Hello everyone! Welcome to my ☀Daily Book Chat☀ where I do some SERIOUS discussions that fellow book fans will get a kick out of and relate their thoughts about the subject to other book fans!
Today's discussion question is"ARC Books...How Do You Keep Up with Them?"
Today's discussion question is"ARC Books...How Do You Keep Up with Them?"
In celebration of me participating in the ARC August challenge, I have decided to do this topic for this month!
I know, I know.
Anyone who has used NetGalley, Edelweiss, Reading Alley and many other book sites that give out ARCs like it's selling hotcakes, will know that it's quite a hassle to try and keep up with the little BEAUTIES / DEVILS. I'm one of those people who often has a hard time trying to keep up with the ARCs I've received since there's just so many ARCs out there that I want to read so badly! So, here are a couple of hints to deal with your ever growing pile of ARCs!
Step #1: DON'T REQUEST SO MANY ARCS AT ONE TIME!
This was a lesson that I've learned the hard way when I first started using NetGalley. When I first used NetGalley, I was like "YIPEEEE!!! HOORRRAAAY!!! I get to request some good old books through ARCs. Let's request like over a MILLION titles at one time!" Then, when I actually did request like over a MILLION titles at one time, I found out that there were deadlines to when the ARCs were being published and that means that your download privileges for the ARC will be shorten the sooner the ARC reaches its publication date, leaving you less time to actually read the ARC. So, after I've learned this hard lesson, I have decided to just request at least two titles a month and only if I finished the ARCs that I had downloaded before. That way, I won't have to worry about trying to go to the library to finish reading those long and forgotten ARCs, since it usually takes a while for the ARCs to be published and I want to get my reviews out as soon as possible!
Step #2: MAKE AN ARC SCHEDULE!
What's a great way to keep track of all those ARCs you got to read through? Create an ARC SCHEDULE! An ARC Schedule is like the perfect way to keep track of all the ARCs you have to read because you can arrange the ARCs according to the publish date it's released on and also according to when your download privileges go out. This will help you read up on the ARCs that you need to read as soon as possible and allow you to take some time on the ARCs that are not that urgent to read at the moment.
Step #3: SELF CONTROL!
One of the most important things to remember is this: CONTROL YOURSELF when you are requesting titles! I know it's really hard to do that, especially when there's just so many AWESTACULAR titles out there that you want to check out. But when you tell yourself, "I'm not going to request anymore titles until I read the ones I already have," then you're on your way to maintaining your ARC pile and you can still request as many titles as you want while keeping your ARC pile in check!
So, those are some tips to learn in maintaining that MASSIVE ARC pile and let me know down below, what sites do you use to get your lovely ARCs?
NetGalley? Reading Alley? Edelweiss? Review Copies from Authors?
I only request ARCs when I'm up to date with them, and since I know I read a lot of books from the library etc. I only request a new one once a month or so. I have excellent self control BUT only because there are so many great books still out there and my backlog is gigantic!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah! At the moment, I'm trying to cut down on my ARC requests since I have so many ARCs to sort through and I'm hoping to get through it soon! Glad you are doing well on your ARCs!
DeleteI took a break from requesting ARCs because I was ashamed for not reading them, so I've had to play catch up. Now, I can only request a few titles over a few months because I don't have the time to read a bunch of ARCs at once. I have an eARC that I need to read over the next few weeks because it will be published in October.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm trying to limit the number of ARCs I get too so I can catch up with the ARCs I have left.
DeleteWith all the ARC's out their via the web and author ARC teams. It's so hard not to over full your reading apps or schedule.
ReplyDeleteFor me I never ran into the problem that most bloggers did when NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc.. came out and they over requested. I actually made sure to request very little and kept reminding myself that the library will have it and if not, well if I really wanted to read it then I guess I'll buy. Then with the ones I do request I make sure to add to my schedule and get them read ASAP. I'm a person who doesn't like procrastinate.
Still it's very tempting to request a lot of books. I have to always remind myself not too.
It's awesome that you didn't have any problems with NetGalley and the other ARC sites when you first started out! I wish I had that self control when I first started!
DeleteI don't have any strict rules for myself with review copies. I never did the requesting a million the then you first join NetGalley thing, so that was good. And I keep track by using a spreadsheet with the books and release dates. I can't make a strict schedule because I'm a mood reader, but the spreadsheet helps me to work with both my mood and the release dates!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! You're lucky to not go through the requesting a million titles thing in the first place!
Deleteall very good advice! it took me two years to learn all this :) Now my ratio is a historical 70% because I banned myself from NetGalley the last two months! Great Post!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think I need to keep off of NetGalley for awhile until I get caught up!
DeleteI can't seem to take a control of ARCs in my inbox but that is not why I take a very few from Netgalley etc. And also I rarely get approved cuz I am not in the US or UK
ReplyDeleteThe main reason is I randomly pick too many books from library and keep buying them. So I have taken a time off from Netgalley and stuf..
Gayathri @ Musings Over Nothing
I like to buy a lot of books from the library too. That's ultimately where I have to read the rest of the ARCs if I missed the deadline and I can't find another download outlet for the books I've requested.
DeleteI've gotten a lot better about requesting books from NetGalley and Edelweiss, but then I'll end up overwhelmed with books from events like BEA and ALA. Those feel almost impossible to pass up because they're RIGHT THERE, ready to be taken. And all so pretty! :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction