ARC you kidding me?!
ARC boxes and street teams and life since Gilded's cover reveal
Gilded in Vengeance ARCs
physical ARCs have arrived
ARC influencer boxes!
Secret street team info!
Preorder sales
Upcoming events: book signing in Stamford, CT ♥︎
Other updates: what I’m watching, reading, & generally obsessing over
1. Gilded in Vengeance ARCs (and more)
Howdy, darlings, and welcome to the latest installment of my fairly infrequent newsletter. Last time I slid into your inbox, I had a cover to share, hot off the presses. After that, everything started happening rather quickly. Pass pages wrapped up, meaning the actual words of the book are now set on each page by the design team. Then the book was formatted into an e-galley, or an electronic advanced reader copy. For the last month or so, Gilded has been available on Netgalley, which provides advanced e-copies to influencers (aka bookstagrammers, booktubers, booktokkers), booksellers, librarians, and more. It’s also available on Edelweiss, which tends to be for booksellers and librarians who are curating their lists to purchase for their shelves.
This means that, in the past 6 weeks, I’ve had to relearn how to not read reviews. Curiosity got the best of me for a few days, but I’ve curbed the urge to peek!
a. ARCs Have Arrived
To my utter delight, I received a box of Gilded in Vengeance ARCs. Look at these beauties!
This was SUPER exciting for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the cover truly looks different in person. It’s extraordinarily vibrant artwork—so much so that, if the file is formatted incorrectly when resized, the color saturation gets all messed up (I’m looking at you, GoodReads).
And second, physical ARCs are a privilege I truly did not expect to have this time around. It means that HarperCollins is sending ARCs to booksellers and other people in the book community, which gives Gilded a chance to build some momentum and create buzz. Pre-release buzz leads to preorders, and preorders lead publishers to invest on a title, thus lending it more marketing and advertising. In an ideal world, publishers would invest in every title they acquire, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Which leads us to the next exciting update: ARC influencer boxes!
b. ARC Influencer Boxes
If you’re a bookseller or a book influencer, and you’d like to be considered for a Gilded In Vengeance ARC (specifically, an ARC influencer box with other bookish goodies), you can add your name for consideration here. These decisions are largely out of my control, but I’m going to do my best to advocate for boxes for as many of you as I can.
Which brings us to our next Gilded update…
c. The Ballgowns & Betrayal Street Team!
For those who aren’t aware, street teams are a way for excited readers to help support a book (and the author) in the months leading up to publication. I didn’t run a street team for Revelle because:
1) I had no idea what I was doing, and
2) I truly couldn’t fathom anyone wanting to volunteer their time to help a debut author create buzz. It has been a long journey to not only accept help, but bask in the incredible enthusiasm of this community.
So this time, I’m doing a street team… but with a twist! This has not yet been announced, but since newsletter subscribers always hear first… it’s a joint street team!
I’m partnering with Jill Tew, a brilliant and talented YA author and friend whose sophomore novel, An Ocean Apart, comes out a few weeks before Gilded in Vengeance. We’re calling it Ballgowns & Betrayal, and we have SO MUCH FUN planned for our future street team members. Really, that’s our goal: having fun with this.
We’ll have…
welcome packages with goodies
e-ARCS of both(!) books
exclusive Discord access
masquerade mask madness
Traveling ARC races,
And all sorts of fun competition between Team Gilded (🔥) and Team Ocean (💩). Yes, I just made up those names. Let’s see if Jill’s a newsletter subscriber.
Obviously, Team Gilded is going to DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN. Kidding. Or am I? 😈
We’re officially opening the street team application on Monday, April 28th, but since newsletter subscribers always get first dibs on literally everything, here you go!
2. Preorder Sales: Gilded is cheap(er) right now!
If you have dipped so much as a pinkie toe in the book community since Wednesday, you already know about the Barnes & Noble preorder sale that’s happening now (4/23-4/25). You can preorder Gilded or any other not-yet-released book for 25% off, which is likely the lowest price it’ll be.
