I joined NetGalley a little while ago. It’s a website that gives you access to digital copies of books before they’re published in exchange for a review. When you sign up, you need to point them to reviews you’ve written before so they know you’re an actual book reviewer. I pointed them to my Goodreads page and they accepted me as a member a little while later.

While you’re allowed to leave bad reviews, I must admit, it feels awkward to me to leave a bad review for a book I got for free. It reminds me of the old sales technique of giving away something of little value (a pen, a free sample, a sticker, a piece of candy, a water bottle, etc.) to make someone feel indebted to you. People are more likely to buy something from you if you give them something first. In this case, they give you a free book, which gives you a small amount of psychological pressure to write a good review.

Some books on NetGalley are available for anyone to download, but most require you to request them. The publisher will then decide whether to give you access or not. I’ve been declined before and accepted before. Since publishers want to get as many positive reviews as they can before the book is officially published, I assume the publisher checks to see if you have given positive or negative reviews to similar books in the past before they let you download their advanced reader copy (ARC). So if you generally leave a lot of good reviews, you’re probably more likely to get access to the ARCs you want.

I’ve noticed that if you leave good reviews on their past books, the publishers reward you for it by offering you review copies of their newest books. So while you technically don’t have to leave good reviews, you’ll get more opportunities in the future if you do. I imagine if you leave overwhelmingly bad reviews all the time, the publisher will stop letting you review their future books, which is understandable.

I feel like I’ve been giving more positive reviews to all books lately, not just ARCs. Maybe I’ve become less grumpy. I’m willing to give more writers the benefit of the doubt. After all, writing a book is a lot of work. If it doesn’t turn out being my cup of tea, that doesn’t mean it’s objectively bad. I can point out things I like as well as things I don’t while keeping the overall review positive.

I miss the old days when I would get printed ARCs sent to me in the mail. It feels more special to get a printed book rather than a digital file. Plus, if it’s a book that goes on to become hugely popular, the ARC is a great collector’s item. On the other hand, most books are average and aren’t worth holding on to, so not having a printed copy to get rid of is a plus. It’s probably more environmental too.

Anyway, if you like to review books, I’d recommend signing up for NetGalley. It can be disappointing when you think you’re one of the first people to review a book, only to discover it already has hundreds of reviews, but not all of the books are like this.