NetGalley Review: How Authors Can Use This Service to Get More Reviews

Whether you’re a self-published author or working with a major publisher, you know that getting book reviews is essential to your book’s success.

While there are many ways to get book reviews, you may want to consider adding a service like NetGalley to your book marketing toolbox so you can help eager readers find and review your book.

What Is NetGalley?

NetGalley is a hub that connects writers who want to get more reviews with readers who are eager to read new books. These readers can include bloggers, librarians, professional reviewers, and other members of the media.

NetGalley is free for readers, but authors and publishers must pay to have their books and ARCs (advanced reader copies) available on NetGalley for a limited amount of time.

Each reader is required to complete a detailed profile, which can help authors and publishers decide who they want to approve to read and review their books.

NetGalley even has a mobile app, NetGalley Shelf, where members can read books and listen to audiobooks, which makes it even easier for members to start reading and for authors to get reviews.

How Much Does NetGalley Cost?

While free for readers, NetGalley is certainly not cheap for authors and publishers, but it can really help you get more exposure and reviews for your books.

Here are your pricing options and the different features they include:

3-month Title Listing via IBPA: $249 per title

Spend less for a shorter listing.
Titles are available and active on the site for 3 months.
All members will have automatic approval to READ NOW.
You must be a member of IBPA to take advantage of this option. Membership starts at $139/year, and self-published authors can also join.

6-Month Title Listing via IBPA: $449 per title

Enjoy a discounted listing ($449 vs. the NetGalley direct listing price of $499).
Titles are available and active on the site for 6 months.
All members will have automatic approval to READ NOW.
You must be a member of IBPA to take advantage of this option.

6-Month Direct Listing with NetGalley: $499 per title

Titles are available and active on the site for 6 months.
You can view any requester’s profile and approve or deny requests.
NetGalley email support is included, but but not phone support.

Tips for Authors Using NetGalley

NetGalley is available to both publishers and self-published authors. If you’re only going to be listing a few books, you can pay a per-title listing fee. If you plan to list 8 or more books per year, you can purchase a subscription package.

If you’re ready to get started and list your book(s), you’ll need to first fill out this form, and someone from NetGalley will be in touch.

To make the most of your book’s time on NetGalley, here are some tips that will help you rake in more reviews.

1. Prepare your book for listing.

When it comes to listing your book on NetGalley, you should put the same amount of effort into its presentation as you would when listing on Amazon.

This means writing a kick-ass book description—one that hooks readers into your story for fiction, or one that explains your book’s benefits for nonfiction.

Equally important is your book’s cover. The age-old advice to “never judge a book by its cover” is a great metaphor for not judging people based on appearances, but it’s hardly realistic in the book world.

Readers on NetGalley are professionals. That means they’ll be scanning and making quick decisions about which book’s they’d like to download and write reviews for. Your cover has to grab their attention and show your target readers that this is a book they can’t pass up.

Here’s an example of what readers see when they click on a book’s listing:

Readers can view a brief description of your book and its release date. They can also immediately vote on your book’s first impression with a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” The votes are displayed publicly. (To get a better feel for what readers see on their end, you can sign up for a free reader account and explore the site.)

As for your book’s actual contents, make sure it has been thoroughly edited before uploading to NetGalley. Sure, most readers understand that ARCs might have a few typos or minor formatting issues, but anything more than that can seriously hurt your reviews.

Note that NetGalley allows authors and publishers to upload their books in 3 different formats: ePub, mobi, and PDF. (ePub is preferred.)

2. List your book early.

For readers, the novelty of a service like NetGalley is that it allows them to read upcoming releases in genres they love before the general public.

So while you can list your book on NetGalley at any time, it’s best to list your book before it’s officially released. Book review bloggers like to share new and upcoming releases with their audiences, not books that have been out for months.

Another advantage of listing early is that you can add quotes from reviews to your book’s listings on Amazon or other platforms.

The dedicated readers who write book reviews usually like to share their reviews with their followers, so your book can get a significant boost in pre-release buzz when you list early on NetGalley.

3. Consider your book’s genre and subject.

According to author Ben Cameron, genre fiction tends to get the most traction on NetGalley, making it a great resource for authors of romance, horror, thrillers, YA novels, etc.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that NetGalley can’t be helpful for nonfiction authors. With less competition, you could satisfy the demand of those readers who are looking for great nonfiction and pick up quality reviews.

The most important thing is that your book’s description is tailored to your target audience. NetGalley readers tend to read a lot of books, and often from the same few genres.

For example, if your target audience is thriller readers, your description needs to hook them with the promise of an exciting read.

4. Review the reports.

NetGalley provides some insightful reports based on the optional survey presented to readers when they request your book.

When asked what drew them to your book, readers are given the options of 1) the author, 2) the cover, 3) the description, or 4) “I keep hearing about this book!”

If you’re a relatively new or self-published author, chances are that more people will be drawn to your book based on the description or cover. Seeing the data can provide valuable feedback about what’s working and what could be better if one really outweighs the other.

Here’s an example from one of our own reports, for the book Our Trespasses:

NetGalley’s reports also include these cool “word clouds,” which summarize the most frequently used keywords in readers’ reviews.

5. Consider additional promotions.

If you sign up through IBPA, you can purchase special promotion packages, like a Category Spotlight feature or Featured Placement.

With a Category Spotlight, your book will be among the first readers see when they browse for books and audiobooks in their favorite genre for one week. This costs $150 per title (in addition to the base fee of $249 or $449).

With a Featured Placement, your book will be featured on NetGalley’s main “Find Titles” landing page for readers for one week. This costs $165 per title (in addition to the base fee of $249 or $499).

Alternatives to NetGalley

NetGalley isn’t the only site that offers readers a chance to read and review ARCs. Here are two alternatives that can also help you get more book reviews.

Edelweiss

Edelweiss offers a very similar service to NetGallery for both readers and publishers. However, many reviewers find NetGalley to be more user-friendly.

Edelweiss does have more titles from major publishers, but NetGalley is more accessible and user-friendly for self-published authors. You can learn more about how this platform works in our Edelweiss review.

BookSirens

BookSirens is another NetGalley alternative ideal for self-published authors. It’s free for authors to submit their books, and you’ll be charged a flat fee of $10 only if your book is accepted.

From there, you’ll pay $2 for every person who downloads your book, but don’t worry—you can set the limit. BookSirens also sends emails to readers reminding them to write their reviews for the books they’ve downloaded as the publication date gets closer. Learn more in our BookSirens review.

Is NetGalley Legit?

NetGalley is a legitimate service for both authors and book reviewers. Readers get to enjoy new books—for free—before they’re released to the general public.

Authors do have to pay a pretty penny compared to some other services, but they’ll get to send their ARCs to eager readers who will write those all-too-important unbiased reviews.

Overall, if you’re an author or publisher who wants to generate more pre-release buzz around your book through honest reviews, and if you have a decent-sized budget, NetGalley is definitely worth a try.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

Kaelyn Barron

As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.