Edelweiss, E-Galleys, ARCs, oh my! | Tutorial & Tips for Using Edelweiss

Edelweiss is most definitely one of my favorite e-galley sites from which to request titles. In fact, I reviewed some of my very first eARCS from this site, and I’ve come to love it so much! I know many bloggers don’t like it and get confused; I agree, it’s hard to find things you need if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

I didn’t start really using Edelweiss until a few months ago because I had never heard of it, and I had absolutely no idea how to use it. Lucky for you, I decided (with some decision-making help from friends on Twitter) to write up some tips / basic tutorials on how to tackle this baby.

 

Here’s a sort-of-quick tutorial as to how I request titles:

1. Here’s your home page. It’s pretty confusing-looking, isn’t it? Fear not.

2. Head over to the “Review Copies” tab towards the top. This is where you’ll see all the review copies that you potentially could request and download.

3. This is optional, but since I generally read Young Adult books, I always filter my results on the left hand sidebar by Age: Young Adult. You can definitely filter it more, by publisher, publication date, etc. Totally up to you!

4. So you’ve found a title you’d like to request, huh? Hit that blue “Request Digital RC” button. Sometimes it’s green, which means that you can automatically download it.

5. So this is where you’re going to tell the publisher why you want to read their book. In the first box, introduce yourself briefly! Tell them your name, your blog / url, stats, etc. In the second box, you can tell the them why you want to read it. Are you participating in a blog tour for this book? Are you a huge fan of the author’s previous works? Tell them!

6. If the publisher approves you for the title, YAY!!!! This is how you download it: Under the “Review Copies” tab, you can find all the titles you have requested. There will be a list of titles you’ve been approved for. Click the title of the book you’ve requested and been approved for.

Note: Don’t forget to add to your Amazon Kindle email list the Edelweiss email so that the files can be sent to your Kindle/Cloud. If you don’t, the titles won’t be sent to your device! If you don’t have it, here is the email: kindle@abovethetreeline.com

7. Click the green “Download Review Copy”! In a few moments, you’ll get an email from Amazon saying that the title has been sent to your Cloud.

8. When you’ve read the title, make sure you leave a review! Go back to the previous screen or the book’s page. Click on the “Your Review” option.

9. You should see the below screen. Fill out your rating, the box for your review, and click “Submit to Publisher.” You can also submit to IndieNext if you want. Don’t forget to save!

So that’s the basis of Edelweiss. If you have any questions, feel free to comment or reach out to me on twitter: @arcticbookss!

So you know how to request and potentially be approved for titles. Here are some tips I’ve accumulated:

1. Make sure you ONLY request galleys you really want to read. If you do request a title, please try to read and review it! Sometimes you get busy and that’s okay but really try not to stress yourself out with reviewing galleys.
2. Some publishers don’t use Edelweiss. Those publishers don’t (to my knowledge) approve requests, but they do use other systems, such as Netgalley or their own e-galley system; I know Penguin doesn’t use Edelweiss and instead uses their First To Read program, which is sort of difficult to get approved for because they do a first-request-first-serve sort of thing.
3. Be patient! Publishing agents are busy. If they don’t approve right away, it’s okay. Try again in a few weeks, and perhaps add more information in your two boxes.
4. If you don’t get approved for a title (I know a few publishers don’t like me), that’s okay as well! Next time, try to make your autobiography (the first box) better (as in keep growing your blog!) or request fewer titles (excessive requests can deter some publishers from approving you).
5. When you submit your review for a galley, I recommend emailing the publisher’s Children’s publicity agent the review as well. You can find the publicity agent’s email on the publisher’s website.

That’s all I have to share! If you have any requests for tutorials, more tips regarding ARCs/blogging, please let me know! I’d be happy to share what I know!

Did these tips help you in your Edelweiss journey? What tips do you have for using this system? Do you have any other suggestions for tutorials/tips you want me to blog about?