What is an advance reader copy (ARC), and why does a translation need one?

An advance reader copy, or ARC, is a version of the book sent to selected readers before it reaches the stores. The goal is simple: that on launch day there are already reviews, recommendations and some buzz around the book. For a translated book, which arrives in a language where nobody knows you yet, it's one of the most useful tools there is.

What an advance reader copy is

Publishers have been sending advance copies for decades. According to NetGalley's FAQ, a service that connects publishers with professional readers, such copies go out "to selected readers at the publisher's discretion." You'll also hear the names galley or uncorrected proof, and they mean the same thing.

Today most advance copies are digital. NetGalley calls them DRCs, digital review copies. An audiobook has its own version: the ALC, advance listener copy.

Who gets them? Mostly reviewers, librarians, booksellers, journalists and bloggers. But an independent author can send an advance copy to any reader they like.

How final the copy has to be

Not completely final, but close. NetGalley writes that "details in the book may change between the advance copy stage and the final book," such as punctuation, wording or the cover. They add that you shouldn't expect big changes to the plot or the characters.

In other words: send an advance copy only after the big editing is done. A reader who falls in love with a certain ending and then finds it changed won't like it.

It's worth stating on the first page that this is an advance copy that hasn't had its final proofread. That way a typo won't become the subject of a review.

What you may ask readers for

Here you need to be careful, because Amazon has clear rules. According to KDP (Amazon's self-publishing platform) and its help page on reviews, you may give free or discounted copies, "as long as you don't require a review in exchange or try to influence the review."

And one more sentence from the same page: offering anything other than a free or discounted copy, "including gift cards," disqualifies the review.

In practice that means:

• You can send a copy and write "I'd love to hear what you thought, and if you'd like to write a review, it would help a lot."
• You can't write "I'll send you the book if you promise a five-star review."
• You can't add a gift, a discount on another book or an entry into a giveaway.

NetGalley recommends that readers mention in their review that they received the book for free. It's not just fair, it also protects you.

Why this matters especially for a translated book

In the original language you may have readers, family, friends, an audience. In the new language you have nothing. A book with no reviews at all looks to a buyer like a book nobody has read.

An advance copy solves two problems at once:

1. Reviews from day one. Ten readers who got a copy a month before launch can write about it the moment it's in the store. We wrote more about this side in how to get reviews in a new language.
2. A last check of the translation. Native readers will notice a sentence that sounds odd, a name written two different ways, a joke that didn't make it across. You can't always read the translation yourself, and they can.

If you explicitly ask them to flag sentences that sound unnatural, you get another layer of checking, for free. It doesn't replace a professional proofreader, but it does catch things. On the proofreader we wrote in do I need a native proofreader.

How to find readers for an advance copy

A few directions, from easy to hard:

• Readers you already have who also read in the new language. Friends abroad, relatives, newsletter readers.
• Reader groups on social media that focus on your genre in the new language.
• Bloggers and reviewers who write about translated books or about your genre.
• Professional services like NetGalley, which publishers use to reach professional readers.

When to send

Usually a few weeks before launch. Enough time for them to get through it, and not so early that they forget. If you've opened a preorder for the book, the advance copy fits well with it, as we explained in preorders for a translated book.