Are you looking for ARC readers?

I know I am! My book Domain of Power comes out on November 3rd, 2026. With less than 3 months away from the go-live date, and a month away from making the ARC available to advance readers, I have a short period of time to polish and format my book, market it, and find 50 advance readers for my historical/mystery/psychological drama.

To find ARC readers, I’ve reached out to TikTok followers, Goodreads groups dedicated to ARC readers, and Facebook ARC groups. Here’s everything you need to include in your ARC request post.

What can readers expect?

Readers want to know the basics about your book, like the title, genre(s), audience (children, middle-grade, YA, Adult/Mature), brief synopsis/blurb, and the word count. But readers also want to know your book’s themes or tropes. A trope is defined as a recurring literary device, theme, or motif. This is slightly different from a subgenre like “high fantasy” or “cozy mystery,” which are niche markets within a certain genre. However, a trope can apply to a range of different genres and can include plot devices. For example, a common plot device, “enemies-to-lovers,” is not exclusive to romance books but can be found in books that fall under more than one genre (ex: romantasy). Examples of popular tropes include “love triangle,” “morally grey MC,” or “bad boy.” Granted, tropes can be “predictable,” but there is a reason why they’re used over and over in popular fiction. Readers crave them. And if those plot devices are executed well, readers will naturally search for other books with similar tropes.

Attract the right readers

In addition to tropes, the right graphics and the right blurb can help you find your target readers. In my experience posting ARC requests, the posts with a graphic got more views and engagement. Of course, when posting graphics, you need to be very wary of using graphics that are AI-created. While AI should not be used to write your book, AI tools can be helpful in marketing, as I alluded to in an earlier post. However, AI is still a very controversial subject in the publishing space. If your ad is clearly AI-generated, users will steer clear of your book even if you didn’t use AI to write the book!

If you are creative and have basic design skills, I suggest using tools like Canva or BookBrush to design your banners that show off your cover and tropes. These tools don’t have a steep learning curve and have plenty of free templates you can choose from to create mock book covers, offer a variety of free fonts, and other eye-catching graphics. While I’m still experimenting with my ads, I started studying what my posts were communicating about my books.

What would readers experience reading my books?

I wanted readers to find a character-driven book with depth. A period piece that delivers a psychological mystery with depth. I want to take readers on an emotional rollercoaster with my characters because while the mystery is central to the plot, the characters and their motivations are the fuel that drives it.

So what can you include in your ARC request to find your ideal reader?

Here’s a sample of one I came up with that includes the basic book details, including the blurb, tropes, release date, and details about how and when they can receive the ARC.

Post Title: ARC Readers wanted for Historical/Mystery/Psychological/Drama!

Genres: Historical/Mystery/Pyschological Drama (with a splash of romance sprinkled in)

Audience: YA

Blurb
Nowhere is safe. Not even your mind

What if you woke up one morning and forgot everything except your name? That’s exactly what happened to Prince Troy the moment he woke up from a coma. Now he has to start all over, including learning how to walk again.

The only clue to piecing together what happened the evening he almost died is the very dreams that keep him
up at night. But he soon realizes that his fall was not just an “accident.” That there’s more to his brother’s disappearance than what his family is telling him. And that if he doesn’t find the identity of the dark rider, someone he loves will die.
He must piece together his shattered reality and the hidden truth that lies deep within the island nation. The only question is: is he ready to uncover the truth, even if it could kill him?

Release date: November 3rd, 2026

ARC ready by September
Word Count: 139K
Review copies: PDF and paperback (limited number)
This is Book 3 in a series found on Amazon. 1st book is FREE (on me)! **You are not required to read the first two books to get the ARC.

Tropes you can expect:

Dreams vs. realityPremonitionsAmnesiaDark family secretsLove triangleSibling rivalryPower strugglesPolitical IntrigueIf interested in getting your hands on an ARC, please take a moment to fill out my signup form: Vet your ARC Readers

Once you get people to sign up, you still need to vet them to see if they are a good fit. Make it clear what type of readers your book is for. If there are any trigger warnings, include them here; otherwise, you might get a reader who finds a sensitive topic too jarring and rate you poorly over it.

You also want to be clear on your expectations when it comes to leaving a review. Let them know where they need to post the review and when to do so.

Here’s a sample ARC signup form that I created.

Goal

My goal is to hit 50 ARC signups. While I currently have 18 different readers who signed up, I’m hoping to rack up more. Will I reach my goal? I don’t know. But I hope someone reading this will say: This is exactly what I’m looking for!

And if my book sounds like something you would be interested in, don’t forget to sign up to my ARC team by hitting the button below.

SIGN-UP! Click on the banner to sign up!