SFWA Presents: Get to Know…Our NetGalley Partnership Program
by the SFWA Publications Crew and Adria Bailton
Editor’s note: This article is part of the SFWA Presents: Get to Know… series, which includes informational pieces about SFWA programs, committees, and initiatives, and also interviews with the SFWA volunteers who work to support their fellow writers in the industry.
The NetGalley Partnership Program is a form of author advocacy here at SFWA. It can be challenging (and expensive!) to promote one’s work as a hybrid, indie, or small-press creator. To offer more writers a chance to connect their latest releases with reviewers, SFWA partnered with NetGalley to create a lower-cost option. We chatted with Adria Bailton, SFWA’s NetGalley Coordinator, to learn more.
Let’s start with the easy and essential question: What is NetGalley, exactly, and what’s new about our partnership program with them? Why should authors consider review programs such as NetGalley?
NetGalley is an online program with members who have some hand in promoting or acquiring books. It began in 2008 and has grown to include several types of book-trade professionals. Prior to NetGalley, ARCs or Advanced Reader Copies were only available in print through specific services. NetGalley began distributing ebook ARCs to its members.
NetGalley has six member categories:
- Book Trade Professional, who works in the publishing industry;
- Bookseller, who works at a bookstore and buys/recommends books;
- Educator, who works in a school and adopts books for classroom use;
- Media/Journalist, who works in media and specifically promotes authors and reviews books;
- Librarian, who works in public/private libraries and buys/recommends books;
- Reviewer, who reviews books and promotes authors on book review websites, consumer websites (e.g., Goodreads), or social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, YouTube).
Traditionally, this service was limited to large publishers, but through SFWA, self-published and small-press authors can access the power of NetGalley with its 605,000 active members.
NetGalley Community Breakdown. Source: 2025 NetGalley.com Community Update | NetGalley
Authors should consider using a review program like NetGalley in the lead-up to their book launch to garner preorders and stocking for bookstores and libraries, and also for promotion with articles written by journalists in media outlets and the word-of-mouth reviewer. Buzz about your book will help extend your own author reach and can increase sales and contribute to a successful launch. Many traditional publishers use NetGalley extensively for these purposes, and through SFWA’s program, indie authors have the same opportunity.
There is an option to list directly with NetGalley, which requires a six-month listing of a single title for $550. With SFWA, an author may list for a single month for $80, with the option to list for multiple months. SFWA NetGalley accepts both ebooks and audiobooks for listing.
As a creator yourself, what brought you into this SFWA volunteer role? How has your past experience in the industry shaped the work you do here?
When I started in the NetGalley role, my writing publications were all short stories through magazines and a couple on my own blog. However, I have been an Educator member of NetGalley since 2019, though I participated in other programs for ARCs in the prior decades. I already knew the ins and outs of NetGalley from the member side.
There was a moment of good timing where the NetGalley position opened while I was looking for volunteer positions within SFWA that I had qualifications for. I love to uplift fellow writers through my own efforts, and volunteering in the SFWA NetGalley coordinator role allows me to help other writers with their book promotions.
What’s the process for a NetGalley placement? Could you walk us through what a typical one-month listing involves?
From the author’s perspective, filling out the SFWA NetGalley participation form is Step 1. The author will need a 13-digit ISBN that matches their hardcover, paperback, ebook, or audiobook. Whether the author lists a print or an ebook, NetGalley members know they are receiving an ebook galley. The person listing the book will use the author’s name and a contact email address, book title, subtitle, publisher and imprint (if any), narrators for audiobook, suggested retail price of the book format (hardcover, paperback, ebook, or audiobook), date published, description of the book (book blurb or back cover copy), two or three genre categories from the NetGalley options in a dropdown menu, a marketing plan (not required), advanced praise (not required), an author bio and website, and any other social media they wish to list.
The book lister will need to select a date for the listing to start. All listings start on the first of the month and last the duration of the month selected. Books may be listed for one month or two consecutive months. Multiple-month listings are not guaranteed as they’re on a first-come-first-serve basis, with new titles getting priority.
