A step-by-step guide to joining Fiction Addicts Anonymous as a reader, claiming your first ARC, and writing a review that earns points.
An ARC — an Advance Review Copy — is a finished book an author shares before release so early readers can post honest reviews on launch day. At Fiction Addicts Anonymous, reading ARCs is free.
1. Create your free Initiate account
Sign up with an email address or Google. Initiate membership costs nothing and never expires. It is the only membership a reader needs.
2. Fill in your Reader Card
Your Reader Card records the genres and tropes you love and the triggers you never want to see. We use it to match you with books you will genuinely enjoy, and to keep unwanted content off your shelf.
3. Claim an ARC or a beta
Browse the open rounds and claim a copy. You can hold up to three ARCs and one beta manuscript at a time. Finish and review one, and a slot frees up straight away.
4. Read inside the platform
Every manuscript is read in our reading room, so authors keep control of their unreleased work. Beta manuscripts open in the page-turning novel reader with a notes sidebar; when you reach the end, press Submit to Author and your notes go straight to them.
5. Review before the window closes
ARC and beta rounds run on a timer — 14 days for Scribe rounds, 30 days for Alchemist betas. Post a star rating and a written review inside Fiction Addicts Anonymous before the round closes.
6. Earn points and climb the leaderboard
Longer, more thoughtful reviews earn more points, and other members upvoting your review earns more still. Each quarter the reviewer with the most points wins the prize pool.
What authors expect from you
Honesty, not five stars. Meet the deadline, avoid spoilers, and mention what worked as well as what did not. Some authors set a minimum reviewer-point requirement on their ARCs, so early reviews open more doors later.