Could Rise In Sale Of Advanced Reading Copies Change The Literature Market?

When I recently saw reports that advanced copies of books by famed writers, including Sally Rooney, have been selling online for high prices before the novel is release.

Advanced copies are what bloggers and book reviewers like me receive so that we can write reviews that come out before or at the same time as a book is released.

When you receive an advance copy, you’ll usually see a notice on the outside, and often on the inside too, which states that the advanced copy is not for sale and only for reviewing purposes. However, many disreputable bloggers are now selling their advanced copies for big bucks and publishers are pretty powerless to stop them.

In the past, it’s been overlooked if advanced copies get given to charity shops long after the book is released. That’s because it’s hard to police and, frankly, it isn’t making reviewers any profits. It’s simply a way for book reviewers to declutter their lives long after the review is published. However, actually making money from advanced copies has always been a no-no, and frankly, I’d not heard of many cases of it happening in the past.

Now, it’s clear that the issue is getting worse. Bloggers are profiting from advanced copies and giving decent, genuine book reviewers a bad name. With the rise of online blogging and social media influencers, even more book publishers and promoters are facing problems as they are having to give out more advanced copies to entice reviewers. As more advanced copies, either electronic or physical, are offered to bloggers, there becomes a great risk that some of them will be distributed for profit prior to the release of the novel.

Frankly, I think it’s utterly disgusting that some book bloggers are trying to profit from advanced copies of books, to the detriment of authors. Writers were already hard hit, both by the COVID-19 pandemic and other industry changes. They need the support of book bloggers and reviewers, rather than the theft of their intellectual property for profit.

As a book reviewer myself, I work hard to provide constructive reviews for the benefit of authors, as well as my readers. So, I think it’s dreadful to use advanced copies for anything other than to read and review. While it does make me happy to get a copy of books, particularly ones I’m excited for, ahead of time, I think it’s definitely a privilege that needs to be respected. Bloggers who sell advanced copies are giving the industry a bad name and are, for the most part, in the minority.

Looking to the future, I think that this mass selling of advanced copies of books by influential writers will lead to publishers changing the way they distribute books to bloggers. I think that it’ll become more common for advanced copies to be sent electronically, which is already the case, but more convenience than for tracking purposes.

Moving forward, I think that book publishers and promoters will start tracking advance copies and where they end up. I also believe that they will start to be more discerning about who they give advanced copies to. That might mean a change for online bloggers, who might have to prove their metal before they receive advanced copies. All these developments will take time, but they could make the book reviewing and promoting markets better in the long run.

So, at the end of the day, I think that this development in the literary market could help to make the book reviewing space better going forward. It’s a real shame that some greedy individuals are trying to profit from advanced copies, but in the future, hopefully, it’ll be easier for genuine book reviewers to get hold of them and support authors and their readers.