NetGalley vs. Edelweiss+

I’ve been meaning to do a discussion post with y’all for quite a while now, and this one was the first to pop into my mind! I hope y’all enjoy this and we can have some fun discussions from it.

– Pros of NetGalley –

• Easy to navigate
  • NetGalley has it to where everything is right in front of you. You can easily search up a title you’re looking for, or you can customize your search by favorite genres or publishers. It makes it really easy to access upcoming titles.
• Usually fast responses
  • With NetGalley, you can almost always guarantee a fast response to your request, be it a decline or approval for a title.
• Most publishers prefer it
  • Majority of YA publishers prefer NetGalley to Edelweiss. When requesting a title via email, I usually get a NetGalley widget (if not approved for a physical copy).

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– Cons of NetGalley –

• Easy to over-request
  • When requesting on NetGalley, it’s fairly easy to over-request titles. After doing this, it can be really hard to catch up. I still have titles from a year or two ago that I’ve yet to read. But there isn’t really any preventative measure against over-requesting.
• Reviewer Percentage
  • The dreaded reviewer percentage!! NetGalley has it to where your percentage is based on how many books you’ve been approved for and how many you’ve actually reviewed. I both like and dislike this, but more so on the dislike.
  • This percentage needs a desperate update. If you DNF a book and label it as such, it refuses to update your percentage, despite giving a reason as to why you aren’t reviewing the book. Most people have to just rate the book 1 star and give a DNF review to avoid the effect on their percentage.
• .ascm files
  • These files are near-impossible for me to access. They’re Adobe Edition files, but I can’t access them through that app because the app is glitchy and unresponsive. The only other way to access titles in this file format is to pay some outrageous price for other apps that accept it, and I don’t have the money or luxury to do that.

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– Pros of Edelweiss+ –

• Offers all book formats
  • Edelweiss+ offers physical copies (though these are very limited), digital copies, and audiobooks.
• Reasonable way to request titles
  • Edelweiss+ requires you to give a reason for why you’re requesting a title. This helps the publisher decide who to approve and who to decline, and I find I like this a lot more than NetGalley’s checkbox method.
• Easy to find titles
  • Like NetGalley, Edelweiss+ has it to where it’s easy to search and find titles. It has a specific checkbox sidebar that you can fill out to search for specific results.
• No reviewer percentage
  • For me, I haven’t really ever had problems getting approved on Edelweiss+ unless I hadn’t previously reviewed the books I already had. I like this method better because it actually forces you to read and review the books you’ve gotten approved for in return for getting more approvals.

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– Cons of Edelweiss+ –

• Harder to learn
  • I actually didn’t start using Edelweiss+ more often until earlier this year. It was harder for me to get a grasp on at first because you really have to know just where to go to find stuff on their site.
• Declines are frequent
  • Majority of publishers don’t often use Edelweiss+. This can lead to longer waiting times on requests, and most often, declines on titles. The few publishers that do frequent it are bigger ones like HarperCollins and Bloomsbury.
• Can be slow to load
  • It’s clear that the site does need a little updating. Site loading can often take longer, even on fast wifi or a good device.

All in all, I personally prefer Edelweiss+ over NetGalley–which is an uncommon opinion! I just find that Edelweiss+ works better for me, and it’s also a great way to share your reviews with the publishers ASAP.

But I’d definitely love to hear what y’alls opinions on both are, and what you prefer! I’m interested in hearing what y’all think of my pros and cons to both are, as well.