Why should I pay B3 to handle my ARCs?
Because ensuring that early readers actually leave reviews is time-consuming and that time is better spent writing new books!
Book Boyfriend Buzz will take care of everything from finding interested reviewers from within our carefully selected team, sending the file(s), following up, and tracking the results.
External review services like ours are also a great way for new readers to discover your work. We regularly hear from our reviewers that they’ve found a new favourite author to binge-read after reading an ARC they got from us.
Who are the B3 reviewers?
Our reviewers are super-fans, recommenders, supporters, and lovers of romance novels and stories.
They’re carefully selected based on their reviewing history, engagement with the online book community, and their enthusiasm for both the genre and discovering new authors.
Do you only accept new releases?
Nope! We’ll work with any title, new or old. As long as it’s romance, we’re in. There’s never a bad time for fresh reviews.
My book is enrolled in KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited. Can I still submit it?
Amazon says the following about offering review copies in general:
Can I give free or discounted copies of my books to readers?
You may provide free or discounted copies of your books to readers. However, you may not demand a review in exchange or attempt to influence the review.Amazon
And this in direct reference to books enrolled in KDP Select:
Exclusivity. When you include a Digital Book in KDP Select, you give us the exclusive right to sell and distribute your Digital Book in digital format while your book is in KDP Select. During this period of exclusivity, you cannot sell or distribute, or give anyone else the right to sell or distribute, your Digital Book (or a book that is substantially similar), in digital format in any territory where you have rights.Amazon Jan 2020 Update
Per the above quotes, we believe offering review copies to the private team of reviewers through our program is acceptable under the Terms of Service laid out in the KDP agreement. However, as Amazon’s ToS are subject to both interpretation and change, the ultimate decision on distributing ARCs through our program resides with each author.
For more information, please see the Kindle Direct Publishing Terms and Conditions Agreement
My new release is book 3 in a series—can I submit the first two books so reviewers can get caught up?
Yes. Later books in a series always get a better response when our reviewers have the opportunity to catch up with a series they might not be familiar with. Ask us about discounted rates for submitting multiple books in a series!
Can I limit the number of copies available?
Yes. Part of the submission process is setting a maximum number of copies you’re comfortable with. Should the requests exceed your limit, we will offer you the opportunity to increase the limit, but you will always make the final decision about how many copies of your books will be distributed.
Do you guarantee the number of copies that will be sent out?
We do not. Our reviewers enjoy a wide variety of sub-genres, topics, and tropes, but whether or not they decide to request an ARC is completely up to them.
Do you guarantee positive reviews?
We do not. Our reviewers will leave honest reviews based on their reading experience. Should a reader choose not to leave a review that would be negative, they simply need to inform us.
Are the reviewers paid or compensated in any way?
Definitely not. This is expressly against Amazon’s Terms of Service.
Where will the reviews be posted?
Our primary goal is to have reviews posted to Amazon. We have reviewers from around the world, so not all reviews will be posted to the .com site, but 90% will be posted to Amazon.
We also have some amazing reviewers who either do not or can not post on Amazon, and they will report Goodreads and/or Bookbub reviews.
How long until the reviews are posted?
Our readers are given at least 14 days to review each book. Depending on when B3 receives your title(s), reviews can be posted as soon as the first few days of release. The ideal timing is 7-10 days before release.
What book formats do you accept?
All submissions are to be in epub format, please.
What steps do you take to prevent piracy?
While it’s impossible to eliminate piracy completely, we do take steps to prevent the chances of it.
All ARCs are delivered direct to Kindle addresses through a private, members-only website.
By being selective with who we accept to the team, we know that our reviewers are book lovers and author-supporters.
We store all files in a private cloud accessible by only 2 administrators.
We track which reviewers are following through with their reviews, and if they’re unresponsive to our reminders they’re placed on the ‘naughty list’ until they’re caught up with outstanding reviews.
In more than five years, between two services (Gay Romance Reviews and Book Boyfriend Buzz), we have never had a reported piracy concern and will continue to do our best to maintain this success.
Are there any books you won’t accept?
We do not accept books that contain bestiality, necrophilia (zombies and vampires excluded), or pedophilia. Kink and taboo are welcome with the appropriate content warnings for readers to make an informed reading choice.
AUDIO – Do you have US and UK reviewers?
We sure do! We have audio reviewers who are specifically US or UK listeners, but we also have many who are able to use codes for either site.
AUDIO – My codes are for Audiobooks.com rather than Audible – can you still take them?
Of course. Audible is definitely the preference among our reviewers, but we’reflexible. As long as a paid account/subscription is not required, we’ll accept codes for any site.
Let’s work together to launch your book!
We’re proud of our 90% follow-through average and continually strive for the best results possible!