So I talk about ARC.

Bookish Verbosity is a non-regular feature at AEROPAPERS where I talk about topics that are related to books, blogging and the community.

I’m hypocrite if I say I don’t like receiving ARC. I love receiving ARCs. It’s part of why I like this whole blogging shindig. It’s free books. No matter how we sugar coat things up, it’s still a free book. But there’s so many fuss around ARCs; one that either bloats the heart or deflates the ego. Or on my case more of the latter especially if you’re receiving a rejection on a constant basis. But after a while, my ego numbed and I don’t take rejection personally anymore. Hey, if you don’t want me to read & review the book, fine by me. I’ll just go and read the ones that are already on my pile, which is suffice to say, are plenty enough.

Having an ARC or not is not a big deal to me anymore.  Well, unless I’m really looking forward to reading the book but in most cases, I’m contended with waiting (particularly if I don’t have any options but to wait). I’m happy that publishers like for example, Harper Collins and Harlequin auto-approved me because I get to try the book before purchasing them. In fact having an access such as this is good for my pocket. I also never really think of myself as part of marketing campaign because I don’t really market myself to begin with. Sometimes, I even forgot to tweet my review (that’s why I recently install a plugin that will auto-tweet my post). I don’t know if I have that huge of an influence to my readers to make them read a book (although I do sometimes get messages that they tried the books because of my review; which is flattering and nerve wracking at the same time). I mean, pressure, right?

Having an ARC or not is not a big deal to me.  It doesn’t make me a better blogger than the others and vice versa. It shouldn’t sound like a competition. We all do it for the love and fun of it, right? That’s why I cringe whenever I read that receiving ARC particularity print copies validate their worth. I think you shouldn’t see your worth as a blogger on the ARC you received.

Having an ARC or not is not a big deal to me. There are thousands of books already published just waiting for me to be read. I just missed them because I was too caught up on getting the latest books. Yes, it feels giddy receiving a book that’s not out in the market yet. Not denying that. But that doesn’t make the already published book worth less than what I am about to read. Time and time again I was proven by that fact. The latest is not always the greatest.

Having an ARC or not should never, ever be a big deal. We’re book bloggers, we blog about books regardless of the publishing date. So it is disappointing to read on how we put ARCs on such a high pedestal when there are great books being neglected in the process. I love receiving ARC and will continue to do so but I’m not going to put a lot of energy into it. I’m going to read books I like, ARCs or otherwise. I will never ever make a huge deal out of it. Not anymore.

So what is your take on Advance copies? Care to share it with me.