For all books, an .epub or a .pdf file and a 500-pixel or greater .jpg or .png file of the cover must be submitted. For audiobooks, the .epub or .pdf file will be ignored by the SFWA NetGalley team, and the lister will need to send their audiobook files per emailed instructions upon acceptance into the SFWA NetGalley program.
The lister will also need to choose a Digital Rights Management (DRM) of “yes – NetGalley reviewers cannot share, print, or keep the book beyond 55 days” or “no – NetGalley reviewers can permanently share, print, or keep the book.” For yes, the book will disappear from their device, and if members have not read the book yet, it won’t be reviewed.
SFWA members have priority listing. Membership in SFWA is not required as long as we have space in our program.
Always feel free to email netgalley@sfwa.org with any questions prior to Step 1.
Step 2 will come with a confirmation email of acceptance, rejection, or waitlist for the month of listing.
Step 3 happens the day the book goes live. I use the information from the form and the files to list the book on NetGalley. The lister will receive an email about their listing going up, with links to the NetGalley page and a widget they can share with trusted people to read the book through the NetGalley service. The widget gives direct access without screening, so authors should only send it to readers they trust. Payment is due at that time.
During the month, authors should promote their NetGalley listing to their audience to build interest and requests. NetGalley acts as a funnel. The more impressions a book has, the more requests it receives. Overall, there’s a 38% feedback rate based on approvals.
At the end of the month, the lister will receive a series of reports about the activity of their book during its time listed on the website:
- Feedback Report: a spreadsheet-based report that includes consolidated information about the reviews submitted for the title.
- Snapshot: includes all statistics in consolidated information about the activity and opinions submitted for this title.
- Detailed Activity Report: information about the book’s activity, including when an individual member requested the title, the approval/decline date, how the member gained access, information about how the member accessed the content files, and whether they submitted feedback via NetGalley.
- Opinions Report: individual responses for the Yes/No questions that members can answer.
- Word Cloud Report: includes all the words that appear in the word cloud for this title, and the number of times each word appears across all reviews for this title.
I encourage authors to check back to get additional reports after another month or two. Reviews start to show up within a week to two months, depending on the title, first impressions (cover and blurb), and reviewer time. We still get reviews coming in for many months after a listing.
Each title will have a dedicated NetGalley page that lives forever, and authors should keep that link as a part of their marketing.
Additionally, if an author wants to extend their listing for another month, an email reply to the report stating such is the best way to communicate that. No need to fill out the form. A confirmation email will be sent if there’s space in the program.
NetGalley bills itself as a service not only for books that are about to be released but for titles that have been out for a while. In your experience, do post-release titles actually attract reviewer attention? Or are reviewers mostly interested in ARCs?
Post-release titles do get attention! Some reviewers and publishing professionals are only interested in ARCs, but plenty of media and reviewers are looking for new-to-them books and authors, and are happy to read, review, and promote a book that is already published. The interest level in the book relies more on a good cover, description, and promotion of the NetGalley title.
In these cases, the reviews and access from NetGalley can bolster a book’s word-of-mouth and sales. This can be helpful, too, if a blog tour or similar marketing push is arranged months after the book release and an author wants to generate buzz around their book. Pairing a NetGalley listing with the release of a new edition (new cover or an additional format) is another effective way to get your book noticed.
What’s the best way to prepare for participating in the NetGalley Partnership Program? How long before a book launch should authors contact the program? And what happens if one month’s program slots are full?
For best results from a NetGalley listing for a new book’s release, using the SFWA NetGalley program one to three months prior to the release will get the most benefit. The SFWA NetGalley program accepts listing requests up to three months in advance. For example, an August listing can be requested as early as May, a December listing can be requested in September, listings being on the first of the month. It’s best to request a listing ahead of time rather than during the month the author wants their book to be on NetGalley, but we do list books the month-of if there is space available.
When the form is filled out, the person listing the book will receive an email of acceptance, waitlist, or no room. Books are prioritized for SFWA members and new listings. Final decisions for waitlisted books happen a few days before the new month begins. When all the slots are filled for a month, the option for listing in the next available month is given. We work with the author to find a solution that works for both SFWA NetGalley Program and the author.
