Despite the fact that I created a NetGalley account back in 2011, I’m definitely what I call a baby blogger. I have tried book blogging before, and even dabbled at book vlogging for a while, but I never stuck with it. There’s a bunch of reasons for that, not least my chronic lack of commitment to long-term projects – but this isn’t a me blog, it’s a book blog, so.

If you don’t know, an ARC is an Advanced Reader’s Copy; literally a copy of an unpublished book that gets sent to libraries, literary magazines, and book bloggers before the official release date. The idea is that more readers are going to pre-order the book if they can read reviews of it – ARCs drive up hype, basically. And that’s important, because pre-orders contribute to release-week sales, which are what get a book on the bestseller lists. I’m not sure when the publishing industry realised it would be smart to start sending ARCs to ‘civilian readers’ running their own blogs, but they did, and now it’s pretty standard.

Not everybody gets ARCs, though. Although there are some conventions where reviewers and bloggers can physically pick up available ARCs – and some publishers will send un-asked-for ARCs to bloggers with especially big followings – typically, reviewers have to reach out and ask for them. And the most common way to do that is through NetGalley, a website where you post your credentials, whatever they may be, and request ARCs of books that take their fancy in much the same way you might send a bunch of friend requests on FB all at once.

And publishers will say no sometimes. I have no idea how often, but suffice to say, bloggers with larger followings, an established history of book reviewing, and, best of all, a high rate of leaving feedback/reviews of ARCs in the past are more likely to have their requests approved. Makes total sense.

My blog’s brand-new. I doubt I have a single subscriber yet. So, although I put in a bunch of requests over the weekend, I really wasn’t expecting any approvals. I just had fun going through the available ARCs (and noting down the titles of cool-sounding books I hadn’t heard of before!)

AND YET.

Today? I received FIVE digital ARCs!

*deep breath*

The gif about sums it up.

None of them are ‘major’ releases, but I don’t care. I’m ridiculously happy, feeling far more validated than I probably should be, and I’m super excited to pounce on my very first ARCs!