.

ARC / Advanced Reader Copy
Pronounced like Ark. Also known as Advance Review Copy: free copy of a book given by a publisher to media, librarians, or other readers in advance of official publication. This is a promotional item that should never be sold by the author & co or by whomever received it. Passing it along/gifting is ok. Doing a giveaway is ok too. Sales of ARCs do not contribute to the sales history of an author. Those who receive an ARC should be a mixture of folks and not just fans of the author to receive a balance of unbiased reviews. It is intended to build hype, garner initial reviews, test the market. ARCs can come in different levels of editing/development, and can be a whole manuscript or a portion. It usually does not have a barcode and will have warning not to sell and not to quote directly (text might change before publication), and possibly a release date, genre description, possible price point, note from the author, agent, or publisher. It's usually made of lesser quality paper, and possibly either have a placeholder cover, a mockup, or a cover that might change before publication. Graphic novels and manga ARCs might be all or mostly black and white with the color added at publication.

ARE / Advanced Reader's Edition
An advance reading copy, advance review copy, advance reader's edition, advance copy, or a reader's edition (ARC or ARE) is a free copy of a new book given by a publisher to booksellers, librarians, journalists, celebrities, or others, or as a contest or school prize, before the book is printed for mass distribution. (ARC is the more common term, even if it literally says Advanced Reader's Edition on the book cover)

.

Proof / Proof Copy
The proof copy is a last minute check for errors before the final published work is sent into the distribution system. Its a test printing of your book. This is to make sure that what you see on your computer is what actually prints out. That margins, spaces, colors, sizes, proportions, orientation, etc are correct.

.

[Bethany Atazadeh]

.

[Writing with Jenna Moreci]

.

[Self-Publishing with Dale]

.

.

Extra info and examples:

.

.

[Natalia Leigh]

.

[Margaret Adelle]

.

.

If you wanna receive FREE ARCs to review....
Check out the Goodreads giveaway area.

(Physical books are usually for the USA, occasionally Canada, but they also do digital copy giveaways.)

.

.

.
Please, please, if you receive an ARC...
leave an honest review for the book.
Everyone gets busy, so just leave the review when you can.

(Make sure you mention what you read is an ARC, and if you're gonna quote the book, contact the folks on the back of the book or look at a final copy to make sure the content hasn't changed from when the ARC was printed.)

If you love the book...
please take pictures and post
about it on your social media,
and copy your review
and post it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

It sounds too simple or dumb,
but it helps writers a lot.

Many folks do not read a book unless it has reviews.
Even negative reviews sell books.

.

.