And: Independent Bookstore Day is on Saturday, April 26th! If you’re fortunate enough to live near an indie bookstore, they’re having all sorts of in person events and sales. Unfortunately, my local indie went out of business during the pandemic, so I’m all too aware of the importance of supporting yours.
People often ask me: where should I buy your books in order to support you the most? The answer: anywhere. Seriously, any preorder helps so damn much. But I’ll walk you through the options, in case you’re curious.
Once again, anywhere you preorder is amazing. This bears repeating.
If you preorder at Barnes & Noble, it signals to the US’s largest in-person bookstore chain that they should stock Gilded in Vengeance on their shelves. B&N has announced major changes to how they stock books (they’re carrying way fewer titles in stores), and unless you’re a major bestseller, there’s no guarantee your book will be sold there. Without appearing in the nation’s largest bookstore chain, it’s really hard to get sales. So B&N preorders send a direct message to B&N that says: readers want this! Pick this book!
If you preorder at an independent bookstore (aka an “indie” bookstore), it signals to (the entire network of) indie bookstores that they should stock Gilded in Vengeance. Also interesting: when bestseller lists like the New York Times assess book sales, they weigh indie book sales the heaviest. The indies also have their own bestseller list, which goes out in a weekly newsletter that shoppers pick up as they enter an indie, thus increasing the likelihood of further sales.
Going deeper, indies aren’t just local small businesses; they’re one of the last safeguards against one company (that rhymes with Schmamazon) controlling nearly all things books. This may sound doom and gloom, but it’s very real. This company acquires books. They print books. They now publish books. And they sell the majority of books. They use an algorithm that makes sure their books are always the same price or $.01 cheaper than the competition. And usually, I’m all for cheaper books, but if we lose more indie bookstores, a single multi-billionaire man will be in charge of which books are acquired, printed, and sold.
Awkward segue, but…
If you preorder at Amazon, you’re moving Gilded’s ranking up on Amazon’s bestseller list, which increases how often they suggest it to other readers. This is no small feat; Amazon is the largest bookseller in the world, so being visible on Amazon really makes a difference. Sure, I may have just compared their success to a near-future dystopia, but the undeniable truth is that Amazon makes books ridiculously accessible. I don’t have an indie bookstore within a 45 minute drive with a well-stocked YA section, but I do have an internet connection. So when people preorder from Amazon, I’m just as grateful as when they preorder from anywhere else.
Anyways, thanks for coming to my preorder TedTalk. If you’ve even considered preordering, you’re already supporting authors, and we love you.
2. Upcoming events
If you’re near Stamford, CT, come to the new Barnes & Noble High Ridge on High Ridge Rd on Sunday, May 18th! I’ll be signing books from 12-3pm, and I’d love to see you!
Last month, I attended Apollycon 2025 in Washington D.C. I met the nice readers and fellow authors, and extroverted myself so hard, I’m still recovering! We’re talking thousands of readers + author meetups + a bona fide masquerade ball. Here’s a few of my fav pics, including one of me and my cousin, who was my lovely assistant during Saturday’s signings.
5. Things I’m enjoying right now
What I’m reading: I met Kate Dramis at Apollycon and devoured The Curse of Saints. Seriously, it was just my sort of crack. Now I’m moving onto the sequel, The Curse of Sins.
What I’m watching: Like any good Long Islander, I just devoured Netflix’s Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer. I grew up in the same town as the alleged serial killer, and I spent my summers along the beaches where the victims’ remains were found. I’m no true crime gal because this sort of evil makes me really sad, but with this so close to home, I’ve been tuning into every documentary and podcast.
What I’m listening to: I made a playlist for my 40th bday bash last month, and I’ve been obsessed. It’s pure nostalgia from my emo/indie pop/punk days, and if you’re on Spotify, you can check it out below. :)
What I’m buying: Too many concert tickets 😳. So many good shows coming up this summer, and I love live music too much to skip ‘em!
That’s it! Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
stunning ARCs!!!
Omg!
1. HBD! I’m celebrating the same number this summer.
2. Jill Tew!? How fun! Dividing Sky is fantastic 😍
3. What are your Street Team dates?