How to run an ARC campaign, step by step
For authorsUpdated 2 min read
The short guide: pick the book and its EPUB, choose how readers get it (read on Booklabria, a protected download or Send to Kindle), say who it is for, set the dates and spots, launch, then decide requests and watch the funnel. Free during the beta; readers never pay.
The short answer
An ARC (advance reader copy), called a free early copy in the app, is a copy of your book you give to readers before launch, in return for an honest review. On Booklabria the whole thing happens in one place: readers ask, you decide, they read, and you see who finished and who reviewed. It costs you nothing during the beta, and readers never pay.
The six steps
- Have the book and its file ready. A published or coming-soon book, and its EPUB (a PDF works for downloads only). See Publishing your first book.
- Start the campaign. Studio › Campaigns › New campaign. Pick the book, the dates and how many reader spots. The review deadline is what readers agree to, so give the length of the book its due.
- Say who it is for. Genres, tropes, languages, regions, a minimum of published reviews if you want one, and the requirements readers agree to (the short feedback form, a cross-post). Readers see why a copy fits them from this; it informs you, it never decides for you.
- Choose how readers get the book. Tick one or more: Read on Booklabria (the file stays on our servers), Protected download (a watermarked copy), Send to Kindle (a watermarked EPUB to the reader's own Kindle). With more than one, each approved reader picks. Details: Delivery.
- Launch it. As a draft you open later, scheduled for a date, or now. The campaign opens once the file of every format it offers is there.
- Decide and follow. Requests gather under Studio › Applications. Approve or Decline one at a time or in batches; every reader is told. Then watch the funnel: applications, approved, started, finished, reviewed.
What you see, and what you do not
You see how many readers started, finished and reviewed, and for in-app reading where readers stop. You see each reader's username, their note to you and how they have followed through on past copies. You do not see readers' e-mail addresses, and you cannot see a rating before it is public.
What keeps it honest
Ask for an honest review, never a good one. Nothing but the book changes hands. Readers say the copy was free in their review. ARCs, stores and the law explains the rules in plain words.
Next
Your first ARC campaign walks the wizard screen by screen. Running an ARC campaign is the full reference. To protect your file, read How to protect advance copies.
Where this lives
Related
- Your first ARC campaign on Booklabria: A walk from a book with a file to reviews you can count: choose the book and its EPUB, decide how readers receive it (read on Booklabria, a protected download, Send to Kindle, or a choice of them), set the dates and spots, describe the readers you want, launch, approve the requests that fit, watch the reading or the downloads, answer extension requests, and read the reviews and the funnel. Every step names the screen it happens on.
- 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.
- ARC delivery and tracking: You choose per campaign how readers receive the book: Read on Booklabria (the file stays on the server, readers open it on the site or in the app, and the Reading tab shows progress by chapter, who finished and where readers stop, as counts), a Protected download (signed links that expire after fifteen minutes, five downloads per approval, every EPUB watermarked) or Send to Kindle (we e-mail the watermarked EPUB to the reader's own Kindle address, five sends per approval). Tick one or more; with two or more, each approved reader picks one. Upload the EPUB or PDF on the Delivery tab; reading on Booklabria and Send to Kindle need the EPUB. The Activity tab notes approvals, downloads and reviews as they happen; the analytics funnel shows how many downloads became reviews.
- What the campaign funnel shows, cross-posts included: Studio, Readers, Early copies counts every stage of a campaign: Applications, Approved, Downloaded (an approval, a delivery-link claim or a certified send each count as one reader), Reviewed, Cross-posted (as readers mark them, with a line per site), Kept following, with lines for DNF and held reviews. Counts, never names, each with its definition on the page. A giveaway has no funnel.
- How to protect your advance copies from piracy: Booklabria keeps your file off public addresses, ties every copy to one reader with a hidden watermark (never their name), expires download links after fifteen minutes, limits each copy to five downloads or sends, and lets you keep the file on our servers with Read on Booklabria. Here is what each does and what to choose.
- Delivery links, codes and certified sends: a protected copy to your own readers: A delivery link (or its QR code) hands a protected copy of your book to readers you already have, outside any campaign and with no review owed, on the Creator plan and above. From Studio, Advance copies, Deliver to your readers: choose the book, how readers get it (read on Booklabria, a protected download, Send to Kindle, or a choice of them), how many copies, how long the link accepts claims, an optional password, who can claim, and a note. Revoking stops new claims only; claimed copies stay readable and count toward the readers your plan allows. A campaign can also send certified copies to addresses you know; a send counts as a reader once it is claimed.
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