On the first of the month, the author will receive an email with a link to their NetGalley page, which stays live for the rest of time or until NetGalley is no longer on the internet, and is a resource to direct to even after the listing is closed. They will also receive a widget to invite trusted reviewers to download the book. Being prepared with an ARC campaign by sending newsletters and posting on various social media will get the most requests. As mentioned before, there is a conversion rate of about 38% of requests that turn into a review—this accounts for requests that are denied.
What are some elements of the NetGalley Partnership Program that come up as common questions or concerns among authors, and what are some possible uses for this service that many might be overlooking?
The most common question is an unfamiliarity with how NetGalley works. The fact that there are six types of NetGalley members who are using it for multiple purposes, perhaps ordering a book for a library or bookstore, educational materials, along with reviews, surprises some of our NetGalley program enrollees.
Some authors may not be interested in the reviews; they simply want librarians to read the book for library selection. This can be limited by selecting only “Librarians” on the form. But, overall, most authors are looking for something to generate buzz about their books. By listing with NetGalley, promoting the NetGalley listing in several places, buzz will be generated. Using the permanent NetGalley link for promotion, along with a Goodreads link, can also be beneficial to garner reader interest.
And…the big question: Since we’re talking about reviews, we also have to brace for the possibility of negative press. How do you lessen the chances of a bad fit for our authors, and what are some useful data points authors can take from the experience, even if reader reception wasn’t great?
Unfortunately, we can’t control what reviews we get. There will always be a reader the book wasn’t for. Because NetGalley rewards high feedback percentage, even a DNF (did not finish) book will be rated on NetGalley. SFWA has a good chunk of validated NetGalley members across all six categories. These validated members have credentials to prove to NetGalley they work in the field they are validated in. Additionally, any member who is not validated by NetGalley must request the books listed in the SFWA NetGalley program.
The program coordinator checks each request and looks for a high feedback ratio (over 70%), recent feedback, or a reason the most recent review is older, and an updated bio. Additionally, she checks the links to the other websites where reviews are posted to see when those were most recently updated and if they cover more than the most popular current books. It’s important that at least one of the author-selected genres for the book appear in the list of genres the NetGalley member is interested in. If any of those look outdated or do not match, they will be declined.
The SFWA NetGalley Program Coordinator reads every review that comes through. When there is something egregious in the review (for example, rating a book low and giving a scathing review about a book format issue that is supposed to be reported through NetGalley’s form and not through a review) or if the review is clearly biased, it will be flagged for removal from the NetGalley site and the reviewer themself will be flagged with the details of why. That reviewer may not be approved for future books.
I also appreciate when authors read their reviews and let me know through netgalley@sfwa.org that a review appeared to be for a different book or a misrepresentation of the book that the author will know, but the NetGalley Coordinator who has not read the book may not. Those reviews will also be flagged for removal from NetGalley, and the member flagged with details for future approval/decline use.
Thank you, Adria Bailton and NetGalley staff, for keeping this line of author advocacy open to SFF creators!
For more information, please visit the NetGalley Partnership Program application page.
All authors with upcoming releases, whether or not you’re a SFWA member, you’re welcome to apply. The experienced volunteers who operate this SFWA program will do their best to find you a spot, to set your book up with the right readers, and to deliver campaign reports from NetGalley that can be used to improve other parts of your book promo work.
And to all authors on the publishing trail, we’re always rooting for your success here at SFWA.
Explore more articles from SFWA Presents: Get to Know…
Adria Bailton (she/they) imagines entire worlds and universes to share while spending her days studying atoms, the smallest unit of matter. More of their stories where she strives to create characters that reflect their own bisexuality, neurodiversity, and disability appear in Worlds of Possibility, The Colored Lens, and Constelación, among others. Her debut YA science fiction novel, Worlds Divide, is available from Balance of Seven Press in April 2026. She creates from the US PNW, on the traditional territory of several Indigenous nations, including the Stillaguamish, Suquamish, and Duwamish. Find them at www.adriabailton.com.
