Dani talks…..ARC’s….

Something terrible showed it’s face this week. I am appalled by it, and to be honest I was in shock when I first read the messages on Facebook.

Some person spread word that it was okay to sell the ARC’s she received, and just as bad or perhaps even worse, there were people who agreed with her! And they said it was okay!  WTF!

*takes a minute to control anger*

How in the world can it be okay to share something that is not yours? Let alone sell it? Who do you think you are to do this, to mention it, to be proud of it and bragging, or to agree with it happening? Do you have any idea what you are responsible for? That people have to live off the sales of those books? That you are sharing/selling something that is not yours to sell/share?

Do you have any f*cking idea what signal you are giving off? What your actions do to us bloggers who do an honorable job here out of love? Those of us who are so careful and strict in rules when we are so lucky to receive an ARC from an author/publisher?

Do you know that even my reviewers don’t get the ARC’s I receive? That each one we receive is only for the one reviewer who is going to review the book, and they are the only one who gets the ARC?  That my reviewers aren’t even allowed to share that ARC with each other within our ranks?

I vouch for all of them, and I guarantee to the authors/publishers that the ARCs we receive are protected and used only for review purposes. 

There isn’t more that I can do.

We at Love Bytes are proud of the relationship we have with authors and publishers. We try to do what we do with love and honor.

We thank all of you for sharing your work with us and for your trust.

love Dani

 

 

 

12 Responses

  1. JP Bowie
    JP Bowie at |

    Thanks for your input. most of us are appalled by this latest news. Pirates are bad enough but now readers are joining the ranks of the thieves? How sad.

    Reply
  2. Sadonna
    Sadonna at |

    I don’t get it. Years ago I got a beautiful ARC from Maggie Stiefvater. This was before she was the huge YA star she is today. And would you believe someone on goodreads messaged me and wanted to buy it? And they were pissed off that I wouldn’t sell it to them. Um, NOOOOOO! She trusted me with that book. She signed it to me. There was NO WAY IN HELL I was parting with that book! Dang, what is wrong with people?? Like Sebastian Maniscalco says, “Why would you do that?”

    Reply
  3. Kat
    Kat at |

    It was awesome to see the pushback against this person on FB. I always feel so honored to have received an ARC and never would have thought about giving it to someone, let alone sell it. Goes to show we don’t all have the same moral/ethical mindfulness that we should.

    Reply
  4. Nessa
    Nessa at |

    Those people are totally appalling! I don’t even understand how they could even think about selling an author’s work. I receive ARCs from time to time, and believe me when I say that I’m very grateful for the opportunity to read and review an author’s story, and I do review everything that I read, even though my little reviews hardly do a book justice, but I do try. I don’t even download the book unless I’m sure that I have the time to read and review it. I think it’s horrible of people to even think of doing such a wretched thing as sell an author’s work. It’s just beyond wrong. It frustrates me to know that nobody set those idiots straight. Thanks for the post. I definitely understand the seriousness of this issue. 🌹

    Reply
  5. lisa
    lisa at |

    Some people simply have no moral compass at all. I can’t even imagine sharing (let alone selling) an ARC that an author has trusted into my care. How shameful.

    Reply
  6. lanehayes
    lanehayes at |

    Well said, Dani. Thank you for taking the time to address this. Selling ARCs is wrong. Period end of sentence. There is no way to justify making money from something you have zero rights to. I’m shocked anyone thinks otherwise.

    Reply
  7. 16forward
    16forward at |

    Just one more reason I’m so glad I avoid Facebook! I’m too busy reading the ARC’s I receive and writing reviews for each one…posting them on Goodreads and Amazon and sending each author what I’ve written. I’m lucky enough to be a beta reader for another author. I feel honored each time an author trusts me with their work. Since I read at least 10 books a week, and purchase as many of those as possible, I don’t what is going on with some adult’s ‘moral compass’ these days, but I hope these people look into the mirror, really soon, and see what their words and actions are doing to themselves and those who share the same planet!

    Reply
  8. Andrea M
    Andrea M at |

    A book is a book. It makes no difference whether it’s an ARC or purchased. It represents hard work by the author and if they choose to bestow it, that’s fine. Anyone else, no.

    Reply
  9. H.B.
    H.B. at |

    Wow, I didn’t know this was a thing. It’s so wrong on so many levels it’s not even funny as a joke (which this is not). Author’s work hard on their stories and to think that selling ARC’s or telling others it’s okay to steal someone’s work and profit from it makes those people thieves. Plagiarism is bad enough but to outright steal another person’s book and try to profit from it makes those individuals criminals and I hope the author can take legal action against them. I receive ARC’s all the time and appreciate. It’s a barter system between reader and writer so in a way it is a terms of service written and agreed upon by both parties. The reviews act as dollar bills instead of actual cash whereas the ARC’s are the product being sold even if it may not be perfect.

    To steal an ARC and try to profit from it is like being invited to stay at a friend’s house for a day or two. Then after two days telling your friend they can’t help the room back because you’ve moved in and decided you’re going to rent the room out because your friend invited you to stay for a couple of days. Does it make sense? Heck, no and it’ll probably leave a nasty taste in your mouth too. So for those thieves please think about your actions and try to be better human beings.

    Reply
  10. Liza Roach
    Liza Roach at |

    When I saw this starting to break on my FB feed, I was in shock. Selling ARC’s? Why would anyone think they had the right to do this? Thank you for your words, Dani.

    Reply
  11. Felinewyvern
    Felinewyvern at |

    I totally agree that this is an abhorrent act that gives reviewers a bad reputation.
    As a freelance reviewer I have to be so diligent about both receiving and reviewing books so that I don’t inadvertently do something to harm the author’s income. After all they have worked so hard to give us readers stories to entertain us that it’s the least I can do not to break the cardinal rule of keeping an ARC to myself.

    Reply
  12. SJ Himes
    SJ Himes at |

    Thank you for being so amazing and a pillar of this community.

    Reply

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