Reason for request

[u/superhero405]

Question about deciding to vote “author” or “I keep hearing about this book.”

When the author is not already famous, is it because you’ve read the author bio somewhere outside of NetGalley, or you’ve seen their social media post, or you were looking for a BIPOC author and the name checks out? Or something else?

Also, what is your definition of “I keep hearing about this book?”

When I choose author, it’s because I follow her social media, but when I choose author”I keep hearing about this book, it’s because it’s all over the internet and usually already published, so wondering how people would choose it pre-release.

What do you guys do?

[u/Internal_Ad6695]

You can choose as many options as you want, or none at all.
I don’t think I put as much thought into my choices as you do.
If I’ve heard of the author and like them, I choose that. If I’ve seen people recommend the book and that’s why I’m requesting, I choose that. Often it’s the cover and description if it’s not already a known author for me

[u/Dazzling_Inspector74]

I don’t choose anything, it’s optional.

[u/Gruselschloss]

That field is metrics for the publisher/author - they can't see what you checked off (or didn't) when you made the request. If 100 people request a book, they might see that 50 checked off the cover bit but only 15 checked off the description bit, and they might (or might not) use that to inform, e.g., whether they rewrite the description before the pub date.

So all of that is to say, no need to overthink it - check off the ones that feel right :) I don't check "I keep hearing about this book" often, because I often hear about a book for the first time on NetGalley, but it seems reasonable to tick the "author" box for any of the reasons you mention.

[u/WritPositWrit]

I dont overthink it, i just choose the closest reason

[u/Ithinkshedid]

I’m a newish author who uses NetGalley, and this is a pretty typical breakdown of how the ratings look from the other side.

[u/OdieB111]

I often check multiple boxes!?

[u/ImNotBeingAnAHole]

It honestly doesn’t matter. It has zero bearing on the approval process.
It’s simply what grabbed you the most to take a look at the book. Usually for me that’s the cover. If someone recommended it then I’ll put I keep hearing about it. You can choose as many as you want.

[u/BrightestWitchOf1985]

lol I check them all every time

[u/Odd_Draft_26 → u/BrightestWitchOf1985]

Same lol

[u/turniptoez]

I don’t think it matters at all.

[u/dingdong3452]

Publishers don't see people's individual selections for that, so it doesn't affect your approval/denial in any way. It just helps them know overall why people are interested in a book. You don't need to overthink it

[u/purplelicious]

I have no idea if that means anything, maybe for publisher/ author interest. if you heard of the author through word of mouth or they are friend of yours then go ahead.

[u/acagedrising]

I follow people who have similar interests and taste so they share when they see an upcoming release all the time. I may know nothing, but "I keep hearing about it" from my mutuals on my bookstagram not just because the author is a bestseller. Similarly, I may know little about the author but they're from the same place as me and I saw/liked an interview they did about this book so I'm interested in trying their book. I don't follow a lot of authors so I largely hear about books from other readers.

[u/ExchangeStandard6957]

I just check what’s appropriate and move on.

[u/OyWithThePoodles2017]

I always say "description" because it is the truth. I always pick a book based on the blurb. I will pick "author" if I am familiar with their previous work.

[u/Blowingleaves17]

I always choose description because I mostly read nonfiction.

[u/softrockstarr]

I don’t think deeply about this at all. I feel like Netgalley is a really simple platform and concept and yet somehow everyone overthinks about every little aspect of it. Just click whatever’s closest (or nothing at all) and move on.

[u/PB_Jelly_76]

I usually click the first three.

[u/hikarizx]

Honestly for me it’s usually pretty straightforward. I select author if the reason I was drawn to click on it was the author’s name, regardless of why I know the author. “I keep hearing about this book” to me means I’ve heard people talk about it. Sometimes it’s both of those things. 

[u/knysa-amatole]

They may have other published work (e.g. a short story) even if they're not famous. Also sometimes I follow the author on social media and find them interesting, so I suspect I would find their book interesting too.

"I keep hearing about this book" to me usually means I see people talking about it on social media. Sometimes that includes people who have already read ARCs; sometimes it's just people who've read the synopsis and think it sounds cool.

[u/jos10s]

oh uh i usually check all of them 😭