I always compared a pre-order to a baby shower.
Authors, after all, claim books as their babies, and what better way to celebrate a book launch than having a book baby shower (a pre-order) before welcoming a physical book into the world?
Now my sister who recently gave birth would resent my comparison. Lucky for me, she doesn't read my blog or have a Goodreads account.
This past week, my book launched for pre-order.
I found out about it less than 24 hours before the link went live. Oh boy.
And they told me that only the ebook version would be available for pre-order. Print doesn't come out till June thanks to CreatSpace shutting down. Oh shoot. *Inwardly cries, as the majority of my following wants a physical book*
Totally fine.
My publisher is insanely busy. However, as a planner, this threw me a bit into a loop of last minute scrambling. So in this post, I'd love to show you what I pulled together in those 15-some hours, after grabbing Taco Bell with my best friend and having an anxiety attack.
Why do pre-orders matter?
Why order a book two months before it releases? Shouldn't you just wait till June?
I mean, you can. But you'll probably make an author inwardly cry again.
Here's why: the number of pre-orders can let a publisher know how much intial interest a book has. In other words:
- Whether an author has enough interest for a sequel
- Whether the book will flop on the release
Granted, maybe readers will swarm Amazon and the company's website once the book releases, but publishers like to crunch numbers. If the pre-order flops, the apple doesn't fall far for the release.
OK, now for the good stuff (aka: less than 24-hour scrambling)
For preorder week, I put together the following
1. A Giveaway (for one lucky winner)
Granted, I planned this one ahead of time. In fact, those socks on the bottom left corner took several weeks to ship.
But they arrived just in time for me to set up this giveaway.
Also tip on giveaways: memorize Facebook's (or whatever social media's) rules before doing one. Because I offered, as bonus entries, for the post to be shared, Facebook flagged the giveaway and let fewer people see it. Live and learn, I guess. From now own, I plan to do giveaways on this website and direct people to them via social media.
2. A giveaway for anyone who pre-orders
I understand the struggle of waiting for two months for a book to release, so I want to send a token to anyone who willingly pre-orders. If you pre-order, send me a receipt (hopekbolinger@yahoo.com), and I'll send you a King's Academy Handbook, a 46-page item featured in the book.
3. A cover reveal
Everyone loves a good cover reveal.
On my social media networks, I held a vote for favorite graphic version of this cover. I posted one with smoke billowing (my personal favorite) and another with sparks flying.
Although smoke had a handful of votes, sparks won by a landslide. You can take a look at the winner by clicking on this link.
4. A book trailer
I'd originally paid someone to do a trailer. Although he did an all right job, I decided to try my hand at one (below) and loved the results.
On top of that, I was juggling four jobs and a writer's event on Saturday.
But I had a lot of fun.
What's your experience with pre-orders? I'd love to hear in the comments below!