What Is NetGalley – Everything You Need To Know About NetGalley UK

I’ve been using NetGalley for a few years now and I have to say I’m a big fan! If you’re looking to get free books, NetGalley is the place you’ll want to go. It has thousands of books which are constantly being updated every day and it doesn’t matter what genre you like, they have it all. I’ve been reading books through NetGalley for a few years now and It’s great.

I’ve actually been using NetGalley for years before I was even a big book geek and had shelving full of books or even made this website, that just shows how great they are if they can successfully be going for this long. It’s a vital, much needed resource for authors and publishing houses, which means you get free books in the process!

Take a read of this post and you’ll no longer be asking questions like, what is NetGalley and you won’t need to be typing www.netgalley.co.uk because I’ll have all the links you need!

What Is NetGalley UK?

I get this question a lot when I talk about NetGalley. NetGalley is essentially a place to get free books. Not physical copies, but free ebooks and free audiobooks. Audiobooks, in my opinion, have risen in popularity for a while and NetGalley audiobooks are becoming more frequent there. I listen to my free audiobooks while I’m at the gym and once a workout is over I’m normally 2 to 3 more chapters into the book.

If you’re an avid reader like I am, NetGalley is a website you must check out. It will require you to download the NetGalley Shelf app on your phone/tablet but that’s so you can read all the NetGalley free books you want. You can also have your books sent to Kindle although this is on selected titles and not all of them so you’ll want to ensure you have the NetGalley app.

NetGalley Questions

Can anyone join NetGalley?

In theory yes. However, you want to build up your profile and have some form of being able to review the books you get. You won’t get any books if you’re just there to read books and that’s all. I review the books I read via Goodreads, on this website and also promote them on my social media, such as my Instagram. That being said if a book is a little rubbish I won’t take the time to write a long review but I’ll just leave an honest review on Goodreads and maybe talk about it on my Instagram stories.

The publishing houses and authors also want to see that you’re active. Make sure you fill out your profile and post on your social media etc. Often otherwise, it’s unlikely you’ll get many books.

Can I get free books on NetGalley?

Yes! You can get free e-books and free audiobooks on NetGalley. However, you will need to review the books you get. Each profile has a review score. If you get 10 books but only review one of them, you’ll have a 10% review score which shows you don’t actually review the books that you do get and you’re less likely to get NetGalley free books at all.

Is NetGalley Free?

NetGalley is totally free for readers. If you’re a publisher or an author who wants to put their book on NetGalley there will be a cost, if you’re looking to have your book on NetGalley it’s easier to talk to the NetGalley publishing side rather than coming to me for the answers because I’ve never done it and there are certain packages that they offer.

Does NetGalley send physical books?

No. NetGalley has never sent out physical copies of the books. The website gives out thousands of free books to people per month so think of the monumental tasks, the shipping costs, print costs and extra costs to independent authors if they did. I like the fact that NetGalley doesn’t send physical copies of books, it’s better for the environment.

How long does it take to get approved for a book on NetGalley?

An approval on NetGalley will normally take up to 30 days. You will either get accepted or declined a book. When you sign up to NetGalley remember to fill out your profile for better chances of getting books.

How long do I have to read a book on NetGalley?

Most books will give you 55 days to read the book and leave a review. I would suggest if you can send your book to Kindle, do that as it won’t get taken off of Kindle.

Books I’ve Got Free From NetGalley

Over the years I’ve received some amazing NetGalley free books. I thought I’d post a few below so that you can see the range that they have available. It won’t just be LGBTQ+ NetGalley books but different ones so that you can see a full spectrum. I’d love to know what NetGalley books you’ve gotten in the past so let me know in the comments!

I also love getting Netgalley Audiobooks, you can save them on the NetGalley shelf or Kindle and I find myself listening to them at the gym and it helps my workouts go so much faster!

Tips On Getting Books Approved On NetGalley

So NetGalley is great for getting free books, because who doesn’t love to read and not have to pay for a book? However, there are certain things you must do on NetGalley if you’re going to be accepted for any books that you want, otherwise, you’ll find your NetGalley shelf very much empty. Take a look at some of the tips below for examples.

• Fill out your profile. Make sure you fill out your entire profile, if you can help it don’t leave anything blank. Make sure you tick all of the genres you like, and be sure to connect your social media pages, your Goodreads and anywhere else you might leave a review. If the publishing house or the author think their review is going to go to more place, you’re more likely to get a free book.

