It's been a while... A lot of my titles are starting out this way.

So, I have a bone to pick, and it's time for another rant. This time it's with bloggers and so-called reviewers.

Oh God, she's going there!?

Damn right I am.

I have been asked, quite a bit lately, for ARC's of Marlin's Faith in exchange for review and have been pretty straightforward and blunt lately with: It ain't never gonna happen.

But, whhhhhy?

Because when you send out 40 ARC's in exchange for reviews to various blogs and reviewers and you get a little more than half the reviews, and it ain't because they're coming back and saying "I didn't like the book and I don't want to leave you a bad review, so I just didn't write one." (Which happens sometimes, I get it.)

What is that worth to me?

Well let's see, $3.99 at the 70% royalty option = $2.74 a copy.

x26 copies given with no return = $71.24 that could have gone into my pantry, paid my cell bill, could have kept my lights burning... yeah.

Let's go one step further, selling my art for words on a page which may or may not sell more of my art.

40 x $2.74= $109.60 or an entire month's worth of the prescription cat food I now have to buy for my geriatric kitty.

I hear of authors sending out hundreds of ARC's and that shit blows my mind. I mean, do they not do the math?

So the next time you ask for an ARC in exchange for review and get told no, or no thank you, I hope that you will be a little more gracious about it, like the ladies I've encountered lately. (Seriously, I <3 you for not being catty, you were disappointed but still vowed to buy the book and that's great.)

Because bottom line, this is now how I am forced to make my living. No day job to fall back on anymore, and quite frankly, that's terrifying.