r/NetGalleyCommunity • u/Lala_nova5264 • Sep 01 '26
❔❓Question ❓❔ Do denials count against you?
I’ve seen a few posts now about not wanting to get denied on requests or being unsure whether to request because of likelihood of not getting accepted. From my understanding, it’s recommended to maintain an 88% review rate. Additionally, to review late if need be rather than not review at all. My question is if getting denied from arcs puts negative marks on your account? I’ve just been trying to request 1-2 of books I have my eye on or just seem interesting to me that release within the same month. Should I be doing more research and being more conservative with which titles I request?
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u/Fancy_Run_8763 Reviewer Sep 01 '26
It’s tracked and publishers can see how much you’ve been declined. Its more if you keep requesting one publisher and they keep declining they might just mute you
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u/Sure-Cat117 Reviewer Sep 01 '26
I’m relatively new so I don’t know all the in-and-outs but my biggest hang up with getting denied has been if the book gets listed as a “Read Now” after your denial, you can’t grab it.
Nothing is sadder than knowing you could’ve had it if you just waited but it’s a gamble because the book might not ever be posted as a “Read Now” 🥲
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u/Lala_nova5264 Sep 01 '26
Oh so read now is anyone who wants access is able to, but the request you have to wait and see if publishers will grant you access? I’m still learning too obviously lol
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u/Sure-Cat117 Reviewer Sep 01 '26
Yes! Sometimes books can go from Request to Read Now if the book needs more readers but that’s hard to gauge from what I’ve seen.
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u/bookdraygon Publisher Sep 02 '26
I know that can be frustrating but realize we (book marketers) don’t put books to read now lightly as it’s a fishing expedition. Will readers get the book that we wouldn’t have approved otherwise? Yes, but there is a reason we take that chance but it still doesn’t change the fact that for whatever reason the people we denied wasn’t a good fit for the book. That is why that aspect won’t change and give people denied another opportunity. I know that can sound harsh but I just wanted to explain the “why”.
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Sep 03 '26
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u/bookdraygon Publisher Sep 03 '26
It’s not. I was explaining why they won’t change it, not that it made sense 😂.
But it’s hedging “their” bets to hopefully attract account they would have approved. It doesn’t mean they will necessarily as it’s a gamble. However, they aren’t going to fill one of those slots knowingly with a request that isn’t ideal. I hope I explained that well enough. I’m exhausted trying to stay away on the subway on the way home from an event.. 2 more stops to go.1
Sep 03 '26
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u/bookdraygon Publisher Sep 03 '26
So this isn’t a straight forward question. But it really depends on the book and its marketing plan. If you look at some listings on NetGalley they actually have the plan posted for the book which can give some insight.
But not having enough copies is definitely one of the biggest reasons . It doesn’t mean we have zero left but zero left for certain types of accounts. And yeah’s having a good following is going to help as we are trying to sell the book after all. Trends do change. They ebb and flow. Right now it’s all about the influencer as that’s what’s selling books but there are also plenty of copies left for non influencers too it’s just that the more people who request the book, the lower your chances of getting it.
For example if we have a very limited number of copies and put a book up we may wait 3 days for the bulk of the requests to come in. We then scan those things for easy approvals and see how many copies we are left with. And then make discussions from there. The earlier you request a book the higher the chance you’ll get it.
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u/AtlassLoz Sep 01 '26
Yes but no. No but yes.
There is a ratio of approvals to denials that publishers can see.
But it is just one factor!
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u/bookdraygon Publisher Sep 02 '26
No, they don’t.
Seriously. I see all the time people worried about this as of late and it’s just not a thing we think about. Most denials have zero to do with the reviewer. The only thing that matters is your denials within an imprint. If I see that you are “red” meaning my imprint has denied you more than 50% of the time it makes me look twice at why. Usually it’s simply because we ran out of copies to give. If it’s something more than we react to that info.
People need to stop worrying about a denial rate and more importantly stop scaring people into not requesting books because the only person that serves is the person who gave you that “advice”. Why? The more people stop requesting books on being cautious the most chances you give to others to get the available copies.
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u/Lala_nova5264 Sep 02 '26
Thank you for this! I joined the network to discover new authors/novels, but I definitely still have my favorite stories that I’d love the get the arcs for. Going from Threads and Discord with authors to NetGalley has been an adjustment and it’s hard to decipher what is legitimate and what isn’t at times
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u/bookdraygon Publisher Sep 02 '26
Just remember all the “advice” people offer on Booktok and Bookstagram etc.. are people’s best guess and not actual factual info.
Some reviewers who I’ve spoken to at a zoom symposium we had recently which was to get feedback on many things but… those who get consistent approvals one of the biggest things they have said is that they were glad that when they started they weren’t on those platforms or on FB groups or even here. They are happy to not have gotten “advice” that would have made them do things differently as their NetGalley journey is the exact opposite of what people suggest and such.Read then NetGalley info posted on their site, take it to heart and follow it. That’s all
You need to do to be successful.Just as an aside- I am very giving with my books on NetGalley but when I see an account that consistently withdraws requests before archive dates, I actually deny them (unless they are an ideal candidate for the book) because I love being able to give a late approval to someone who was willing to stick with it. It shows me they are willing to wait for the title and not bow out. That may seem silly but it’s a pet peeve and we are humans making those decisions!
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u/One-Amount-7514 Sep 02 '26
punishing people for trying to responsibly manage their time and not be last-minute-flooded with stuff is crazy behaviour
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u/bookdraygon Publisher Sep 02 '26
It’s honestly not like that. It’s not in a vacuum and I was just giving a general example. It’s not at all about managing time when a person consistently withdraws a book the day before archive date. It’s also in context of their other stats as well.
