Lost Island ARC Team
Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) are early versions of a book distributed to readers before publication in exchange for honest reviews. As a Lost Island ARC reader, you’ll receive free digital ARCs before they’re available to the public—and your reviews will help the right readers discover our books.
Whether you’re an influencer, educator, bookseller, or an avid reader with a Goodreads account, we invite you to learn more below and apply to join.
How It Works
Step 1: Wait for an ARC opportunity.
Once you’re officially on our ARC Team, we’ll send you an email whenever we have a new ARC reading opportunity. Simply wait for an email invitation in the weeks leading up to our next release. The invite will include a short description of the story and the deadline for posting your review. If it suits your taste and schedule, click the link in that email to download a review copy.
Step 2: Post a review.
After reading through your ARC copy, please post at least one valid review that meets our minimum length requirements. The review must also include an articulated opinion (not just a star rating or summary).
Valid Review Criteria
| Valid Review Type | Minimum Length Requirement |
| YouTube Video* | 1+ minute |
| Goodreads Review | 5+ sentences |
| Instagram Post | 5+ sentences |
| Instagram Reel | 1+ minutes OR 5+ sentences in the caption |
| TikTok Video | 30+ seconds |
| Blog Post* | 5+ sentences |
| Podcast Episode* | 1+ minute |
Honesty Policy
We value genuine feedback, positive or negative. All we ask is that you avoid critiquing authors on the grounds of political views, religion, ethnicity, or any other personal attributes unrelated to their work.
While not required, we also recommend including a disclaimer in your reviews, such as:
I received a free copy from Lost Island Press in exchange for an honest review.
Voluntary Amazon Reviews
Amazon’s Community Guidelines prohibit us from providing free ebooks in exchange for reviews—even honest ones. However, if you’re open to leave a review voluntarily, that would be greatly appreciated!
You’re welcome to copy and paste your reviews to Amazon. Please be mindful of Amazon’s guidelines, as phrases like “in exchange for” may cause the review to be rejected. Instead, we recommend using a disclaimer like this one:
I received a free copy from Lost Island Press, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Step 3: Verify your review.
Every time you download an ARC, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a review verification link. Please refer back to that email and click the link once your review is live. This ensures that our system logs your review task as “completed” so we don’t bug you with reminder emails.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I download a review copy but don’t like the book?
Our reminder emails give you the chance to request a deadline extension or opt out. If you’re having trouble getting through an ARC, opting out will ensure that you’re no longer required to leave a review.
Do I need to join every ARC campaign?
Nope! You’ll be invited to join each campaign, but you’re not required to read the book and leave a review.
Please note that downloading an ARC automatically opts you into the campaign—so if you don’t plan to join the campaign, don’t download the free ebook.
Do you accept everyone who applies?
We love welcoming new ARC readers, but we do require that the platforms you plan to post your reviews on (your YouTube channel, Instagram page, etc.) meet certain criteria. You’ll be asked to share links to them in the application below.
To better your odds, ensure your account is public and that you often post content related to books.
The most common reason we reject potential ARC readers is because they link to a Goodreads account that is private or has no posted reviews. Please take this into account before applying.