ARC aurgh

ARCs are officially not for sale; it says so on their covers. In fact, libraries who receive them are honor-bound not to put them up for sale in their book sales or fundraising programs, etc. Of course, that doesn't stop people from selling them if they can. I guess I can see why someone would buy an ARC if the book hasn't come out yet and the pre-pub reviews and hype are so great that you just can't wait, but most ARCs aren't all that well made and not all the final changes have been made. On the other hand, I have read of instances of Dead Very Famous Author's ARCS being sold for big bucks because they are so fragile and so few are left.

I've got one. Badducky saw one of his on eBay and was so ticked off he bought it himself and built a contest around it. I suspect that the people who are buying it are hoping that it will appreciate in value if the author turns out to be a winner. But the sellers are being unethical - if they received a copy for review, they aren't obliged to review it, but they aren't supposed to send it out in the world.

Here's how I see it. ARC's are paperbacks. If sold, they'd be worth a buck a book in royalty. For a big book, there are at most a few hundred ARCS in circulation in the secondary market. The number is low because many if not most of the ARCS printed (for a big book) will end up with people who collect or save them.

When they get sold by collectors it generates buzz. If The Strand in New York has a copy of my ARC for $25, more power to them. I'll bet that ARC drives 2-3 royalty paying sales by merely existing. Someone sees it in the Strand, and they buy the regular book. Some collector buys it from the Strand, and he tells his friend, and they buy my book.

Now, if I got royalty on every one, what would I get? $300? $500? The advertising value of having them out there is worth more than that.

I'll give you another example from this forum. I've got an ARC of Pat Wood's book, Lottery. People see it and say, "Neat, can I borrow it?" I say, "No, those advance copies are sort of collector's items. I have a regular hardcover there." So the person gets the message it's sort of special, and it makes them want their own "legit" copy that much more.

Finally, we would not have timely reviews if ARCs did not exist. How else would a magazine review a new book and schedule the review for print, 2-3 months ahead. My book had a big spread in People, and that could only be set up months in advance. Without ARCs, it never would have happened. Or it would have happened months later.

Interesting thought, John. If nothing else, don't sweat the small stuff, eh? I hope I have the opportunity to actively use your wisdom...

Awwww. Autograph the front of it for her and tell her how much you appreciate her belief in you. Put a really, really nice dedication over that autograph and it will be worth every penny to her. Speaking as a momma.

A big "Aww" for your mother, and one for you for being diplomatic and gracious about it.

I would love to see my ARCs used for exactly what they are intended: promotional copies.

Give them away to friends if you don't want them. Dump them off at library/cafe take a book, leave a book.

If you are tasteless enough to sell them, please do so for a very low cost, and do not auction them to the highest bidder.

But, seriously, I bought a bunch of my ARCs off secondary markets, and I can point to three good reviews and one interview that resulted, and not just Janet's!

I'll probably continue to see used ARCs as another part of my marketing budget.

Lauri B said:

ARCs are officially not for sale; it says so on their covers. In fact, libraries who receive them are honor-bound not to put them up for sale in their book sales or fundraising programs, etc. Of course, that doesn't stop people from selling them if they can. I guess I can see why someone would buy an ARC if the book hasn't come out yet and the pre-pub reviews and hype are so great that you just can't wait, but most ARCs aren't all that well made and not all the final changes have been made. On the other hand, I have read of instances of Dead Very Famous Author's ARCS being sold for big bucks because they are so fragile and so few are left.

Click to expand...

Well, yes, they can be collectible - they're perhaps as collectible as the first printing of a book. There are fewer copies of an ARC available. but fewer people collect them. If it's the first book by a later-famous author, it's likely to be quite valuable.

It's certainly wrong to sell an ARC before the actual book is released, as it does take away the sale of a "real" new copy of the book that the author gets paid royalties for. But after the release, there's a legal thing used by used booksellers to argue for the legality of selling ARC's, "First Sale Doctrine." This article doesn't speciifically mention ARC's or other book pre-prints (such as "uncorrected Proofs"), but it makes for interesting reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
Once the book has been published, the ARC is supposedly fair game to be sold. Publishers of course don't like this, and due to their pressure, Amazon doesn't allow ARC's to be sold as used books, even if the ARC is a "collectible" of an out-of-print book from 40 years ago. Such selling of older ARC's after the book has run its course certainly does not take money out of the author's or publisher's pockets.

badducky said:

I would love to see my ARCs used for exactly what they are intended: promotional copies.

Give them away to friends if you don't want them. Dump them off at library/cafe take a book, leave a book.

If you are tasteless enough to sell them, please do so for a very low cost, and do not auction them to the highest bidder.

But, seriously, I bought a bunch of my ARCs off secondary markets, and I can point to three good reviews and one interview that resulted, and not just Janet's!

I'll probably continue to see used ARCs as another part of my marketing budget.

Click to expand...

So you're saying you buy up ARC's of your book you see for sale, and send them to legitimate reviewers (who don't alread have your ARC)?