We’ve just rolled out the latest Hidden Gems ARC update, and it’s a big one.  The entire ARC reader FAQ has been updated with new screenshots and information, but this page will give you a quick overview of what is new, how it works, and where to find more information about it.

First, before we get into everything we want to make one important point clear.

Although there are a lot of changes and updates to the ARC program, for those that don’t want to be bothered with all of these new features you can rest assured that you can continue to keep using the ARC program as you always have been. Only difference is now you “reserve” your copy and will get that one for sure instead of signing up and maybe getting it.

But for those who want more out of the ARC program, read on!

Reserve the books YOU want

Instead of signing up for all the books that interest you and then having us send you one of them, readers now reserve a copy of the book(s) they want most and that’s the book they’ll get!  And if you change your mind (before the reservation period ends), you can even unreserve your copy!

Get MORE of the books you want

With the introduction of HGB Points (read more about these below), most readers will be able to reserve more than one book a day if there are multiple titles that interest them!  As long as your gem level is higher than Cracked, you’ll earn enough HGB Points to reserve at least one book simply by logging into the site (which you would need to do to reserve a copy anyway).

Reviews can be left on a variety of platforms

The biggest issue our readers have always had with leaving reviews are Amazon’s very strict and often erroneously applied rules. As more and more authors start “going wide” by publishing their books on other platforms, it’s become more important to be able to leave reviews on those other platforms. That’s why we’ve expanded our reader forms to allow reviews on 7 different review sites:

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Kobo
• Barnes & Noble
• Bookbub
• Apple Books
• Google Play Books

Authors determine where they want reviews, and readers will only be able to reserve books looking for reviews on sites where they can review. But with 7 review sites to choose from, none of which are nearly as restrictive as Amazon, there should be opportunity for most readers to review on a variety of sites which should lead to plenty of options. The more sites you can review on, the more offers you’ll see, so make sure to fill out all your profile info ASAP (if you haven’t already done so)!

Gem levels expanded

We’ve had the concept of gem levels around for a while. Essentially, your gem level determines your overall participation level and we had 4 different levels that would go from lowest (Cracked) where you could no longer sign up for a book to the highest (Sparkling), which meant you were almost always going to be sent a book that you signed up for.  If you fell in between, it could potentially affect whether you got books, or which books you were sent, based on who else signed up for those books and what their levels for.

Now that we’ve introduced the concept of points and are allowing readers to reserve copies of books they really want, we still want to make sure that the readers that participate the most have access to more copies of each book, but we also wanted to make sure that lower levels still have access to some as well (with the exception of Cracked, as before).  To do that, we introduced a few more gem levels.

Remember, it is very easy to maintain a high gem level, as it is not about how MANY books you reserve but rather how much you are participating as an ARC reviewer.  So filling out your reader forms for each book we send, ideally by leaving as many reviews as possible but even when you can’t (or don’t want to) review a book, you still add your reason.  With the introduction of all the new review sites, it’s never been easier, so our expectation is that most readers will very quickly end up with a high gem level.

And the higher your gem level, the faster you’ll earn points and the more points you’ll be able to store!

For those that fell way behind in the past and can’t catch up now due to Amazon restrictions, you can contact us to reset your stats and get you started again with the new review sites. Just send us an email or use the contact form and we’ll help you out!

HGB Points

As mentioned before, this release introduces the concept of HGB Points, which can be earned in a variety of ways such as simply filling out your reader forms or even logging into your dashboard every day!  These points can then be used to reserve copies of the books you want, and by storing them you can save them in case there are days when there are more than one book you want available!

But since you have to visit the site to reserve a book, and you get enough points for each daily visit to reserve at least one book, you can completely ignore the idea of points if you like and continue using the ARC program just as you have in the past.

And More…

Those are the main things that we’ve introduced in this update, but there are plenty of other little things that have been added, and more is coming soon, so I encourage you to read through the FAQ. If you have any questions, find any bugs, or have any suggestions for future features you want to see, please send us an email or use the contact form to let us know.