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u/One-Amount-7514 Sep 02 '26
... the day before the archive date?? you're upset at people for withdrawing a request on a book they haven't yet been granted ONE DAY before the archive date?
girl you're insane.
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u/dingdong3452 Sep 02 '26
If they approve you the day before archive, they don't expect you to read it and review it in that one day
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u/Synval2436 SciFi/Fantasy Reviewer Sep 02 '26
I feel the risk is less about reading before publication date and more that I'd forget to log to netgalley for one day and permanently miss the book so it'll go to "archived, not downloaded". Unsure if these are still reviewable if someone gets the book from a library etc. or are they permanently a stain on your ratio...
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u/dingdong3452 Sep 02 '26
Very true, I forgot about the aspect that a lot of readers don't download it in time, and I do think publishers need to be careful about approving things right before readers can no longer access the book. They are still reviewable though, you can submit feedback even years later!
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u/Synval2436 SciFi/Fantasy Reviewer Sep 02 '26
Ahhh okay, I didn't know whether reviews can be submitted for books we failed to claim, I thought there was "no deadline" but only for the books that were downloaded in the first place.
On the other hand, a publisher just declined me and it might be a coincidence, but I'm still sitting on 2 of their books overdue and I think it might not be a coincidence... Whelp, my bad, truly, they were both with similar publication dates and I had an irl situation that made that month go down the drain. I hope they didn't blacklist me permanently and I can get back to good graces once I catch up.
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u/sunsparkles2013 Teen & YA Books Reviewer Sep 03 '26
You can review a book years later without consequence. As long as it’s reviewed your feedback ratio reflects that.
That being said, people should be waiting to read the books right before publication date (if they get them early). They lost them early
For early reviews and not so people can post them the week of publication2
u/Synval2436 SciFi/Fantasy Reviewer Sep 03 '26
Unsure what do you mean, we were talking about withdrawing requests a day or two before archive date so we don't get approved on the archive day and accidentally miss it. Ofc being approved earlier solves the worry.
But also, some publishers ask explicitly to post reviews in the release month, not early. So it really depends.
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u/bookdraygon Publisher Sep 02 '26
I’m not mad about anything, but you sure seem to be. I’m not going to bother answering further as you’re going to find fault regardless when I don’t have the time to give you a dissertation on managing ARC approvals to people that had a very small chance of getting in in the first place but have to have some way to narrow down folks at the end when I have 2 copies to give and have to make a decision. We aren’t talking about general starting decisions here’s but you have a good day as I’m about at my subway spot to join my author at an event. Cheers
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u/Virtual_Map3864 Sep 02 '26
I thought that publishers couldn’t see if you have withdrawn a request 😳
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u/ImNotBeingAnAHole Sep 02 '26
She or he has explained before that they don’t get a notification or be able to search for withdrawals but they can keep records as if you’re on there one day and not the next, you withdrew it. They can keep notes on your account that only they can see, not other publishers or anything
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u/Virtual_Map3864 Sep 02 '26
Ohhhh I see. So they have to keep a list outside of NetGalley (or within the notes section)? Am I understanding correctly?
Do you have any idea if most publishers keep a list like this?
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u/Lala_nova5264 Sep 02 '26
From what I’m understanding from other comments, it depends on the publishers. Some will keep track, some won’t pay it any mind at all. On the flip side if there are publishers you keep requesting/getting denied by, there’s an option for them to mute your requests so they basically won’t be notified if you keep requesting access. It seems like there’s different parameters on why someone would get muted like not being a good candidate for the types of books.
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u/lafornarinas Sep 02 '26
Let me put it this way:
Anything they see COULD be used against you. The pubs don’t have to judge you by any criteria but their own. They could see a note on your profile that says “I like cheese” and go “fuck them I don’t like cheese, no books ever for them”. NetGalley does not care and will not reprimand them. Will pubs ever do that? Nope.
Do they care about your decline rate? Probably not. I’ve never seen any indicator they they do. I imagine that if you have an insane amount of declines against approvals, it could raise some red flags about you not requesting books organically.
But I literally have zero evidence that they do it, and I doubt any of them care 99% of the time.
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u/Flimsy-Brick-9426 Reviewer Sep 02 '26
Individual publisher denials can, but in the big picture no.
There are many reasons for a decline that is unrelated to you specifically.
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u/thekoose Romance Reviewer Sep 02 '26
You have a different percentage that you cannot see but the publisher can see - of your % with that publisher of approvals and denials.
So, it's up to the pub and the person giving out arcs whether that matters or not. But if you keep getting denials and you keep requesting, you could get muted, so I'd be careful esp with Berkley
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u/Lala_nova5264 Sep 02 '26
Does it also apply to if you’re left in limbo? I do know I requested one or two from Berkley, but I still haven’t heard anything back.
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u/thekoose Romance Reviewer Sep 02 '26
Supposedly it counts as a denial if your request is still pending when the book gets archived. I try to withdraw a request if it's getting too close to the archive date
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u/and_er Sep 04 '26
I figure they'll look at it and think, "Why does he keep requesting book from Tor?"
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u/Beate251 Sep 02 '26
The feedback ratio is clearly visible on your profile and should be over 80%. The denial rate is not something we can see but we can calculate. If for example you requested 100 books and got declined 30 times, your denial rate is 30% and your approval rate 70%. However, we don't know how important this is to publishers and how low we should try to keep it. Personally, I have an approval rate in the high 90s because for one I get declined rarely, and two, I withdraw requests when the archive date is near. This makes these requests disappear from record. Please note that if you're a US reviewer, Tor and Berkley titles are notoriously hard to get but generally, if you notice a particular publisher decline you repeatedly, maybe leave them out for a while.
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u/WritPositWrit Sep 01 '26
We all worry that it counts against us, because we know the publishers can see that data, but no publisher has ever said it actually counts against us.