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Friday, July 16, 2021

Changes to NetGalley That I'd Like to See

 

 For the uninitiated, NetGalley is a website where you can sign up to read and review digital advance reader copies. In the last ten years or so, as e-readers, smart phone and tablets have become more common ways of reading, NetGalley has grown from serving a few niche presses to carrying ARCs from large publishers and small, as well as some self-published writers.  How well it accomplishes the task of publicizing new works is a discussion I'll leave to others.  This post is from the reader/blogger's point of view.  I love using NetGalley but I can't help but want some new features.

Special Instructions?  Please Put Them on the Feedback Page

Reading and reviewing books is a hobby, not a job.  Please make it easy for me to do what you want.  I don't want to create elaborate spreadsheets or search email folders for directions.  If publishers want me to publish during a certain timeframe,  to use hashtags or use blue font or whatever, it would be nice if that information popped up when I hit the "leave feedback" button. 

A "Save for Later" Button

Often when I am perusing NetGalley I find books I want to read but which I just don't have time to read right now.  It would be great if there was a "Save for Later" button which would do nothing but tag the book and add it to my "Save for Later" list and allow me to give feedback on the book.  If my schedule cleared, I could check the list and request it if it was still available.  If it was not still available, I could check my bookstore or library, and, if I chose, leave feedback for it (which would not count against my ratio but which could improve it). 

This could be helpful to publishers and could earn them a few more reviews than they get now.  Also, if they see that I marked it, they could contact me about it if desired. It could be another way to gauge interest in a book. 

Downloadables/Pre-Written Content

Many bloggers include author information and/or bookstore links in their posts. It would be nice if that stuff was easily available on NetGalley.  If I want to use my affiliate links I could always switch them out, but for those of us who don't, save us the trouble of searching for the links. Give us an author biography and photo.  Don't require us to use it, but make it available.  


Are you a NetGalley user?  Reader or Author? What would you like to see NetGalley provide that it does not currently?  


Join the Discussion!

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6 comments:

  1. Samantha@WLABB10:16 AM

    I like all of these, but I would love to see a cancel button too ( you can do this on Edelweiss now).

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  2. Nicci5:26 AM

    I agree with all of these!

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  3. Mary (Bookfan)2:07 PM

    Yes, to all!

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  4. Yvonne8:55 AM

    Great post! I agree with it all especially the "Save for Later" button. That would be extremely helpful.

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  5. Martha Eskuchen11:59 PM

    All good suggestions. I particularly like the "Save for Later" button.
    I have occasionally thought it would be nice if NetGalley required readers to have a minimum feedback ratio (even if only 30% or such) and actually post some reviews. I have seen members with many, many books and no feedback or reviews. Maybe they are getting the "Read Now" titles.
    Discussion Challenge is nice. Thanks for opening a discourse. :-)

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  6. Davida Chazan (The Chocolate Lady)12:56 AM

    Yes, the save for later would be great. Often I'll write a review and then schedule it for my blog for a week or so afterwards. I'd like to put my review into their system first and then only post it when the review goes live so all I have to do is add the links.

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