Type of site Review Alexa rank 11,516 (April 2014) Launched 2008 | Website NetGalley Registration Paid and free. | |
Owner Firebrand Technologies, Rosetta Solutions, Inc. | ||
NetGalley is a website initially launched in 2008 aimed towards the distribution of digital galley proofs of books, some of which have not yet been released. NetGalley was developed as an alternative to the production of paper galleys and has since evolved into a key marketing and publicity platform for publishers and authors. Publishers that offer e-galleys include Harlequin Enterprises, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster and many others in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, as well as France and Germany. The site offers electronic galleys to "professional readers" such as book reviewers, journalists, librarians, professors, booksellers, and bloggers.
Contents
History
The NetGalley website was released in 2008 as a joint venture between Firebrand Technologies and Rosetta Solutions. Initially launched shortly before the 2008 BookExpo America, the site was founded by Rosetta Solutions, with Firebrand Technologies taking it over in December 2008. NetGalley has since widened its roster of publishers as well as range of reviewers, beginning to offer services to publishers in the UK, France and Germany.
In 2012 the site began to offer expedited approvals to librarians that added their American Library Association member number. NetGalley has also begun a partnership with the Library Journal for reviews of original ebooks in the romance genre, with Library Journal stating that it was "a move designed to address 'the skyrocketing popularity of ebooks in U.S. public libraries'".
In October 2012, the NetGalley website relaunched, addressing numerous performance and scaling issues related to an old architecture, improving existing features, and introducing new ones.
Features
The site layout allows users to search the books available for review by publisher, genre, or date of upload onto NetGalley. Users request the titles they want, with a representative for the publisher making the decision to approve or decline the request. If approved, the user usually has a choice between selecting a Kindle, PDF or EPUB copy of the book.
Reception
Reception to the site has been mixed to positive, with ALA TechSource saying "whatever it lacks in aesthetics, NetGalley makes up with simple ease of use and great content." Galleycat reported that in 2011 the site had seen a 500% increase in reviews in comparison to previous years.