Guest Post from Meredith Maran: Are You Ready for e-Galleys?

by Meredith Maran | Sep-30-2010

NBCC member Meredith Maran answers Question #4 in our series:

Has the tipping point come for reviewers?Are you using e-galleys?

No one has sent me an e-galley, and if they did, I'd ask for a print galley

Will e-book originals get review attention?

For my own book, pubbing in mid-September, we had much heated conversation about whether or not to send e-galleys to potential reviewers as well as national TV/radio/print media. The publisher was in favor, unsurprisingly, since the costs of e-galleys are negligible. As a reviewer, I was adamant that only print galleys have the impact of a "real book." As a matter of fact, I prefer finished books to galleys when reviewing a book, since I find jacket copy and flap copy important to my overall impression of the book--as well as other elements often missing from galleys, including index, foreword, acknowledgments, etc.

I recently tried out a Kindle and found that I hated every book I read on it. Could be a coincidence, or could be that it's harder to like a book on a screen. So I plan to refuse e-galleys as long as possible.