How to Run an ARC Campaign Without Losing the Plot

An advance reader copy campaign is not a launch party. It is a short, private reading window with a clear ask: read this book before it is widely available, then leave an honest review if you finish and want to. That is the whole job. Authors get into trouble when they treat the ARC as a numbers game, a guaranteed review machine, or a public file dump.

This guide is the version we wish someone had handed us before the first campaign: who to invite, what to send, how to ask, and how to close the window without nagging people who already did you a favor.

What is an ARC, and why do authors still use them?

An ARC is a pre-publication or early-publication file you share with readers on purpose. The file can be an EPUB or a PDF. The reader can be a friend, a newsletter subscriber, a genre blogger, or a stranger who found your public page. The point is the same: a few people read the book while you still have time to fix a typo, tighten a sagging middle, or simply collect the first honest reviews that help later readers decide.

ARCs still matter because retailers sort and display books using signals you cannot fake for long. A listing with no reviews looks unfinished. A listing with three thoughtful reviews looks like a book someone already finished. You do not need a hundred quotes. You need a handful of people who actually read the thing.

An ARC is not a bribe. The copy is the access, not payment for a star rating. If a reader DNF's the book, that is information. If they post two stars and mean it, that is also information. ReaderMagnet's honest-review rules exist because Amazon and every other storefront will eventually notice review manipulation, and because you do not want a list of people who only like you when you pay them.

How do you run an ARC campaign step by step?

Here is the sequence that holds up for a first novel, a series continuation, or a quiet backlist relaunch.

1. Pick the window. Four to six weeks is enough for a 70–90k novel if you invite people who already read your genre. Two weeks is only enough for a novella or for readers who promised a fast turn.
2. Finish the file. Do not send a draft with placeholder chapter titles. Send the cleanest EPUB or PDF you have. If you later swap a file, tell the people who already downloaded it.
3. Write the ask in plain language. "This is a free advance copy. Reviews are optional, unpaid, and should be honest. If you do not finish, you do not owe me a post."
4. Open a private page, not a public Drive folder. A unique access link is easier to revoke, easier to support, and harder to scrape. On ReaderMagnet that page is the campaign URL you share after you list the book.
5. Invite a list you can name. Start with readers who already open your mail. Add a public claim page only after you can support strangers.
6. Deliver the file once, then stay quiet for a week. The first reminder should not go out the next morning.
7. Send one mid-window note. Thank the people who already posted. Offer a format swap if someone is stuck on a Kindle or a Kobo. Do not ask the silent readers why they have not reviewed yet.
8. Close the window. Turn off new claims. Leave existing download links live so late finishers are not punished. Mark the campaign ended.

That is the campaign. Everything else — graphics, countdown posts, extra magnets — is optional seasoning.

Who should you invite to an ARC team?

Invite people who already read books like yours. A romance ARC list is the wrong room for a military history. A street-team Discord that exists to cheer you on is the wrong room if you need a cold read.

A useful first invite list, in order:

• Newsletter readers who clicked a previous book or magnet.
• People who emailed you after a library talk, a newsletter swap, or a group promo and asked to be kept in the loop.
• Genre readers who found a public ARC page and opted in with an email they actually use.
• A small number of trusted early readers if you still want line-level notes. Keep that group separate from the public review ask so you do not mix "please mark the continuity error" with "please post on Amazon if you want to."

Do not buy emails. Do not scrape Goodreads. Do not add a cousin who "might get to it." Every extra name is a support ticket you may have to answer when the EPUB will not open on an older Kindle.

If you have never run a campaign, start with twenty people you can picture. Twenty readers who finish will teach you more than two hundred claims you cannot support.

What should the ARC file and landing page include?

The file should be the book. Not a teaser. Not a sample with "buy the rest on Amazon" watermarked across chapter three. If you are nervous about piracy, use a private page and a unique link. Watermarks that scream THIS IS AN ARC across every spread make the book harder to read and do not stop a determined leak.

The landing page should answer the questions a tired reader will ask on a phone:

• What is the book, who wrote it, and what genre is it?
• When does the window close?
• What format is the file?
• What are you asking for, exactly?
• Are reviews required?
• Where should a review go if the reader wants to leave one?
• Who do they email when the download fails?

