NetGalley and Carina Press

So, through something I have to deal with at work, I found the website "NetGalley" which allows you to request eARCs (electronic advance reader copy(s)). Basically, you can get a digital copy of a book to read or review before the actual book comes out in stores.

The Neil Gaiman edited Best American Comics 2010 is on there, which is pretty cool. There's also a version of the Little Prince as a graphic novel. But I don't expect those things really need my attention to sell them. Neil Gaiman and The Little Prince are both brands that aren't going to be helped by a relatively minor blog review. And I'm not really interested in either of them enough to want to request them.

But I do get some blog traffic around both my comments on gay porn and science fiction fantasy. So I was especially interested to find that there was a novel listed that actually fit into that niche: Savage Sanctuary by Jacqueline Barbary. I requested that one and another one that Carina Press publishes, Life After Joe by Harper Fox.

Both were denied, which was too bad. I wouldn't have bought either of them, especially from an unknown press. It's not the loss of a sale for them. Really, the best that could have happened was that I liked them an gave them a favorable review. Well, won't bother now.

So, I guess the whole point of this post is: what's the point of NetGalley if you can't get galleys from it? If you're wondering whether to bother signing up (and they ask you for a lot of personal information, including your real address and phone number), I would say no.