see the average rating of reviewers so far. I try not to read reviews until I’ve read the book, so that it doesn’t colour my impression, but if a book is only getting average ratings, it might be one to avoid. I’ll sometimes also check out the book on Goodreads to see extra details such as number of pages.
Don’t Request Too Many at Once
Remember one of the cons was the humungous to-read pile? Don’t go berserk and request 20 books in one sitting. If 18 of them are approved, you’ll suddenly feel under pressure to get all those reviews done.
How to Write a Review
If you’re fairly new to reviewing, or if you’d like to improve in that area, you might like to read another blog post I’ve written that includes guidelines for writing and formatting reviews. You can find it here.
Also, be sure to add a note at the end of your review to indicate that you received a free copy. For example, ‘Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eBook in exchange for an honest review’ or ‘Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eBook. All opinions are my own.’ As noted in those disclaimers, it’s essential that your review expresses your actual opinions. There is no obligation to give a good review just because you have received a free copy.
Help with the NetGalley Site
Once you’ve registered, you’ll have access to the NetGalley help site that has answers to lots of FAQs, including how to get started, how to find books, how to download books, how to write and upload your reviews, and so on.
NetGalley may not be for everyone. However, if you’re an avid reader, it can be a win-win situation. You get free books, and authors and publishers get reviews which can help sales.
Do you find book reviews helpful? Have you used NetGalley? I’d love to hear about your experiences.
I have reviewed books through Net Galley and have auto approval for about 3 publishers. Some its almost impossible to get on the their list. I did notice one publisher has changed how books are delivered. I can’t download the app and that was the only way they were delivering the book. After contacting Net Galley they found the book I requested had an issue with delivering the book.
Hi Jenny – Thanks for that. I think I’m auto-approved for a couple of publishers too, though they’re not ones that were high on my list. There are delivery issues with some books. There are a couple I haven’t been able to review because I couldn’t download them. I guess that’s where feedback to the publisher is helpful, as in your case where the problem was at their end. It is hard to get on some lists unless you have a big following and review lots of books, but I still manage to find some that I like. Thanks for commenting.