Founding members · Early access open
Be one of the first 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 first Founding Members are joining right now.
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.
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.
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, and 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
Ready or Not
by Nia Sterling
HALLE You know how in horror movies, the heroine is being followed by some masked villain and ends up fighting for her life? She runs—he chases. He catches her—she meets a tragic fate. Yeah. This is not one of those stories. This is more of a she found out she had a stalker, and he found out the hard way situation. Because this isn't a cat-and-mouse game. This is Cat x Cat. And he wants to call me kitten? Fine. But he's going to find out pretty damn quickly that this kitten has claws. Because if he thinks he's winning this game, he's deeply mistaken. He may have made the first move, but I'll be making the last. So, he wants to play? Bet. Game on, bitch. 🖤 STALKER ROMANCE 🖤 MUTUAL OBSESSION 🖤 ENEMIES TO LOVERS 🖤 MASKED HERO 🖤 OBSESSIVE HERO 🖤 PROTECTIVE HERO 🖤 SECRET IDENTITY 🖤 DANGEROUS MAN / SOFT FOR HER 🖤 CAT X CAT 🖤 UNHINGED BILLIONAIRE 🖤 TOUCH HER AND DIE 🖤 MORALLY GREY MEN 🖤 OTT/JP
View book →
Lethal Business
by Debra Quincy
When a girl is snatched in front of Debra and her Sisters, a quiet holiday in Thailand erupts into a fight for justice. Fear ignites into fury, and these women are not backing down. Through the crowded streets of Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market, they hunt the kidnappers without mercy. Their target? One of Thailand’s most ruthless trafficking rings. Every second counts, every choice could mean life or death. And the stakes are heartbreakingly personal. Armed with courage, grit, and an unyielding sense of justice, they will stop at nothing to dismantle the operation, and rescue the kidnapped girl before she vanishes forever into the shadows of trafficking. "Lethal Business" is a nerve-fraying thriller in the Vigilante Justice Series, a gripping 30-page introduction to the saga. If you crave action-packed thrillers, vengeance, and ordinary people rising above impossible odds, you will love Debra's Vigilante Business Series! This is a 40 page introduction to the Vigilante Business Series.
Saint Mercy House
by Ernesto H Lee
Ireland, 1964. When Father Michael Byrne is sent to Saint Mercy House, a remote institution for orphaned children and unmarried mothers in rural County Cavan, he hopes the quiet posting might offer him the chance to leave the mistakes of his past behind. Yet there are things about Saint Mercy House that trouble him almost from the beginning, small inconsistencies and unanswered questions that might easily be dismissed were there not so many of them, and as Michael begins to look more closely at the lives of those entrusted to its care, he finds himself drawn towards secrets that some would prefer remained undisturbed. He's kept silent once before, when speaking out might have cost him everything, and has lived with the consequences ever since. This time, though, he must decide how much the truth is worth.
Of Light and Shadow
by Danielle Polselli
Aery Vane has learned not to expect too much from the world. A white-haired servant haunted by nightmares and visions she can't control, she has spent years making herself small, useful, and easy to overlook. That all changes the night she is forced to flee for her life and finds herself at the center of a thousand-year-old prophecy to save the world from a waking ancient evil. But she isn't destined to do it alone. Her visions will lead her to five other chosen heroes, the first being a man whose voice she has been hearing in dreams her whole life. The prophecy calls her the Seer. It calls him the Guardian. It says they were meant to find each other and face the growing darkness. What it doesn't account for is the part where she already knows him, and he'd stay even if none of the rest of it were true. What follows isn't a race to save the world. It's something quieter and harder—two people learning to let each other in. A Guardian who has built a life around duty in order to feel worthy. A Seer who has never believed she deserved saving, slowly learning to trust. The prophecy calls them heroes. The story is about the moments of connection that happen in between. Of Light and Shadow is a slow burn romantasy about healing, trust, and the kind of love that builds in the quiet spaces between words. For readers who believe the in-between moments are the story. The Threadbound series is a character-driven fantasy about a group of chosen ones who didn't ask to be chosen, the family you find when everything else is gone, and love worth fighting for, even in darkness.
View book →
Is Want Enough?
by Asher Rowan
Alex thought figuring out what he wanted would be the hard part. But desire is easy compared to everything that comes after. As relationships deepen, friendships shift, and the life Alex has been building begins to demand more from him, certainty becomes harder to hold onto. The choices that once felt simple now carry consequences, and wanting something does not necessarily mean knowing how to keep it. Is Want Enough? continues Alex’s journey through desire, intimacy, found family, complicated relationships, and the beautifully messy reality of becoming someone new. Because sometimes knowing what you want is only the beginning.
Unmasking the Mummy
by Sayla Masse
An archaeologist haunted by an ancient mistake falls for the mysterious stranger next door—only to discover their love story began over two thousand years ago. Merytamun "Mary" has spent her career uncovering Egypt's past. But after a disastrous excavation awakens something that should have remained buried, nothing feels right anymore. The stars have changed. An impossible fifth canopic jar refuses to leave her thoughts. And the mummy she uncovered seems determined to follow her home. Then her new neighbor moves in. Kind, handsome, and hopelessly out of his depth in New York City, Kayvon should be the perfect distraction from Mary's spiraling obsession. Between rooftop stargazing, pizza dates, museums, and Halloween costumes, falling for him feels effortless. More unsettling still, every moment together feels strangely familiar... as though they've loved each other before. As ancient forces awaken and forgotten forces begin to stir, Mary and Kayvon discover they're connected by a history older than memory itself. To save the world from a darkness that once nearly consumed it, they'll have to uncover the truth buried beneath centuries of lies—even if it means confronting the lives they left behind. Unmasking the Mummy is a steamy paranormal romance filled with ancient Egyptian mysteries, Persian mythology, reincarnated lovers, rooftop stargazing, museum adventures, cursed tombs, and enough sizzling chemistry to awaken the dead. HEA guaranteed.
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
Active Reviewer
Andy
Newcomer
Alison
Newcomer
TABASSUM NOOR
Newcomer
Mirelaw
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.
15 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.