Back in February I created a discussion post where I talked about the lessons I learned in the past 2 years of being a blog tour host. In it, I listed some of the tour organizers I’ve used in the past. But those are only a fraction of the groups out there and that didn’t even include groups that only provide review copies.
So I decided that I should create a comprehensive list of companies to help my fellow bloggers out. These are just some of the few I’ve stumbled upon over the years (and in most cases, I literally just stumbled on them by blog hopping or Googling). I’ve sorted them into Publishing House Catalogs, Review Opportunity Groups and Blog Tour Companies just to make it a little easier. I’ve also included some comments about my personal experiences with these companies.
**NOTE: There are no affiliate links on this page and these are in no way endorsed by the respective groups. My comments are based on my personal experiences and research. All the images link to the group’s homepage for you to bookmark or learn more about. Also, all of these distribute ARCs digitally. Some of these groups do provide physical ARCs but not all do. I didn’t include any programs/groups that focus exclusively on physical ARCs.
Publishing House Catalogs:
These are independent sites that publishing houses use to distribute eARCs to readers.
I have never tried Edelweiss (it seems really complicated!). I’ve had the best intentions to check it out but never seem to find the time.
Genres: All
Formats: ?
International Availability?: ?
Limited Copies Available?: Majority but some instantly available
Blog Required? ?
Deadline: ?
(If you have these details, leave a comment below and I will update this!)
I use NetGalley though I try to limit the number of titles I get on there for my own sanity. It really is a great source for digital eARCs and the interface is very easy to navigate. The keys to Netgalley success (ie not getting declined for requests) is to check Publisher Criteria (a lot need the reviewer to have X number of followers or limit international availability) before requesting and to update your Profile on a regular basis. Also, keeping your review ratio high by completing your reviews is a HUGE aspect. Even if you didn’t finish or like the book, submit your review!
Genres: All
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub, PDF)
International Availability?: Yes though there are clearly label restrictions
Limited Copies Available?: Majority but some instantly available
Blog Required? Not Required
Deadline: Publishing Date or Archive Date set by publisher
>> Examples: titles I’ve read via Netgalley.
>> Check out this super helpful How-To: NetGalley and Edelweiss for Newbies post from The Book Bratz to learn how you can get started with these two sites.
I don’t have anything to say about First to Read because it is only open to residents of the United States (and I live in Canada). But it’s an ARC system for Penguin Random House. It looks like they add books at least once a month and members are emailed when new titles are available.
Genres: All
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub, PDF)
International Availability?: United States Only
Limited Copies Available?: Yes (first come first serve / draw)
Blog Required? No
Deadline: ?
***Don’t forget that you can often sign up for email review notifications for your favourite publishers and/or authors as well! Check out their website (or even Twitter) to see if they have a review newsletter you can join. They often include sign-ups for ARC and Street Team recruitment a couple times a year.***
Review Opportunity Groups:
These are groups that offer ARCs/review copies of titles for the express purpose of having reviews on book-based sites. Usually it’s authors or smaller publishing houses that provide the copies with the intention of having the reviews posted by a certain date.
~ Review 4 Me ~
The New Adult Book Club is a group on Goodreads that focuses on the New Adult (NA) Genre as a whole (contemporary, fantasy, etc). They have this great Read It and Review It (RiRi) program for its members. Each week, they have a limited number of copies for 2-3 NA titles and give you a deadline of 3 weeks to post the review on Goodreads (& sometimes Amazon). They also do monthly RiRi titles as well where you have until the end of the month to read the featured title (and, usually, be entered for a giveaway).
Genres: New Adult (all subgenres)
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub, PDF) (some are sent directly to Kindle only)
International Availability?: Yes
Limited Copies Available?: Yes (some exceptions)
Blog Required? No – Goodreads Account (Occasionally Amazon)
Deadline: 3 Weeks
>> Examples: titles I’ve read via the RiRi Program
Hidden Gems Books is a great site I only just discovered in the last year. They have ARCs for nearly every genre (romance, cookbooks, horror, etc) and you can pick and choose what genres you get notified about via email. Again, they have a limited number of copies and you have to sign up within 48 hours of the notification to be considered. They also have this great dashboard feature that helps you keep track of all the titles from them you have on the go and what are still available for request.
Genres: All
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub, PDF)
International Availability?: No
Limited Copies Available?: Yes
Blog Required? No – Amazon Account Only
Deadline: 7 – 14 Days (clearly specified when signing up)
>> Examples: titles I’ve read via Hidden Gems
LibraryThing is a site I’ve only just discovered this year. They have an Early Reviewers program with select publishers for its members (which is free to join). Every month they release a batch of books (with limited quantities) for review. Your odds as getting the title you’ve requested is a mixture of chance, availability, number of reviews on LibraryThing (which you can boost by importing your Goodreads ones) and other factors. They have a variety of genres available and a variety of format options (audiobooks, eBooks or paper books). Availability varies by country but it is clearly indicated in the title information and they have great sorting options so you can see only titles for your location. Reviews are expected to be posted within 90 days pending the arrival of the book. They have a great FAQ section to help you understand everything as well.
