ARC Giveaway & Blogfest News

Interrupting your regular scheduled programing...

Just a quick note to our YAtopia followers, I wanted to share that I'm holding a contest over on my personal blog!

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.



HUSHED isn't out until December, but I have an ARC to give away on my blog. (Plus, you get an extra entry for being a follower of YAtopia... ;) )

This contest is only open for a few more days, so hurry over!


ALSO, keep an eye out for the beginning of October! I'll be posting the sign-up and rules for the upcoming DARK YA BLOGFEST. This blogfest is going to be all kinds of awesome. You'll have all of October to sign up, and the blogfest itself will be held in November.

ARCs and how to get them

ARC = Advanced Readers Copy. A copy of a book that isn't finished and still might change, but is produced to start creating a buzz and get the book's name out there in terms of reviews. Reading an ARC means you get to read a book before anyone else, which can be especially exciting if you have already heard good things about said book.

I review a lot of ARCs over at my blog and I get asked from a lot of readers how I managed to get said ARCs. My answer: hard work. It wasn't easy, and I don't want to come across like I have the most successful blog in the world, because I don't. There's still a lot for me to learn and a lot more I have left to give. But I can give advice on how to start!

- Firstly, your blog needs content. It seems like a really easy point and more like a 'duh' point too, but editors and authors are going to go over to your blog and if you're sporadically posting or you have like two posts with no comments, they're going to be less likely to spend money on sending you a book when they could give it to someone else where the review would be better received.

- Secondly, build up your followers. You might have a blog with loads of great insightful posts and reviews, but only 10 followers. When an editor/author is looking at your blog, they're going to want to see that sending a book to you will be doing them a favour too. And by that it means you help to create a buzz and get the book out there. Which you can't do without any followers to read your review. Building up followers is harder, but once you have a fair few (and I'm thinking in the 100 range), you'll be more likely to receive ARCs.

-Review other books. All the books you read? Review them. And review them properly. Don't fill your reviews with slang and bad grammar. Keep it professional. DO NOT personally attack the author in your reviews either. Feel free to mention anything you didn't like, but don't go overboard and start swearing and generally becoming a disgrace. Believe me, you won't score ARCs that way. An author isn't going to purposely want to be your next target and is definitely not going to send you a book to abuse.

- Sign up to contests giving away ARCs. One you start to review a few, even if it's only a couple, that's still a step closer to becoming the kind of blogger publishing houses like to send books to. You can sign up to book tours (Around the World tours is good for US only book tours and Good Golly Miss Holly does some great worldwide tours) which offer a lot of ARCs and the only cost to you will be postage to send the book on. Follow authors on twitter and their blog because they often hold contests where you can win a copy of their book before it releases!

- Go to book conferences. Especially places like ALA and BEA, which - if you know how

to work your way around the stands - offer lots of goodies including ARCs! This can also help you gain followers (see point two) because once you've read the ARC and it's yours, you can give it away in a contest. Contests always attract followers.

- Sign up to places like Netgalley. That is my absolute favourite place for eARCs (electronic versions) and you can get quite a few great reads there. You request books that you want and then the publishing house will either accept or reject your request based on your Netgalley profile. You'll need to include your blog link there in order to increase your chances of getting accepted. Some books have an automatic accept on them, so anyone can request and read.

- Sign up to Simon and Shuster's Galley Grab. They send out a monthly newsletter with a link to books coming out soon and their electronic ARC download. Again, you will have to be accepted first. But if you've followed the above steps, by this time you hopefully will be.

- Politely email publishers and authors and request ARCs that way. Please, please, please be polite and dignified. If you don't receive an answer, wait a few months and try again. Chances are these people are probably pretty busy and you're not the only one to request an ARC. Usually, publishers will prefer to send to those in their country - cut down on shipping costs. But I have a few publishers who don't mind sending internationally because we've built up a relationship already.

That's mainly it for now. I hope this was helpful in the case anyone wanted to know. Good luck on your ARC hunt!

Chanelle xx

Tuesday Twaddle - Baby Steps

The emotional roller coaster that is getting a book published never ceases to amaze me.  I got my box of ARCs last week and I was so excited that I practically assaulted the poor UPS man, and I dare say he'll think twice about delivering items to the girl who meets him at the door with a giant smile and an iPhone recording his arrival.  I saw the look of sheer terror in his eye and he turned to flee, poor fella, how could he have know that box he carried so leisurely contained my precious babies.

Yes, I ripped open the box and delighted in the arrival of my book. Yes!! MY BOOK!!!

It was with great trepidation that I sent my babies off into the world to shuffle their first awkward steps towards their dreams... my dreams.  But shuffle they did, and they found their way into the hands of some amazing people.  Now the reviews are starting to come in.  I've been sitting biting my nails at my laptop, waiting to pounce on any morsel of feedback.  I'm both terrified and excited to hear what people have to say.  It's like going to your child's first parent / teacher conference.  You're gasping to hear that your child is well rounded, pleasant, outgoing, and shows all the signs of being a prodigy.  But then, your sort of expecting hear, she's a dear child, but really, she could try harder.

Aghhhh! The reviews are starting to trickle in, and the signs are good... VERY good.  Watch this space!

Oh and while I'm on, I've posted my author tracker in the side bar.  I'd love if you could sign up for it.  If you do you'll be one of the first to hear all the exciting news and info on competitions or events. So go for it!!

Until next time.

Leigh