This is part of a series about the process, from my point of view, of how my sixth novel,
Hunger and Thirst moves from editing through to publication. Read my earlier posts about US Cover Design, structural and line edits, and copyedits.
“Atmospheric, psychologically vivid, and unputdownable” Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam
ARCs and Proofs
ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) and Proofs are the US and UK words for the same thing: a physical or digital version of the book which is sent out to other authors for quotes and blurbs, and to book reviewers, event organisers, and booksellers. This version usually uses the text before the final proofread because of timing, so it often includes typos and sometimes bigger issues in the story, all of which will hopefully be resolved before the hardback is printed.
“I was enthralled, rapt, utterly unable to put this book down. Claire Fuller, a master of psychic suspense, has done it again” Lindsay Hunter, author of Hot Springs Drive
Blurbs and quotes
A blurb is the US term for a quote (the UK term) provided by another author which is usually put on the cover, and sometimes inside the finished version. I get my fair share of proofs sent to me asking for a quote for the cover, and I’m nearly always happy to receive them*, but I don’t always provide a quote, and never if I don’t like the book and don’t finish it.
“Harrowing and tender…the kind of book to clear a weekend for, the kind of resonant nightmare that lingers long after its end” Hayden Casey, author of A Harvest of Furies
Do we need them?
This year (2025) the perennial debate came round again about whether the industry needs blurbs; how time-consuming they are for authors (to read the book and write the blurb), and for editors to ask agents and other editors to ask their authors for blurbs. My UK editor estimated that asking for blurbs takes up 80% of her time!
“An absolute masterpiece. Utter absorbing, genuinely unsettling” Jennie Godfrey author of The List of Suspicious Things
Lots of readers say they never pay attention to blurbs on books, and choose what they’re going to read from reviews or what the book is about. But although blurbs might still be useful to some readers, they are helpful for when the publisher is trying to get a retailer to stock the book and help promote it. Retailers like Waterstones are pitched many many books by publishers’ sales teams or sent catalogues to pick which books they are going to stock, and quotes for these books help guide them. If your book has a quote from Stephen King, say, then they are very likely to take note.
Why I think writers should say yes to ARCs and proofs
Last week I was speaking to an editor at a large publisher and I asked whether one of her high-profile authors might be interested in a proof of Hunger and Thirst. The editor seemed embarrassed to have to tell me that this author has told her editor and agent to never send her any proofs and never ask if she wants any. Although she writes contemporary fiction, she apparently doesn’t read it. The number of books we’re sent can be overwhelming, I get that, and yet that author was a debut once, trying to find her space in the world of publishing with her editor asking already published authors for quotes. I feel there should be more paying-it-forward going on. Afterall, it’s easy to say yes to receiving a proof but adding the disclaimer that they might not have time to read it. Who knows, they might find a gem.
“A gothic chiller — haunting, artful, suspenseful, complex, and cinematic” William Landay, author of All that is Mine I Carry With Me.
*Which proofs I won’t accept
I don’t like receiving unsolicited physical proofs, if someone knows my address; I’d much rather be asked via email first because there are some genres which aren’t for me: most historical fiction, most comic novels, most science fiction and fantasy. I never accept digital proofs because I work on screens enough already. And I don’t accept self-published books.
“Gothic, disturbing, and mesmerisingly well-written, Hunger and Thirst is like nothing I’ve read before” Lucy Atkins, author of Windmill Hill
Netgalley
In the UK book bloggers, booksellers, librarians, and reviewers can request a digital proof of books they’d like to read, including Hunger and Thirst. You can sign up here, but please do note that the vetting of whether you’re accepted or not is up to my publisher.