ARC Readers FAQ

Yes, a free reader account. Sign up, confirm your email, and we approve new readers personally, usually within a couple of days. Your dashboard shows the books you’ve claimed, your review deadlines and your history.

21 days from claiming. You can have up to two books open at once. While a review is overdue you can’t claim new books, but you can still add the link, or email us if something came up.

Use “Forgotten your password?” on the login page and we’ll email you a reset link. Still stuck? Email submissions@authorwing.com.

Yes, for readers always. For authors, it is free while we are in beta. If we introduce paid plans later, beta authors will hear about it first and will never be charged without agreeing.

Yes. Giving readers free advance copies is allowed, as long as reviews are not required to be positive, readers are not paid, and they say they received a free copy. Our reviewer guidelines are built around these rules.

Please only claim books you intend to read and review. If one turns out not to be for you, you can release it from your dashboard within 7 days of claiming it. Later than that, just let us know. We understand, but frequent non-reviewers are removed.

Usually ePub (for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and most reading apps) and PDF. You download them from your reader dashboard, where you’ll also add your review link.

Nonfiction only, for children and adults, from independent authors and small publishers. We don’t accept fiction, books that are mostly AI-generated, or anything we wouldn’t be happy to send to our readers.

We can’t promise a number. It depends on your topic, your cover and description, and how many readers we have in that area. We’ll be honest with you about what to expect when we confirm your place.

Send us your EPUB or PDF and we deliver it securely through AuthorWing, with every copy personally stamped (see below). EPUB works best for Kindle readers; for PDFs, please export with Compatibility set to “Acrobat 5 (PDF 1.4)”. If you already use BookFunnel or StoryOrigin, you can give us your ARC link instead.

Your file is never on a public web page. It’s stored privately and can only be downloaded by approved readers who have claimed your book, from their own account. Every copy is made for that reader: their email address and a unique tracking code are printed on every page (PDF) or in every chapter (EPUB), and each reader can download it a maximum of 3 times. If a copy ever turns up online, the code tells us exactly who it came from, so we can remove that reader and help you get it taken down. No system can make an ebook impossible to copy, but a personal stamp is the industry-standard deterrent: readers know a shared copy leads straight back to them.

Because your copy is made just for you. It protects the author’s work, and it’s why authors trust us with their books before launch. Your email is only in your own copy, and the copy is deleted from our system if you release the book or delete your account.

AuthorWing is run by Jenny Kellett, a nonfiction author who has published around 50 books since 2012. ARC Readers started because the existing review platforms work well for novels but not for nonfiction.

Every email has an unsubscribe link, or just reply and ask.