On ReaderMagnet the claim page can carry that reviewer guidance. Keep the tone adult. "Please consider leaving an honest review after you finish" is enough. "Reviews required within 7 days or you will be removed from future ARCs" is how you train people to lie.

If you mention a craft book while you are teaching yourself how to revise from ARC notes, be specific. Stephen King's On Writing

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

is still the least mystical version of "finish the draft, then cut." That is an affiliate link. The book is not a ReaderMagnet product.

How do you ask for a review without breaking the rules?

Ask after the reader has the file. Ask once in the delivery email. Ask once in the mid-window note. Ask once when you close the campaign. Three asks, all of them optional.

Use this shape:

"If you finish and want to share what you thought, an honest review on the retailer page or Goodreads helps other readers. There is no required star rating. A two-star review that tells the truth is more useful than a five-star review you do not mean."

Do not offer a second free book in exchange for a screenshot. Do not tell readers which pull quotes to use. Do not ask them to edit a review after you disliked the tone. Do not promise that ReaderMagnet, BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, or anyone else can guarantee reviews. We cannot. Nobody honest can.

If a reader posts a negative review, thank them privately if you have a real relationship, then leave it alone. The ARC did its job: a real person finished the book and said what they thought.

How long should an ARC window last?

Match the window to the book and to the lives of the people you invited.

• Novella or short collection: 10–14 days.
• 70–90k novel: 4–6 weeks.
• Long fantasy or dense nonfiction: 6–8 weeks, and say so up front.

Open the window early enough that a slow reader can finish before the retailer page goes live. If you are aiming at a Tuesday launch, do not send files on the Sunday night before. Authors do this when they are scared of leaks. The leak risk is real and usually smaller than the risk of asking people to sprint.

Close new signups when you can no longer answer support mail. Leaving a public claim page open after you have mentally moved on is how you get a one-star review that is actually about a broken download.

What do you do when nobody reviews?

First, count finishes, not posts. If twenty people downloaded the file and three posted, you are inside a normal range. Many readers finish, mean to post, and then get a sick kid or a work week. That is not a betrayal.

Second, look at the ask. If the delivery email buried the review links under four paragraphs of biography, fix the email for the next campaign. If the book is 140,000 words and you gave people nine days, the silence is on you.

Third, send one last note after the window: "The campaign is closed. If you still want to post, here are the links. If not, thank you for reading." Then stop. A fourth reminder is how you lose the next book.

If you got zero posts from a large invite list, the book-market fit may be the problem, not the platform. An ARC cannot invent an audience. It can only ask an audience you already have.

What is the difference between an ARC and a reader magnet?

An ARC is time-boxed and usually tied to a launch or a relaunch. A reader magnet is the free story or bonus you leave up so a stranger can join your list on a Tuesday in March. Mixing them is how you end up with a "free book" page that is actually an expired ARC file and a support inbox full of 404s.

Use the ARC page for the campaign. Use a magnet landing page for the evergreen extra. On ReaderMagnet those are different objects on purpose. If you only have one short story, you can use it as a magnet after the ARC window, but change the copy so new readers are not promised a review-copy experience.

For the longer version of that choice, see Reader magnet vs newsletter swap.

Should you pay for ARC distribution?

Pay when the tool removes a job you hate or a risk you cannot carry. BookFunnel's Secure ARC tools live on the Mid-List plan at $200/year on their public 2026 pricing page. StoryOrigin puts review-copy and mailing-list tools on the $10/month Standard plan. ReaderMagnet includes a private ARC page on the author path and does not ask for a card until January 1, 2027.

That is not a claim that we undercut BookFunnel's First-Time price. BookFunnel's First-Time plan is $30/year and covers magnet delivery for authors who do not need Secure ARC. If that is you, stay there. If you need the review-copy page and you do not want to stack a second subscription, compare the actual rows on the BookFunnel alternative page.

Do not pay a Facebook group admin to "place" your ARC with readers you will never meet. Do not pay for review copies that require a five-star rating. Those offers are not marketing. They are a future account problem.

How do you keep the file private?

