Should you set up a preorder for your book?
If you’re traditionally published, preorders are crucial. If the preorder sells well, it proves to publishers that the book has public interest, which in turn can lead to bigger print runs, better book placement in stores, and an overall much stronger launch.
But this article is about self-publishers. For us, preorders mean something different.
My first answer to the question, should you set up a preorder for your book, is that you certainly don’t have to. It’s not necessarily the key to a successful launch. My second answer is that doing so can’t hurt and might actually help.
How do preorders help your new book become successful?
Many self-publishers set their book to a preorder price of 99 cents before and during the first week or so after the launch. Then they raise it to whatever price it will be normally. This encourages shoppers to buy the book early and to hopefully read and review it. As always, we want to get the title into as many readers’ hands as possible as quickly as possible. Early reviews are like gold to self-publishers, so this is an important benefit.
Preorders count toward first-week sales, so if you sell wide (not exclusively on Amazon), you can create a preorder for hardcover or paperback sales on some book-selling platforms, and if you sell several thousand, you could end up on one of the coveted bestseller lists.
On the other hand, Amazon allows us to set up a preorder for digital copies only. Instead of providing the opportunity to reach the New York Times Bestseller list, we can sell a substantial number of preorders and start the book’s life with a positive jolt to the Amazon’s algorithm. The preorders count toward first-day sales. And a large number of first-day sales teaches the algorithm that the book is in demand.
This translates into a stronger position on the Amazon charts once the book publishes. When this happens, Amazon will likely recommend your book to more of its customers.
Preorders give you something to post about on social media long before the book itself is published. This allows authors to self-promote earlier, market the book earlier, and generate buzz.
Pre-publication buzz campaigns can build anticipation for the book launch, and preorders are a key part of that strategy. Interested readers will be able to order the book right away instead of waiting (and probably forgetting) to do so on the publication date.
Finally, if you are writing a series, you can add the link to the preorder page of the upcoming book at the end of the book that most recently published, making it very easy for fans of the series to order the upcoming book in advance.
And that is how preorders help your book enjoy a successful start. As long as you can be sure to have the e-book ready on publication day, it’s a good idea to set one up.
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