Genres: All
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub, PDF), physical, audiobooks
International Availability?: Yes though there are clearly label restrictions
Limited Copies Available?: Yes
Blog Required? No – LibraryThings Account
Deadline: 90 Days after receipt of copy
>> Examples: titles I’ve read via LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Audiobook Boom is a review program for audiobooks (they also send out audiobook deals as well). Once a week (on Tuesdays), you receive an email about new audiobooks available for review from the genres you have pre-selected. In their emails, they tell you about content warnings (like violence, sex and language), length of the title and even provide you a link to listen to a sample. You then have 30 days to post a review on Audible, Amazon and/or GoodReads.
Genres: All
Formats: audiobooks (usually Audible versions)
International Availability?: Not specified
Limited Copies Available?: Yes
Blog Required? No – Audible and/or Goodreads Account
Deadline: 30 Days
>> Examples: titles I’ve read via Audiobook Boom
Booksprout has two main features that will appeal to readers. One is an app for your phone to follow your favourite authors and be notified of new release and/or book sales. Their website however has an ARC catalogue that you can browse (no email alerts for new additions so you have to check regularly yourself). You can’t sort by genres so you will find yourself scrolling through page after page. BUT, if you do end up requesting multiple copies at a time, they have great sorting features for books you’ve “promised” to review, ones that are due soon, DNF’d and completed reviews. Before you request the book for review, they give you the details of when and where to post the review (some authors only want it on Booksprout, others want it on Amazon as well) as well as note from the author about their book (or what type of reviews they are looking for like beta reviews).
Genres: All
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub or PDF)
International Availability?: Yes
Limited Copies Available?: Unsure
Blog Required? No – Booksprout and Amazon or others specified
Deadline: Usually two weeks or whatever is specified
Book Review Buzz has books of all genres available for request. Some of their titles are listed on Netgalley while others are just files sent to you. I’ve never used the site but I subscribe to their weekly newsletter (which also includes a list of eBooks on sale as well so read carefully!). I couldn’t find any information about the timeframe for your review but they want you to review on Amazon and Goodreads for the most part.
Genres: All
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub, PDF) (some via NetGalley)
International Availability?: Yes
Limited Copies Available?: Unsure
Blog Required? No – Amazon or Goodreads
Deadline: Unsure
Review 4 Me is a review request website where authors post their books for review. The copies provided are in eBook format and in a variety of genres. I don’t know how long you have to review the titles but they do have a mailing list you can subscribe to when copies become available.
Genres: All
Formats: digital eBooks (mobi, ePub, PDF)
International Availability?: Yes
Limited Copies Available?: Unsure
Blog Required? No
Deadline: Unsure
Solid Gold Reviewer Program is an audiobook review program hosted at Audiobook Jukebox. They have a catalog of a variety of audiobook genres (minus erotica) that you can request titles from. They will then contact the publisher/author on your behalf. There are some international restrictions but they are clearly listed as such in the postings. Reviews need to be posted within 3 months of receiving the title and there are a few other basic guidelines to follow. They don’t have an email subscription list so you will need to check this on a regular basis and they don’t follow up with you if your request has been denied.
Genres: All (except erotica)
Formats: audiobooks
International Availability?: Yes though there are clearly label restrictions
Limited Copies Available?: Yes
Blog Required? No – GoodReads or LibraryThing otherwise
Deadline: Publishing Date or Archive Date set by publisher
Blog Tour Groups:
These are groups/companies that organize blog tours for publishers and/or authors. In addition to organizing blog tours, they also host promotional opportunities (like Blitz and Cover Reveals) and some also provide review opportunities year round.
Companies I Have Experience With:
I’ve had great experiences with all these companies in the past. Some of these groups have their own little niches. For example, YA Bound Book Tours and Chapter by Chapter mostly do Young Adult titles; Audiobookworm does audiobook tours/review opportunities. A few of these provide copies via Netgalley which can count towards your feedback ratio.
>> Examples: past blog tours I’ve hosted
Note: Some of these groups look at your blog statics (like Rock Star Book Tours) to determine who can be a host for a particular title. Signing up for a tour doesn’t mean you will automatically be accepted so just be aware of the requirements for each company (they usually ask any time you sign up for a tour or when you first subscribe to their email alerts).
Other Companies:
I didn’t even know some of these companies existed until I did a Google search for blog tours while compiling this post. A lot of them have some great opportunities so be sure to check them out! I know I’ve signed up for a few 😉
Why Request a Review Copy or Join a Blog Tour?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of joining blog tours and review opportunities has been discovering new authors and titles that I might not have otherwise seen. There are so many books out there and sometimes it can be hard to find them. And now with the growing popularity of self-publishing, there are a lot of amazing titles just waiting to be discovered. I’ve also been very fortunate to have some great networking opportunities with publishers and authors arise from doing blog tours as well. All and all, I see blog tours as a win-win for everyone involved and I plan on continuing to do them in the future.
>> Always remember to disclose the fact that you received a copy in exchange for an honest review! For more information, check out this great post about FTC compliance by Briana @ Pages Unbound
Did I miss any groups or companies? Leave me a comment below and I will add them to the lists!
PS: If you can fill in any of the blanks on the review opportunity groups, please leave a comment and I will fill the information in for others to see!
Thanks for linking to my FTC compliance post! I’m glad you found it useful!
Briana @ Pages Unbound recently posted…Dance of Thieves’ Disturbing Lack of Moral Questioning