Can I confess something to you? After writing over 300 nonfiction children’s books to deadline, I kinda don’t really like deadlines anymore. Don’t get me wrong—I see their usefulness and even their necessity. But that doesn’t mean I have to like them.
In fact, since I’ve stopped writing nonfiction and started indie publishing my fiction, I admit that I haven’t really set deadlines for myself. Sure, I have goals and target dates—but I rarely set myself a hard and fast deadline. It’s not because I can’t meet deadlines—if anything, it’s probably more because I become a deadline machine, committed to doing whatever it takes to meet them! And also because I don’t want to be confined or restricted by a deadline. Sometimes my fiction writing does not go as I had planned, leading me to rewrite entire sections of books, which takes time (and can result in a completely changed book blurb to boot!). Or life happens (case in point, our recent cross-country move). Or I just don’t want the pressure of a deadline hanging over my head like a cartoon anvil ready to drop (though cartoon characters always survive them, I’m not so sure I would!).
At any rate, I think my aversion for deadlines is part of the reason I don’t usually set a preorder for my books (though there are other reasons too). But that’s not to say I can’t change! In fact, that’s one of the things I love about being an indie author—I can test new things, try new ways of running my business. To that end, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to preorders lately, and I can clearly see both the pros and the cons of preorders from the author side. But what I really want to know is what you see as the pros and cons of preorders from the reader’s side (because ultimately that’s why we write our books…for our readers).
I’d be so grateful if you’d help me out by answering a few questions with your thoughts on preorders:
Thanks so much for helping me give serious thought to whether or not to set up preorders for future books. And please feel free to expand on your answers in the comments—I want to know your thoughts on all things preorder, including any reader-side considerations I may have missed!
Valerie M. Bodden has three great loves: Jesus, her family, and books. And chocolate (okay, four great loves). She writes emotion-filled Christian fiction that weaves real-life problems, real-life people, and real-life faith. Her characters may (okay, will) experience some heartache along the way, but true to her tendencies as a hopeless romantic, she will always give them a happy ending. Valerie is living out her happily ever after in Wisconsin with her high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband and their four children. Visit her at www.valeriembodden.com to get a free story.
I don’t pre-order. Happy to wait.
I occasionally preorder mainly due to a discount or to support an author. A con I see is when you pre-order the date can change and also you don’t pay till the book is bought which for someone like me can mean I forget I pre-ordered. I tend to have a gift card balance which I will top up and if I forget I pre-ordered I may have spent the money on something else.
I don’t preorder. I don’t use Kindle Unlimited. Unlimited books has no value for me as making the time to read is challenging. I add the book to my want to read list on BookBub and receive a notification in my email or via the authors email newsletter. I prefer to read via kobo or apple now as I choose, unless there is no other option, to not support what I see as amazon’s prioritising profits over treating authors, vendors and purchasers with respect and consideration. Their business rules also do not permit preorders or reviews unless purchasing via credit card, where I purchase via PayPal.
Hi Valerie! Thanks for the interesting blog and survey. This retiree presently has 23 Kindle books on preorder, all the way into 2022. Since I set a monthly budget with a gift card balance on my Kindle account, I preorder #1 to support my favorite authors, # 2 because of the preorder price, #3 because I am exploring a new author or new genre. Since this retiree reads and reviews about 150 books a year, preordering gives me something to look forward. Since I often read multi author series where I am not familiar with all the authors in the series, preordering helps me keep track of the series. Preordering gives me something to look forward to, especially during these unusual times. Often when I don’t know what I want to read, before starting something new; I check my preorders. In retirement when I discovered Valerie Comer’s Farm Fresh series; I preordered her books. Then in 2018 was the multi author series (many Inspy Romance authors) Arcadia Valley and Tuscan Legacy, which I preordered and started me on the road of preordering. Best wishes as you explore new avenues in the Indie publishing realm. Enjoy your weekend.
I don’t pre-order ebooks from Amazon (or any books from Amazon) as I only use giftcards there and they won’t let pre-order books, though I’ve spent way more than $50 in a year. If I pre-order from somewhere else, it’s a paperback, the next in a series, and at a decent discount, and not more than 2 or 3 months before the book is out. However, I haven’t pre-ordered a paperback now in a few years!
Hi Val! I have preordered a handful of times but not often. Once it was because it was for a set that was only going to be sold for a small period of time and I knew I had several authors in it that I liked. Otherwise it’s only if it’s an author I love, I don’t do ARC for and I happen to have a gift card. I try to tell myself not to order any books at all (preorder or not) where I will never make it through all I have unread as it is! I also tend to do editing or ARC for a good share of my favorite authors But, you know me, I can’t seem to stop adding to my stockpile no matter how much I tell myself not to and there are always new authors I come across along the way.
I don’t know about deadlines from the authors point of view but I have a hard time with them for myself. Sometimes I work better when I have to buckle down and get something done but the older I get and the worse my health gets the less control I have over the amount of time life gets in the way. I understand I need to get things accomplished but if I have 6 doctors appointments in a week, a surgery or a rough spot with pain there is no way I can sit and get a book done. For you as authors, you have to have the thoughts and ideas come together to boot. I can’t imagine having a hard set deadline to control my ideas and thoughts! You know how often I tell you to remember God will give you what to write in His perfect time and I believe that!
