Why I Love and Kinda Dislike ARCs All at the Same Time

Fact: I don't like coffee. I just like saying Coffee Clutch in my best and deepest New York accent. Considering I'm a New Yorker, I'm pretty freaking good at it. So I've got my tea and I hope you have your heated beverage of choice, because it's time to gab the day away.

**PLEASE NOTE: This post was in no way written with any malicious intent towards anyone or anything in the publishing industry. I love ARCs. I do. They're wonderful, vital things that serve A GREAT PURPOSE. I just have feels and I want to share them on my blog. So please don't take it any other way.** 

To start his post off, I'd like to quickly explain what an ARC is to the non-bloggers out there. ARC stands for Advanced Reader's Copy. Most books (except for THE REALLY BIGS ONES of the JK Rowling caliber) are generally printed as proofs for publishers to distribute to bloggers, librarians, booksellers, authors, agents, etc. in order to create buzz about a book and, in the case of librarians and booksellers, allow for professionals to figure out how many books to order for their establishment. I'm sure there are a ton of other reasons for ARCs that I'm not aware of and a bunch of other bits and bobs (like the great expense to create these ARCs that are never ever meant to be sold ever under no circumstances so if you SEE THEM FOR SALE ANYWHERE, say something. It's not legal) that should be mentioned, but that's not the point of this post.

The point of this post is discuss why I both love and kinda dislike ARCS.

I know. You're all probably thinking: WHAT'S TO NOT ADORE?!?!?! If you're an experienced blogger, or happen to know an experienced blogger who is generous and will pass the book on to you, the less experienced blogger, or are lucky enough to a giveaway somewhere, ARCs are GREATGREATGREAT. You get to wrap your grabby hands around a book that's not been published yet and savor the words (that may or may not be slightly altered in the finished product) as early as a few months before the scheduled release. And let me tell you, as a girl who's been lucky enough to wrap HER grabby hands around an ARC or two due to the kindness of others and the winning of a contest or two, it's pretty glorious - even if that ARC has been published by the time it gets to you (if you're wondering how that happens, go check out the ARCycling website and love me for the referral, would you?).

So I do love ARCs. I DO. And I also know that they're a great marketing tool for publishers, agents and authors alike. They're brilliant for the book industry and, as a girl who wants to go into publishing, I am ALL. FOR. THAT. I would probably sell my soul to ensure the publication of MOAR BOOKS FOREVER AND EVER. 

I'm not sure if this is the right gif to use here, but I wanted to
use one and you can't really go wrong with Liz Lemon.

BUT. And there is a BUT, otherwise this post wouldn't exist, as with most things I love in this world, sometimes I can't help but dislike ARCs JUST A LITTLE BIT.

Maybe it's jealousy. Y'know: You WANT THAT BOOK SO MUCH and you know other people have read the heart-stopping words on the pretty pages weeks and months before you'll be able to and that green monster everyone wants to pretend doesn't live in the darkest place of their hearts roars to the front of everything and eats your insides for an afternoon snack. But it's more than jealousy for me, I think.   

There are two reasons I think I kinda dislike ARCS.

1. Sometimes ARC-getting can seem like a competition and since I'm pretty much always honest with you guys, I should probably disclose that I am NOT a very competitive person. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was born with a "fear of rabid competitiveness" gene instead of the standard "competitive" gene everyone else seems to have. I don't know if this is a bad thing, but I DO know it's definitely why Pottermore didn't sort me into Slytherin (Haters gonna hate: I'm a Hufflepuff).

That's not me. But it should have been.

And yeah, I know, competition is HEALTHY and:

This is basically The Whole World

But, honestly, when people get all:

I kind of get all SOMEBODY SAAAAAAVE ME (I tried to find a Smallville gif for this one. I failed. Picture Tom Welling instead). But I KNOW this world runs on competition and so I deal with it when it comes to the workplace and school and whatever else. I just wish it didn't have to take over my hobbies as well. Like, I book blog to talk books and make friends, not worry about stats and ARCs and I don't even know what else. That's not to say I don't want stats and ARCs and I don't even know what else, but I kind of wish it didn't have all of the competition attached.

2. My second reason is a similarly personal and emotional, like the first. And that is: I miss my life before ARCs - when a book I really wanted to read had a set publication date and, even though I probably really WOULD sell my soul to get my hands on one or two of them a bit earlier, that publication date was the bottom line. MAYBE your bookstore MIGHT put the book out a day or two early for a variety of reasons, but never weeks in advance. Never a month ahead of time.

Here's what would go down before ARCs, the experience I seem to miss so much:

• You and your one or two other book-loving friends wait with baited breath until that Barnes and Noble (or Amazon or Book Depository or whatever) box appears on your doorstep. Or until the last bell rings and you're able to RUN OUT to the nearest bookstore and breathlessly ask a bewildered salesperson WHERE the newest book-by-your-favorite-author is because you need it NOWNOWNOW. 

• Then you all sit down and RACE through the book, ignoring all of the real-world-stuff until it's all gone and your heart is once again full with the words from the great authors you love. 

• The best part?: The ONLY thing that dictates who's read the entirety of the book first is how fast a person can read, not what connections or skills or job or blog stats they've achieved through their awesomeness (because everyone I know who gets ARCs from publishers IS TRULY AMAZING AND THIS POST IS IN NO WAY MEANT TO INDICATE OTHERWISE). 

You guys are all Sailor Moon Awesome,
which is basically as high as the Awesome Scale goes

I dunno. Call me a romantic Hufflepuff, read me a fairy tale bedtime story and wish me goodnight at this point, I guess. Because, it could just be jealousy, or perhaps I'm just a non-competitive baby child or MAYBE it's nostalgia for a time when I didn't know lots of people read books before Book Birthdays, but every now and again I just want to pretend like ARCs don't exist (EVEN THOUGH I KNOW WE NEED THEM. Please. Don't think I'm saying we should get rid of the ARCS. They are absolutely necessary. I know this).

And so I turn the floor to you, my darlings. Do you ever wish for a simpler time? Or is it all ARCs, all the way? Talk to me, lovelies, tell me all of YOUR feels in the comments below!