How do I operate ARCs and pre-sales?
- ARCs are advance review copies sent before publication.
- Reviewers need weeks of lead time, so ARCs go out early.
- Tracking who has ARCs and their status is essential.
- Pre-orders capture early demand for launch-day impact.
- ARCs and pre-sales run in parallel ahead of launch.
Operate ARCs and pre-sales by producing advance copies early enough to give reviewers real lead time (often six to twelve weeks before launch), distributing them to your reviewer and ARC team, and tracking who has each copy and whether a review has landed. Run pre-orders in parallel so committed readers convert into launch-day sales. Coordinate both on your launch timeline — ARCs feed reviews, pre-orders feed launch-day rank — so early effort concentrates impact at release.
Chapter i·Why it matters
ARCs and pre-sales are the engine of a strong launch — early reviews provide social proof and pre-orders concentrate sales into launch day for ranking — but both require operating ahead of time and tracking. ARCs sent too late miss the launch; pre-orders not promoted go unused. Managing the logistics (timeline, distribution, tracking) is what turns these tools into launch momentum. Understanding how they work together lets you build the early demand and reviews a launch depends on.
Chapter ii·What to include
- ARCs produced with reviewer lead time.
- Distribution to reviewers and an ARC team.
- Tracking of copies and review status.
- Pre-orders running in parallel.
- Coordination on the launch timeline.
- Early effort concentrated at launch.
Chapter iii·Example
Ten weeks before launch, a press sends ARCs to its reviewer list and ARC team, tracking each copy and the reviews that come in. It opens pre-orders at the same time and promotes them. By launch, early reviews provide social proof and pre-orders convert to a launch-day sales spike — both driven by operating ahead of time.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom keeps your ARC distribution, review tracking, and pre-order timeline in one place, so early demand lands at launch.
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