Edelweiss by Above the Treeline Review: How It Works and What Readers Should Know

For avid readers, book reviewers, and bloggers, nothing is more exciting than the arrival of a fresh, hot-off-the press advanced review copy (ARC).

These readers get the privilege of reading a new book for free before it’s available to the general public in exchange for their honest reviews, which can help publishers and authors spread awareness about their upcoming titles.

Edelweiss is one such tool that offers reviewers a chance to score exclusive ARCs and publishers the opportunity to showcase their catalogs. In this post, we’ll explain how Edelweiss works and why it might be an excellent resource for you.

What Is Edelweiss Above the Treeline?

Edelweiss Plus is a free resource where readers and reviewers can request ARCs—also known as digital review copies (DRCs)—and browse hundreds of publishers’ catalogs to see their upcoming titles.

The platform can be an excellent tool for publishers who would like to promote their upcoming titles and get early reviews, and for readers and reviewers who want access to free, advanced copies of new books from their favorite genres. (Publishers must pay a fee to feature their catalogues.)

Unfortunately, Edelweiss is not available to self-published authors, but only traditional presses. Still, there’s a lot they can do for even small and indie book publishers.

For Readers, Reviewers, and Booksellers

If you’re an avid reader or book reviewer who’s hungry for exciting new releases, Edelweiss can help you find advanced digital review copies of upcoming titles for free. And if you’re a bookseller, you can use Edelweiss to find hot new titles you’ll want to stock up on.

Here are some of the top features for readers, reviewers, and booksellers:

• Search the catalogs of all major publishers and receive customized alerts so you never miss a new title you’d love

• Access advanced digital, audio, and print copies of upcoming books (as made available by the publisher)

• Read on the device of your choice and easily manage your requests and downloads

• Send your reviews to Goodreads and other review sites

• Join communities of like-minded readers

• Collaborate with fellow readers to create lists of books (or make your own), upvote your favorites, start conversations, and share reviews

• Easily discover new books in your favorite genres, then pre-order them from your preferred retailers

• Learn more about your favorite authors through author interviews, panels, and virtual events

• Access reviews, plus sales and marketing details

• Easily communicate with publisher sales representatives and efficiently create orders (for booksellers)

• Request author events from publishers (for booksellers)

For Publishers

Edelweiss currently holds catalogs for over 240 publishers and 8,000 imprints. If you’re a publisher or bookseller, Edelweiss allows you to:

• Generate buzz and attract avid readers who are likely to write early reviews for your new releases within the largest social network for book professionals (over 165,000 members)

• Easily manage your catalogs and titles by uploading marketing details, author bios, videos, and more

• Create customized markups and collaborate with customers on orders

• Manage orders, DRCs, and author event requests

• Track views, shares, saves, reviews, downloads, and orders

• Use metrics to improve your sales and marketing effectiveness

How Do You Request a Book on Edelweiss?

For readers and book reviewers, requesting a book on Edelweiss is pretty straightforward, but it’s important to understand that you’re not guaranteed a DRC, you’re only requesting one.

To request a book on Edelweiss, start from your home page and click on Review Copies from the main panel.

You’ll then be taken to a page where you’ll see a list of featured titles, which are promoted by publishers and rotate on a weekly basis.

Below this, you’ll find a selection of books based on the genres you indicated interest in when you completed your profile. (For me, I chose nonfiction, political science, and mystery and thriller).

Click on a book’s title to see the book summary, author bios, key selling points, and more. On this screen you’ll also see a REQUEST button at the bottom right of the window..

This will take you to the request form, where you’ll be asked to provide a little more information about yourself, including the purpose for your request. If you’re a book reviewer or blogger, select “Reviewing.”

In order to complete your request, you’ll need to make sure your bio is complete with a little overview of what you do and why you’re interested in that particular book. You can easily update your bio from the request form by clicking the pencil icon in the upper right corner.

If your request is approved by the publisher (or if you select a title that is available for immediate download), you can download the DRC to read on the device of your choice. You will be notified of your approval or denial via email, but note that this can take up to one or two months.

There is a time limit for downloading your approved titles, and some publishers set a specific time limit for when they would like your review posted, which is usually included in your approval email.

Publishers can choose how long a title will be available on your device (30, 60, 90 days, or indefinitely). The clock starts when you download the book. If you don’t have time to review the book during that period, you can download it again to restart the clock, as long as it’s still active on Edelweiss.

How Much Does Edelweiss Cost?

Edelweiss membership is free for catalogue browsers. To browse catalogs and request review copies, all you need to do is create a free profile.

Publishers pay a fee to post their catalogs on Edelweiss, but pricing is not currently listed. Contact Edelweiss for a consultation if you’re a publisher interested in listing your catalog.

Edelweiss vs. NetGalley

NetGalley is another website where publishers can make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review.

Like with Edelweiss, publishers are most likely to approve requests from members who have a history of providing feedback for books they’ve accessed and who can demonstrate their influence as an early reviewer.

Unlike Edelweiss, NetGalley offers a package for independent authors, so they can control their requests and reviews instead of relying on a publisher. Edelweiss, instead, is aimed at publishers. Given this difference, we’ll focus our comparison on the reader and reviewer experience.

As far as readers and reviewers are concerned, it mostly comes down to a matter of preference regarding review style and the request process.

NetGalley Pros for Readers

Here are some of the pros of NetGalley when compared with Edelweiss:

+ Many readers and reviewers claim that NetGalley has a higher acceptance rate

+ Simplified request process: put any info in your bio that will appeal to publishers, then when you request a book, you’ll be asked to choose options from a menu describing why you’re attracted to the book (author, cover, description, or buzz).

+ NetGalley’s interface is pretty intuitive and user-friendly compared with Edelweiss, which takes some getting used to.

Edelweiss Pros for Readers

Depending on your preferences, Edelweiss might be a better option for you as a reader or reviewer because:

+ Edelweiss generally has a larger selection of books to choose from than NetGalley

+ You have the opportunity to customize your requests with more personal information about why you are a great candidate for a review, as opposed to selecting from a list of four options.

+ Edelweiss allows for more detailed reviews (on a scale of 1-10), plus more specific ratings for writing quality, intellectual depth, character development, etc.

Edelweiss vs. BookSirens

BookSirens is yet another site that allows readers to sign up and apply for DRCs of new fiction in exchange for honest reviews.

A key distinction between BookSirens and Edelweiss is that BookSirens is a tool available to authors, not just publishers. It allows authors to reach influential book reviewers via weekly emails and reader profiles if their book is approved for promotion (not all books are).

As far as the reader and reviewer experience, BookSirens functions much like Edelweiss and NetGalley in that readers must request and be approved to receive advanced copies. Also like the other two sites, readers with a strong track record of writing helpful reviews have better chances of approval.

Learn more about how BookSirens works for authors in our BookSirens review.

Edelweiss: A Valuable Resource for Publishers and Reviewers

Overall, Edelweiss can be a powerful resource for both publishers and reviewers. Publishers can use it as a tool to acquire honest, early reviews of their upcoming books, while readers and reviewers can use it to get access to new releases, find exciting material for their review blogs, and uncover more books they’ll love.

If you’re a reader looking for more excellent reads, be sure to sign up for TCK Publishing’s book deals newsletter to get discounted books delivered straight to your inbox for free.

Have you used Edelweiss? Share your experience in the comments below!

 

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

• BookSirens Review: More Bang for Your Buck
• How Self-Published Authors Can Get Professional Book Reviews
• How To Get Your Small Press Book Professionally Reviewed for Free
• How To Find and Work with Book Review Bloggers