Founding 100 full · Charter Members now open
Be one of the first 500 to join
The Early Shelf.
Readers get early access to new books before anyone else, always free. Authors get a dedicated team of ARC reviewers before launch day. The Founding 100 are in — Charter Members (#101–500) are joining right now.
Founding 100 is full — Charter Members (#101–500) are now open.
Inside the Shelf
Everything the platform gives each side
One shelf, two ways to use it. Here's what authors and readers each get from the moment they join.
For authors
Authors
Upload in any format
PDF, DOCX, or EPUB — we normalise and paginate every manuscript the same way.
Build ARC & Street Teams
Recruit advance readers and street-team promoters, each with their own workflow.
Reusable reader roster
Keep a roster of trusted readers and invite them back to future campaigns in one click.
Vet before you approve
Every application shows the reader's reputation, completed reviews, and current streak.
Automated reminders
Stalled-reader nudges and expiry alerts fire on their own — no chasing required.
Campaign health dashboard
A live health score per campaign — spot at-risk books before they stall, and track progress over time.
Private, honest feedback
Collect feedback that's never tied to a star rating, plus review verification and dispute tools.
For readers
Readers
Read before everyone else
Get early access to upcoming indie books, weeks before they reach the shelves.
A fair reader reputation
Only decided books count — in-progress reads never drag down your score.
Earn achievements
Unlock badges for reviews, ARC completion, streaks, and Street Team participation.
Join reader groups & book clubs
Discover teams, form book clubs, and apply to campaigns as a group.
Read in-app or aloud
Track your progress page-by-page, or have the app read chapters to you.
Customize your reading
Adjust fonts, themes, and line spacing — including a warm eReader mode — and take notes as you read.
Refer friends & share your stats
Grow the community with a referral link and a downloadable shareable stats card.
Reader teams
Build your reader community before launch
Read before everyone else
Discover upcoming books from indie authors. Join ARC Teams, read early, give honest feedback, and build your reader reputation.
- Join ARC Teams
- Read early
- Give honest feedback
- Build your reader reputation
Help great stories get discovered
Join Street Teams for authors and books you believe in. Share, recommend, support, and discover.
- Share approved content
- Recommend books you love
- Support indie authors
- Discover new stories
For authors
Build your early reader team
Find readers before launch
Create an ARC Team and get your book into the hands of engaged early readers.
Build a Street Team
Recruit fans to help generate awareness around your upcoming release.
Collect honest feedback
Receive private, honest feedback from readers — never tied to review ratings.
Invite trusted readers
Build long-term relationships and invite your best readers to future campaigns.
Who it's for
For any indie author — debut or backlist
Whether you're launching your debut or have a backlist of published titles, The Early Shelf helps you reach dedicated ARC readers who want to discover, review, and champion your work.
Indie authors
Pre-published or with a backlist — if you want more visibility, you belong here.
Self-published authors
Gather honest ARC reviews for re-releases, sequels, or titles that deserve more eyes.
Authors building reader relationships
Connect with dedicated reviewers who'll champion your work long after launch day.
Learn more
Everything you need to know
Detailed guides to how The Early Shelf works — whether you're writing books or reading them.
For authors
How to get early reviews on your book, the 20% share, manuscript protection, ARC teams, rosters, and everything else you can do.
Read the author guideFor readers
How to read books before release, leave honest reviews, build your reputation, join teams, and climb the leaderboard.
Read the reader guideHow it works for authors
Your manuscript stays yours
List a book — debut, re-release, or backlist title — protect your work, and gather honest reviews from engaged ARC readers, all on your terms.
Step 1
Upload privately
Your manuscript is uploaded privately — it's never downloadable or shared directly, even with approved readers.
Step 2
Choose how much to share
Pick 20%, 50%, 75%, or 100% (default 20%). You control exactly how much of your book readers see.
Step 3
Protected in-app reader
Readers access your work only through a protected in-app reader — no downloads, no copying, and no original file ever leaves your account.
Step 4
Watermarked & logged
Every reader copy is watermarked and logged, so you always know who read what — and can trace any leak back to its source.
Step 5
Countdown, links & caps
Set a release countdown, add your Amazon or pre-order link, and cap how many advance readers you accept.
Step 6
Structured early reviews
Get real, structured reviews from engaged readers — ratings, guided prompts, and proof of review, whether you're pre-launch or building buzz post-release.
