A while ago, a friend asked me about pre-ordering books. It seems that an author whose work my friend likes had an upcoming release, and that book was available for pre-order. My friend intended to buy the book when it came out, but was afraid that it wouldn’t be good for the author if it was pre-ordered. The book was discounted for pre-order and my friend worried that the author would get less money for copies ordered this way.
Not so. Pre-order is good for everybody. When you pre-0rder a book, the publisher and the bookseller know that you want one. That means it’s less risky for them to order a copy. In essence, that first copy is already sold to you – although most booksellers don’t actually charge the customer until the book ships. So, the more people who pre-order a book, the more confident the bookseller is that the ordered quantity will sell, and the more confident the publisher is that the print run will sell. Greater pre-orders can lead to higher bookstore orders and higher print runs. That can lead to higher overall sales – a book that shows tremendous traffic in pre-sales, especially if that ordering isn’t anticipated, could be one that the publisher singles out for extra promotion.
If nothing else, pre-ordering your copy means that you’ll get one as soon as the book is released. Some books come out “hot”, that is, there’s a lot of demand for them on the on sale date, demand which the publisher and bookseller might not have anticipated. People might have to scramble to get books where they need to be – and you might have to wait longer for your local bookstore to get a copy for you.
You can pre-order wherever you like – from one of the big online booksellers, from your local chain store, from Indibound or from your local bookstore. Pre-orders all add up, though, and they’re all good for the author.
When I know I’m going to buy a book, I usually pre-order it – just to make sure I get mine right away.
Now you know!
Deborah Cooke: Author 