What is ReaderMagnet?

What ReaderMagnet does for authors

The author path starts at List Your Book. You enter your name, your email, and the book title. ReaderMagnet emails a dashboard link. There is no password on that first step, and cover, tagline, and description can wait until the dashboard. The point of the signup is to get a campaign open, not to finish a marketing plan in one form.

From the dashboard you upload the reader file, write the page, and share one URL for that campaign. When you mark the campaign public and the file is ready, readers can find it from Free Books. When you keep it private, only people who have the link can claim it. A campaign can also sit as coming soon, so the page exists and readers cannot download yet.

The same author account can hold a reader magnet, which is a separate landing page for a file you want to leave up after the launch window. Magnets live on their own URL. A reader enters an email, and the page hands over the download when the file is attached. That is list-building. The ARC page is the time-boxed reading window. The magnet page is the file that can stay available on an ordinary Tuesday.

What an ARC page is

An advance reader copy, usually called an ARC, is a pre-publication or early-publication file you share on purpose. On ReaderMagnet the ARC page is one URL for that book. Readers enter an email to claim a copy. The claim creates a private access link for that reader, typically under a path like /arc/ and a token, instead of a folder anyone on the internet can open. The public campaign URL, when you turn it on, looks like /join-arc-team/ and the slug you chose.

The page is where you say what the book is, who it is for, and what you are asking. A clean ask is short. This is a free advance copy. A review is optional, unpaid, and honest. A reader who does not finish does not owe you a post. You can point people at the retailer page or Goodreads when that listing exists. ReaderMagnet does not post the review for them, and it does not control whether a store shows it.

You can replace the file on the page when you find a typo. Tell the people who already downloaded the old file. You can see who claimed. You can export those addresses as a CSV from the dashboard. You can close new claims when you can no longer answer mail, and you can leave existing download links live so a reader who is still in chapter twelve is not locked out because the campaign ended.

What readers do on the page

Readers stay free. They do not need a credit card, and they do not need a password to claim a copy from a campaign page. They use an email they actually check, because that is where the access link goes. Some books are only available from a link the author sent. Others are listed on Free Books while the author is still accepting readers. Ended public campaigns are listed on Past ARCs. An ended public page does not, by itself, mean an old private download link stopped working.

If the file will not open, the reader starts at ARC Support. Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, a phone, and a computer fail in different ways. A PDF is the usual fallback when an EPUB will not sideload onto an older Kindle. The author should upload the cleanest EPUB or PDF they have, and keep a PDF ready. The copy is for reading. It is not a ticket the reader can upload to a public pirate site or forward into a group as a shared link.

A review is welcome when the reader means it. A one-star review they mean is more useful than a five-star review they do not. Authors on ReaderMagnet are expected to follow the Honest Review Policy: no required star rating, no payment for a positive review, and no punishment for a negative one. If a retailer asks the reader to disclose that the copy was free, the reader should say so.

What ReaderMagnet does not do

ReaderMagnet delivers a file and collects a signup. It does not pick your readers for you, and it does not promise a number of reviews. If twenty people download and three post, that range is ordinary. Many readers finish, mean to post, and then get a work week. One note after the window is enough. Another reminder after that is how you lose the next book.

ReaderMagnet is not a newsletter-swap marketplace. It does not match you with other authors, score your list, or find swap partners for you. If a swap board is the job you need, that is a different category of tool. A reader magnet is a file someone asked for. A swap is a day you borrow someone else's list. Those are different jobs, and this site is built for the page and the file.

ReaderMagnet does not import another platform's subscriber list in one click. If those addresses already live in the email tool you connected, they stay there. The CSV export is a copy of readers who signed up on ReaderMagnet. It is not an importer for BookFunnel or StoryOrigin. ReaderMagnet also does not replace your email company. You still write the letters, and you still pay the provider you chose.

How the email list fits beside the ARC page

Every claim is an email address from a person who asked for a specific book. That is the list. From the dashboard you can connect the email provider you already use so new readers are added to a list you run. The integrations screen includes MailerLite, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and other providers. The public help text also covers Resend, MailerLite, and SMTP. You can export a subscriber CSV if you want your own copy of the addresses collected here.

Use the ARC page for the launch or the relaunch. Use the magnet landing page for the short story, sample, or bonus that stays up. Mixing them is how a free-book page becomes an expired file and a support inbox full of readers who cannot download. If you only have one short story, you can use it as a magnet after the ARC window, and you should change the copy so new readers are not promised a review-copy experience.

Questions about a live campaign go to support@readermagnet.com. The shorter Q&A for authors and readers is the FAQ. The practical checklist is how to run an ARC campaign with a dedicated page.

What it costs during open beta

Author tools are free through November 1, 2026. ReaderMagnet does not collect a credit card during that open beta. The date is not a promise that the tools stay free forever, and it is not a promise that every idea on an old roadmap is included. On November 1, 2026, the public paid plans begin unless a different date is published. Readers stay free after that.

The public monthly prices after open beta are Starter at $9/month, Pro at $19/month, and Publisher at $49/month. Starter includes unlimited pen names, reader campaign setup, private reader pages, and reader magnets. Pro adds the fuller ARC and beta-reader tools plus the email connection you already pay for. Publisher is for more than one author or imprint. During open beta the working features are unlocked, and the signup still does not ask for a card. The same numbers are on Pricing.

A private ARC page is included on that author path. BookFunnel's public First-Time plan is $30/year and covers magnet delivery. Secure ARC delivery on BookFunnel is listed on the Mid-List plan at $200/year. StoryOrigin lists review-copy and mailing-list tools on the Standard plan at $10/month. ReaderMagnet does not claim to undercut BookFunnel's First-Time price. The comparison, with those public prices written out, is on the BookFunnel and StoryOrigin comparison.

Questions authors ask

Related reading

• List your book
• FAQ
• Reader magnets and list-building
• Pricing
• The Publishing Times — The Publishing Times is an independent industry desk. ReaderMagnet does not own that site.