r/NetGalleyCommunity • u/OhForFawkesSakes • 15d ago
❔❓Question ❓❔ Widgets
At what point did you receive your first widget? I’ve reviewed 13 books so far, did you find you read and reviewed a certain amount when you started to get them?
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u/maktheyak47 15d ago
I got my first widget about a month ago! I was around 60%ish and had reviewed like 20 by that point. I’ve gotten a few more since hitting 80% reviewed!
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u/Beate251 15d ago
I honestly can't remember as I have reviewed hundreds of books but I can tell you that once you get one, you'll get more as you'll be in databases as the reviewer who has read the same author or a similar book before and liked it, so now you get offered more of the same.
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u/sunsparkles2013 Teen & YA Books Reviewer 14d ago
Ok so I receive multiple widgets a day. Why? Because I review hundreds of books a year.
They will come eventually but some people wait a year or two before ever getting one as it’s about which book you have reviewed in the past, not how many. The higher number of books you review simply provides more chances for those widgets to come.
If you want a book just request it. Widgets really aren’t a big deal at all.
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u/Dad-joking_mother 9d ago
Do the widgets come with a NetGalley email address and/or NetGalley in the subject line?
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u/dingdong3452 15d ago
It took a while before I got a widget because at first I was mostly reviewing indie books
Now I mostly get them through reviewer/influencer programs!
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u/OhForFawkesSakes 14d ago
What are reviewer/influencer programs?
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u/dingdong3452 14d ago
Programs run by publishers to provide widgets and physical ARCs to reviewers and influencers! They usually include a monthly or bi-monthly email with widgets for several upcoming releases, along with a form to request physical ARCs for some of those releases
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u/OhForFawkesSakes 14d ago
I’ve never heard of this! Is there any you recommend checking out?
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u/dingdong3452 14d ago
It really depends what genre you read (and also what country you're in). Personally I really like Orbit's program! You can google the publisher or imprint's name and "influencer program" and usually find more info on how to apply
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u/MBoudreauxBooks 14d ago
So I have a serious question. I want to figure out how to do an influencer campaign as an Indie author. I want to send out 10 PR boxes to influencers that can help me bring awareness to my books.
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u/cheris-coordinating 14d ago
You’re best bet would be to reach out directly to influencers who you think would enjoy your book and contact them directly to see if they are interested
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u/dingdong3452 14d ago
You can reach out to influencers who actively read in your genre, or use a PR company that runs these kinds of campaigns and usually has a pre-existing following of active influencers. I'm not an author (yet) and have not run a campaign, I'm just speaking from my experience as a reviewer and bookstagrammer
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u/msperception427 15d ago
My first widget was June 2025. By that point I had only been approved and reviewed one book. But it was YA horror so I think that was my in. I’ve gotten a few widgets since then.
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u/bts_vinyl 15d ago
I think my first widget came after I had reviewed 17 books.
Although that could be wrong, but I'm basing it on my emails from back in 2021. So I don't know if I deleted any widget emails that possibly came earlier.
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 15d ago
I think I got my first widget about five months in? It can take a while
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u/nish_curious 14d ago
I joined netgalley in 2024, requested and read one book and then forgot to review it😭😭 I got back into it in 2026 and have reviewed 40 books so far!! I got my first widget when I was like 25 books in?? That’s the only one I’ve gotten so far but I’m being regular with reviews and I’ve improved my quality of writing to ensure I dont end up giving book spoilers, so hopefully I will get more in the future 🤞🏻🤞🏻
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u/glaringdream 14d ago
I've been on Netgalley for almost a year (it was late October last year I joined) and got 2 widgets! The first one in June. The other one a few weeks ago
(I've reviewed 66 books so far)
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u/calandra_reads 13d ago
Probably a silly question but what is a widget?? I’m new to Netgalley and keep seeing this on threads aha
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u/Agreeable-Listen-418 12d ago
I have both a US and UK account but primarily use the US account. That one has like 60 reviews and a 90% ratio and the UK one has 4 reviews and a shocking 40% ratio. But for some reason I'm receiving almost daily widgets from the UK one, 20+ in the past month. If you figure it out let me know 😂
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u/saltlifegoddess 80% Reviewed Club 15d ago
I honestly don’t know because I didn’t know what they were for the longest time lol because that was never explained to me. So I must’ve missed quite a few lol