Edelweiss Plus Tutorial & Tips

Earlier last year, I wrote a blog post, detailing steps on using Edelweiss, a site on which you can request digital galleys from publishers. Edelweiss has since then transformed into a whole new site, upgrading into Edelweiss Plus. I took it upon myself to write another tutorial on how to use the new and upgraded version of Edelweiss. I hope this helps!

If you’re interested in checking out my old Edelweiss tutorial, check out this link here.

Here’s a tutorial on how to use this baby.

1. Head onto the site here, and make an account. I would suggest registering using your blog-oriented email, just so you can separate your work/school/personal/blog stuff. But that’s just me.

2. Once you register for your account, click on your name on the top right, and edit the profile to represent yourself most accurately for publicity people to see. I tell them I’m a blogger at my own site, and in the “Profile” box, I write down what I would usually write in an email to request physical ARCs. If you want to see how I do that, check out this link! I write down my stats, where I post my reviews, how I write reviews, etc.

3. Then, I would suggest creating a filter to take out all the titles you probably won’t be interested in. I do that under the “Apply Saved Filter” button. I already have one that I named “Review Copy Filter” and I made it that I only see titles that are available for request and are in the Young Adult spectrum. Note: When you want to see what titles are approved to you, you have to clear your filter. It took me the longest time to figure that out.

4. Once you find a title you want to request, be sure to send your request in! It might take a while for you to be accepted, but in my experiences, Harper is pretty good at accepting requests, Simon and HMH accept selectively (some of my requests have been approved and some have been denied), and Sourcebooks doesn’t like me. If you have any of your own information about the acceptance rate of other pubs that I haven’t named, feel free to comment below!

Honestly, that’s about it! Now that I’ve explored a bit, I find it to be a lot neater and easier to use. Happy reading, everyone!

Tips!

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 (this may have changed) 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, that’s okay as well! Next time, try to make your profile 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! Let me know if you have some of your own tips!