Early copies, the stores and the law
For readers and authorsUpdated 3 min read
How early copies on Booklabria line up with the FTC's endorsement guides and the stores' policies on free copies. Readers say in each review that the copy was free, and Booklabria gives them the line to paste. Authors ask for an honest review, never a good one, and never see a rating before it is public. Booklabria pays no reviewer and gates nothing on a rating. A reader's e-mail address is never shown to the author.
The short answer
The short version
The stores' and review sites' rules on free copies, and the FTC's guides in the US, come down to three things for an early copy given for an honest review:
- The reader says the copy was free, in the review itself.
- Nobody asks for, rewards or filters on a positive review.
- Nobody is paid to review, in money or in anything else of value beyond the book.
Booklabria is built around all three. This page says how, so readers and authors can check it for themselves. It is a plain explanation, not legal advice: each store's own rules are the ones that decide.
For readers: say it was free
In the United States the FTC's endorsement guides ask anyone who got a product free to say so where they review it, and most stores and review sites ask the same.
Add a line like this to every review of an early copy, wherever you post it:
> I received a free early copy from Ana Reyes. This review is voluntary and my own honest opinion.
You do not have to write it yourself: the campaign card on the book page (What you're agreeing to) and each approved copy under My early copies show the line with a Copy button, the author's name already in it.
Your review on Booklabria carries the early reader badge, which says the same thing for you.
For readers: honest means any rating
A one-star review counts exactly like a five-star one. Your follow-through counts whether you reviewed the book or set it down instead of going quiet. It never measures how kindly you rated. Authors cannot see a review before it is public, and on a book that is not out yet, advance-copy reviews can be held and published together on release day (Reviews held until launch).
For authors: what keeps your account safe
- Ask for an honest review, never a good one. Asking for a positive review, or only approving readers who rate highly, breaks the stores' rules and ours (Community guidelines).
- You never see a rating before it is public, so you cannot act on one.
- Nothing but the book changes hands. No gift cards, no refunds of a purchase, no entry into a prize draw for reviewing. A giveaway asks for no review at all.
- Readers' e-mail addresses stay with Booklabria. You see a username, a note and a record, which is all a decision needs.
- Kindle Unlimited and KDP Select: those programs' exclusivity is about where the ebook is sold or lent. The rules are Amazon's, and they change: read the current KDP Select terms before you run a campaign on an enrolled title.
What the watermark carries
Each downloaded copy carries a hidden code, the same one on every download of that request. It is made from the request with a secret key only Booklabria holds, so only Booklabria can match it to the request if the file turns up somewhere it should not. It is not the reader's name or e-mail address.
Where this lives
Related
- Early copy reviews and your follow-through: An early copy review follows one extra rule, honesty; your follow-through counts reviews (or honest set-downs) and on-time reviews, never how kindly you rate. Set a book down from My early copies rather than going silent; ask for more time before the deadline.
- Requesting an early copy: When an author runs an active campaign, the book page shows Request this copy and the **Early copies** page lists it under **Free early copies** with the reasons it fits you; a request carries a short note, waits for the author's decision, and can be cancelled while pending. There is no waitlist.
- Running an ARC campaign: Studio, Campaigns, New campaign walks through the book, dates and reader spots, ideal readers (genres, tropes, languages, regions, requirements), delivery (formats, files, your message) and how to launch (draft, scheduled, or now). Applications gather under Applications with each reader's match and reliability; approve or decline one by one or in batches, and every decision notifies the reader.
- Cross-posting your review, and telling the author: Some campaigns ask you to cross-post your review to a retailer or review site. Once you have, mark it from My early copies: pick the site (Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, or Other) and paste the link. Booklabria does not check the other site; the mark is yours, and the campaign owner sees it beside your record and in their funnel. Cross-posts never change your follow-through.
- Reading or downloading your early copy, and how the file is protected: The author chooses per campaign how you receive an approved early copy, and may offer more than one way for you to pick from: you read it on Booklabria (the file stays on the server, you open it from My early copies, your progress is saved as you read), you download a protected copy through a link that expires fifteen minutes after it is issued (five downloads per approval, every one logged, every EPUB watermarked), or, if the author offers Send to Kindle, we e-mail the watermarked EPUB to your own Kindle address (five sends per approval). If a link expires, ask for a fresh one; if you reach a limit, write to the author or support.
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