Can I vet readers before they access my ARC?
One limitation with all ARC services is that you don't always know who is grabbing your ARC.
- Are they in it for the free copy?
- Do they typically read your genre?
- Are their reviews fair?
- Do their past reviews meet your quality standards?
- Have they read and enjoyed the previous book in the series?
Since day one, we have been vetting readers to try to get around this limitation by requiring readers to connect their social profiles before they can download ARCs on BookSirens. This continues to work well for most authors / publishers.
You also have the option to vet readers yourself.
After a reader passes our vetting checks, you can have them request your ARC.
Then you receive an email like this with information about the reader.
The request also appears on your activity feed:
You can then browse their previous reviews to get a feel for their reviewing style. Moreover, you can filter their past reviews to see reviews they've written specifically for you:
If you approve a request, the reader will be notified and allowed to download your ARC.
Readers are also conditioned in advance that requests might be declined for a variety of reasons and nothing personal, so you have little to fear about harboring any ill will if you decline a request.
If you are on the Promote Plan, you still only pay per reader who downloads your ARC. So, if 50 readers request your ARC, you approve 20, and then 15 of them download your ARC, you only pay for the 15 who download.
This feature is right for you if...
- You want more control over who can get your ARCs
- You have the time to approve / decline requests quickly, so readers don't commit to other ARCs instead
- You want to ensure that readers have reviewed previous books in the series
To turn this feature on, go to your books. Then:
- Click Edit for the book in question.
- Click the Readers tab.
- Find the section of the form which says Approve Requests?
- Set it to Yes.
- Click Update for changes to take effect.
If you are promoting your book to the BookSirens community and want to also turn this feature on for readers you invite, follow the additional step below:
- Click the Invite tab.
- Find the section of the form which says Approve Requests?
- Set it to Yes.
- Click Update for changes to take effect.