How it works for readers
Read books before everyone else finds them
Discover new voices and backlist gems, read early, and become a reviewer authors trust.
Step 1
Discover the undiscovered
Browse books before they're widely known, by genre and release date — from upcoming debuts to backlist gems.
Step 2
Read & review in-app
Request early access, read in a clean in-app experience with custom themes, fonts, and read-aloud — then leave honest, guided reviews.
Step 3
Build your reputation
Earn badges and trusted-reviewer status as you review more — and unlock more books along the way.
Step 4
Follow & get notified
Follow books before release and get notified when new chapters or your next read drops.
Now on the shelf
Books awaiting readers
Wash Day
by Linda Martin
You can try to hide your past but everything eventually comes out in the wash.
View book →
God's Gift
by Linda Martin
A father grieves his newborn son and a vicarage receives the answer to their prayers.
View book →
The Portrait
by Linda Martin
One woman, two names, two lives.
View book →
The Devil's Therapist
by N.L. Hollingsworth
She's the woman whose life he destroyed. He's the man God sent to save her. Perfect for lovers of Lucifer (the TV show) and Supernatural, this dark paranormal romance asks one question: Can the Devil ever be forgiven?
View book →
Adopted
by Paul G. Zareith
At the Marigold House orphanage, Kavya had learned what rejection looked like: couples who smiled, promised to call, and never did. So when the Hans finally said yes, she let herself feel something she had long avoided: hope. The Hans seemed gentle, even kind. But their house came with rules, and the rules grew stranger with time. For one, the kimchi was not optional. The lavish mansion that was meant to shelter her began, slowly, to feel like a prison. Its silences felt deliberate. The smiles always arrived a moment too late, and dreams carried memories that weren’t hers. Beneath the house lay a basement she had never been told about, yet somehow knew. Its shelves were heavy with occult manuals, and its floor was thick with dust. One book lay overturned there, and on its page, in faded ink and old Hanja, someone had left a warning: Beware the house that keeps its mourning by lamplight, for its grief is a window, and every window looks both ways. Where fear is left to fester, the veil frays like old silk, and what waits behind it will find its way through: the Eodukshini.
View book →
He Still Knows My Name
by Eileen Zarambik
Cillian loved Isabella so intensely it ruined them both. What started as passion slowly twisted into control, obsession, and fear. Even after the breakup, he refuses to disappear from her life. He watches. He waits. And he makes sure she never forgets him. Desperate to escape the wreckage of their relationship, Isabella finds distraction in Ivan - tall, confident, protective, and dangerously good at making her forget her own name for a few hours. But while Ivan helps her survive the nights, Cillian is slowly unraveling. And the more Isabella tries to move on, the more dangerous his obsession becomes. Because Cillian never wanted revenge. He wanted her. And he’s willing to destroy everything to get her back. At the end of the day - he still knows her name
Reader reputation
Meet the top readers
Every honest, on-time review builds a reader's reputation. These are the advance reviewers earning trust across the shelf.
Jack
Trusted Reviewer
Amee_reads_smutt
Active Reviewer
Andy
Active Reviewer
Roo
Active Reviewer
wanda.phillipsbennett
Newcomer
Built for trust
Protection, in plain language
We built The Early Shelf around one promise: your manuscript stays under your control. Here's how that works — no jargon.
Choose how much to share
Pick 20%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of your manuscript to share — your full file is never handed over, even at 100%.
You set the dial — share as much or as little as you're comfortable with.
No downloadable files
Your manuscript is never offered as a file download. Readers can't save or export the original — there's nothing to take.
Nothing to lose sleep over — there's literally no file a reader can walk away with.
In-app reader only
Reading happens inside The Early Shelf, in a clean, book-styled view. There's nothing to copy or print.
Your book stays inside The Early Shelf. No copies, no prints, no forwarding.
Watermarked
Every page carries the reader's identity, so any leak points straight back to where it came from.
Every page is quietly traced — so if anything ever leaks, you'll know exactly where it came from.
Access logs
You see exactly who opened your book, when, and how much they were allowed to read — all in one private log.
A private log shows who opened your book and when. You're never left in the dark.
24 authors already building their ARC Team
Early days
Be among the first to share a story — or find one.
The Early Shelf is just getting started. Join now and help shape a community where early readers and authors grow together.