• Review often. Ensure you’re leaving reviews for everything you get on NetGalley, even if you don’t like it. That’s why you get free books. Also, review other stuff you read, not just NetGalley books. The more reviews you leave on NetGalley the higher your review score will be mine is 74% after almost 4 years which isn’t too bad as there are always one or two issues along the way.
• Don’t take too many books. The more books you take, the more books you have to read. This will impact your review score and lower it. Take a couple of books at a time and then once you’ve read them ask for a couple more. I do it this way as I’m a slow reader although if you read fast you might want to get more than a couple at a time. The only time I request more than one is when it’s either a book I REALLY want to read, if I love the author with a passion or if it’s an audiobook. I can have up to 3 or 4 audiobooks on my account at any given time as I know I will listen to them and it motivates me to work out in the gym. I listen to them through the NetGalley shelf app which you will need to get.
• Leave Detailed Reviews. You don’t have to write positive reviews if you didn’t like the book, it’s good to have both positive and negative reviews on the books you’ve reviewed. However, make sure your reviews are helpful and detailed and address any issues that you had in the book or highlight parts that you loved. It’ll increase your chances of getting more books in the future.

These tips will help you get more NetGalley books for sure, it’s a tried and tested method I use all the time and I’ve been getting some cool books for years now. If you want NetGalley free books, you’ll have to play by their rules and personally, I don’t think the rules are bad at all. It means the authors and publishing houses get their money’s worth as they have to pay to have their books hosted on NetGalley and then give away free books.

NetGalley Review Examples

When leaving a NetGalley review you want to make sure it’s detailed and answers questions that people might have instead of just writing the minimum. I’ll drop some examples of a good and a bad review below and I’ll give you some tips for leaving great book reviews as well because feedback to authors is key and it helps their writing in the future.

Bad Review Example

Below is an example of a bad review. If you’re going to be getting free NetGalley books, do not write reviews like this. You need to be honest in your reviews and give examples as to why you liked this book. Short reviews are never good either because they have no information. Authors and publishers on NetGalley won’t be all that willing to give you free books if you leave basic reviews like this.

“I liked this book. It was good to read and I will recommend it to other people”

Good Review Example

So below you will see an example of a good review. Yes, you can go into a lot more detail about the book that you’re reading as you’ll know the names of characters and things that happen within the book, whereas below is just a simple example. It gives a better insight into what you did and didn’t like about the book and will help the authors.

When you have read a book make sure you put your favourite lines, characters (and why you love them) and also who you hated (and why) along with anything you didn’t like into your review. It’ll help the author to know where their audience is maybe disconnecting with their book, especially if you’re not the only one saying it.

“I really liked this book. I think it was very slow over the first 4 chapters and there was a little too much description throughout, it made it difficult to follow at times. I thought the character development for the protagonist (name) was really good although the character development for (name) wasn’t, due to their story I was expecting a lot more from them. Overall, I’d give this book a four star, based on the story alone I would give this book a 3.5 star rating out of five but I really liked the front cover and the blurb so I’m pushing it to a 4 star rating out of 5.”

Tips For Leaving Great Reviews

Below are a couple of tips for leaving a good book review. I won’t go into too much detail as I’d love to cover this in another post at some point but you’ll get along fine if you follow the following tips to leave good reviews.

• Never, ever copy anyone else! Plagiarism can be detected and will be detected. Not only are you stealing someone else’s review, but when you’re caught you won’t be getting any new free books anytime soon and your account on NetGalley will be removed so if I were you, I wouldn’t even think about it.
• Detail is key. Make sure you put a lot of detail in your book, make sure it’s your own thoughts and not the thoughts of everyone reading it. Personal opinions are helpful to authors, even more so when more than one person gives the same opinion because that’s a pattern.
• If you’re leaving a NetGalley review, leave it before the publishing date of the book. NetGalley reviews are there to help the author and it helps them or their publishing team focus on the good things about the book to boost sales, they’re hopeful that you can help them and then they’re also more likely to post more books onto NetGalley meaning more opportunities for readers in the future.

Is NetGalley Worth It?

Totally, if you love to read or listen to books you should get NetGalley. It’s a great resource for people that want to read books but can’t afford them all the time. Don’t expect there to be popular books on there because 90% of the time the NetGalley books are pre-release or have only just been released and now they want some decent, detailed reviews for the books. This is why it’s super important to leave decent reviews on NetGalley.

NetGalley Review

I really hope that this post helped you answer what’s NetGalley as I’m sure that’s the reason you came here in the first place, not just to listen to me ramble.

So I hope you found this NetGalley review helpful, I know it’s more of a How to use NetGalley guide but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If you want free NetGalley books you have to play by their rules. I love NetGalley, I’ve been using it for years and I’m sure I’ll be using it for years to come. In a world where AI can write everything for you, I love reading work that a real person has written and if you don’t have the funds to buy books all the time, visit www.NetGalley.co.uk and sign up today!

Let me know if you’re a fan of NetGalley, I’ve heard some people hate it and I have no idea why. I’ve never had anything go wrong with it and I’ve gotten some amazing books through it and found some great authors to follow. I know NetGalley is set up across the globe so let me know if you’re not using the NetGalley UK website and what one you’re using!

If you think I’ve left anything out of this NetGalley review post, let me know in the comments and I’ll try and add it in. I hope you enjoy your NetGalley free books and let me know which book you’ve gotten is your favourite!