Use a page that issues access per reader. Do not put the EPUB in a public Dropbox. Do not paste the same Google Drive link into a Facebook thread and hope. If you need to replace a file because you found a missing scene, a silent swap on a private page is kinder than emailing a new attachment to forty people with four different versions.

ReaderMagnet's campaign page is built for that private delivery. You list the book, upload the file when you are ready, and share one URL. Readers enter an email to claim that copy. You connect Resend, MailerLite, or SMTP if you want the same address on the list you already run.

If a file leaks, assume it will. Most leaks are not professional pirates. They are a forwarded link. Revoke the campaign if you have to, post a short note, and keep writing. A leak of a midlist novel is almost never the event authors rehearse in their heads.

What does a calm ARC week look like?

Monday: you open the page and invite the first twenty readers. Tuesday: two people write because the EPUB failed on an older Kindle. You send the PDF alternative and a civil sentence. Wednesday: you do not check the claim count. Thursday: a reader posts a four-star review that mentions the exact scene you were afraid was too quiet. Friday: you write for two hours instead of refreshing the dashboard.

That week is the product. The software should disappear. If you spend the week designing a new banner for the ARC team, you are avoiding the book.

How should you talk about the campaign in public?

You can say the ARC is open. You can link the page. You should not invent urgency you do not have. "Twelve spots left" is fine when you truly cap the list. "Last chance" on day two is how readers learn to ignore you.

Do not post early review quotes without asking the reader. Do not turn a private note into a graphic. Do not imply that ReaderMagnet, or any other tool, selected the readers for quality. We did not. You did, or the public page did.

If you write a recap after launch, tell the truth: how many people claimed, how many posted, what you would change. That recap will recruit a better team next time than any screenshot of a dashboard.

What should you put in the delivery email?

Subject line: the book title and the word ARC. Body: three short paragraphs.

Paragraph one: thank them and state the window. Paragraph two: the download link and the formats. Paragraph three: the optional review ask and the support address.

Sign with your name. Not "The Team." If the file fails, they will reply to a person.

ReaderMagnet can send that access link when a reader claims the page. You still write the sentences. A generator can draft a subject line. It cannot decide whether you sound like a person who will still like the reader after a three-star review.

When is an ARC the wrong tool?

Skip the ARC if the book is not finished. Skip it if you cannot answer mail for a month. Skip it if you are only collecting addresses to hit a vanity number. Skip it if you want guaranteed stars. In those cases, hire an editor, take a week off social, or write the next chapter.

A reader magnet or a simple "join the list for the next release" form is enough when you are six months from launch and the manuscript is still moving. Open the ARC when the file can survive a stranger.

How do you start on ReaderMagnet today?

List the book with your name, email, and title. We email a dashboard link. No password. No credit card until January 1, 2027. Add the cover and the file when you have them. Share the private page. If you want the same readers on your MailerLite or Resend list, connect the tool you already pay for.

Questions go to support@readermagnet.com. Short answers for authors and readers live on the FAQ. If you are comparing tools first, the honest public-price table lives on the BookFunnel alternative page. If you want the longer BookFunnel writeup, use BookFunnel vs ReaderMagnet.

What is a realistic ARC checklist for next week?

• File exported as EPUB, opened on a phone, and skimmed for missing chapters.
• PDF alternative ready if you have readers on older devices.
• Window dates written on the page.
• Reviewer guidance that says reviews are optional and unpaid.
• Twenty names you can picture, or a public page you can actually support.
• One delivery email, one mid-window note, one close note — drafted before you invite anyone.
• Support address on the page.
• A calendar reminder to turn off new claims.

If you do those eight things, you have run an ARC. The rest is craft, time, and the book.

What questions do authors ask right before they send the first file?

Do I need a street team logo?

No. A readable page and a working file beat a badge.

Do I need to collect Goodreads emails in a spreadsheet?

Only if you enjoy spreadsheets. A private claim page already gives you the addresses of people who wanted that book.

Do I need to be on every retailer on day one?

No. Put the review links you actually have. If the book is not live yet, say so. "When the book is available, here is where I will post the link" is honest. A dead Amazon URL is not.

Can I run two ARCs at once?

You can. You should not, unless you have help. Two windows means two support queues.

Treat the first campaign as practice. The second one will be quieter because you already know where the file breaks and which sentence in the ask makes people relax.