If you want free books and are interested in helping to shape and promote the work of authors, choose the opportunities below that suit you. Read the explanations first to make sure you’re clear on what each volunteer role entails. Then you can sign up for the one that sounds like the right fit for your interests.
Alpha Readers (help mold the manuscript): Alpha readers get copies of a book during its early drafts (the rough first or second draft, in most cases). By reading the entire manuscript and providing feedback on “big picture” issues like plot holes and character development (not the detailed stuff like spelling and punctuation), Alpha readers guide the self-revision efforts of the author. If you don’t mind getting in on “how the sausage is made,” being an Alpha reader might be a good fit for you.
Beta Readers (give the author a preview of what customers might think): Beta readers get books when they are closer to the end of the book development process, but not quite ready for publication. This gives betas a solid idea of what the finished product is going to look like, though it may still need a little polish (for example, these books often haven’t been copy edited yet, so there may still be some obvious grammatical errors, but the story isn’t going to change in a major way, if at all). Beta readers get a free copy of a book, provide commentary on it, and share those comments with the author so that they can be used for marketing adjustments and promotional efforts.
ARC Reviewers (help promote the book by copying and pasting your review across the web): Advance Reader Copy (ARC) reviewers get a finalized copy of the book. In exchange, the volunteer gets to read the book and commits to leaving a review across an array of bookish sites like BookBub, Goodreads, Amazon, and Kobo. ARCs are usually sent out within the weeks or months before publication so that reviews can already be circulating by the time the book is released.