More on the review copies battle
Galleycat shares some of her mail on the whole ARCs issue, including letters from writers who support ARCs being sold on eBay, etc.

Statistically it takes buzz at least eight weeks to build. But - other than bestsellers - a typical book is off the front bookstore shelves only two to four weeks after it's released and after the reviews have started to trickle in (if they come in at all) - which means word of mouth moves slower than booksellers and publishers want to deal with.
A healthy preselling of ARC is one way to get readers talking about a title a few months before it comes out.

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