Have a great weekend everyone!
That’s helpful to know. Thanks, Mary!
Oh, that’s a good point. I do see the date changing often on preorders and was wondering how readers felt about that. I didn’t think about the fact that you could run out of money on a gift card in the meantime if you forgot you preordered. Thanks for pointing that out!
Thanks for the input, Dianne. BookBub and authors’ newsletters are great ways to keep track of new releases.
That’s great to know, Renate! It sounds like you’re a big fan of preordering. :) And the reasons you listed all make complete sense. I love the idea of something to look forward to! Thanks for your input!
That’s interesting, Trudy. I hadn’t even thought about preorders for paperbacks. More research to do. :) Thanks for sharing!
I’m laughing as I read this, Deb, because I can totally relate to not being able to help ordering more books even though I could never finish all the ones I have already. But what’s a reader supposed to do? There are just so many good books out there! I completely agree with you about deadlines too–sometimes they’re motivating, but there are so many things you can’t control that it’s unreasonable sometimes to expect yourself to keep them (especially when it could jeopardize your health). I appreciate your reminder that it’s all in God’s timing! Enjoy your weekend!
I pre-order books by my favorite authors, and I admit that those who give a discounted pre-order price are welcomed by me :-) I like pre-ordering because then the book just shows up on my Kindle without my having to think about it. I use Kindle Unlimited whenever I can get a free month or two, and then try out new authors that way, or read books I know I’ll only read once. I’ve recently discovered Hoopla through my library and use that to read books I really want to read, but the Kindle version is too expensive for me, and I don’t want to wait until there’s a special deal in a year or so :-)
As a reader, I’m a big fan of pre-ordering. It frees up my mind so I don’t have to remember when a book I’m looking forward to is coming out. It will simply show up automagically. How cool is that!
I pre-order regularly from a handful of authors and occasionally from several more. A PO discount of even a dollar is enough to send my pointer over to the one-click-buy button, but if I really don’t want to forget to buy it, I’ll do it anyway.
As an author, I value the pre-orders because they give me an early indication of how much readers are excited to see the next story!
I don’t pre-order often because sometimes it messes up free shipping. I don’t order often enough to subscribe to prime. So I try to hit the $50 cost and order several things at the same time with free shipping. Pre-orders don’t count toward the $50 threshold sometimes, so it messes things up. I hate paying shipping when that money could go toward another book or something I need.
I will sometimes preorder if it’s a favorite author or if there is a perk to preordering (very discounted, comes with swag, etc).
I rarely pre-order but I do put my Amazon wish list so if there’s a deal on the book I will buy it then or when I get a gift card. If I want to read an upcoming book, I sign up for the newsletter because there’s sometimes a newsletter subscriber giveaway or a drawing if you recommend the book to your local library or a Goodreads giveaway.
I pre-order from my favorite authors.
I loved preording because it meant I was supporting my favorite authors, getting a good deal, and forgetting I had to buy it when it released (rather having it delivered to my Kindle). However, since these days my payment method is gift cards, Amazon doesn’t let me preorder anymore. Thus, I add the books I’m interested in to my wish list and check it frequently, or follow the author in social media/ subscribe to their newsletter in order to know when it’s out.
Thanks for this insight, Margaret! It’s great to know that you both preorder and use Kindle Unlimited (I love when they offer those free trials!). I haven’t gotten any books through Hoopla yet–I’m going to have to check it out!
Those are all great points, Valerie! And I give a big yes to freeing up the brain space–mine seems to get more cluttered all the time, lol. And I do love the idea of seeing the excitement for the next book build!
Oh, I hear you on paying for shipping. I just can’t bring myself to do it if I don’t have to, lol. I hadn’t thought about how it could affect preorders though. Thanks for mentioning that!
That’s great to know! Thanks, Jessica!
That Amazon wish list is so handy (a little too handy in the case of my kids’ wish lists, lol)! Subscribing to an author’s newsletter is a great way to stay up to date on their latest books too–and getting in on those giveaways is a definite plus.
That’s great to know! Thanks, Mary!
Until today, I had no idea that you couldn’t preorder with a gift card–it wouldn’t have occurred to me. But it’s helpful to know. Your workaround of using your wish list or following the authors to know when their next books are out sounds like a good one. Thanks for your input!
For me, pre-ordering depends on whether I really love the author or not. I like to pre-order because I know it helps the authors book sales, and sometimes I can save money and get the book sooner too, but for the most part I usually wait until the book comes out and buy it then.
I’ve pre-ordered a few multi-author boxed sets for writers I know because usually the price is right at 99 cents. But it has to be a boxed set I know for sure I will enjoy. Otherwise I don’t pre-order at all.
Because I have such a limited budget in the first place, I will usually wait until I can borrow a book from my library (ebook or paperback) or borrow from Kindle Unlimited if it’s available.
That’s good to know, Megan. I’m a lot like that–I may preorder a book or two, but for the most part, I wait until they come out. Thanks for the input!
That’s a good point, Trixi. Those multi-author boxed sets can be a great deal! But when you have KU or if your library has the books, it makes a lot of sense to wait and read them that way. Thanks for your thoughts!
In the survey I said I pre-order occasionally (every couple of months), but I also said I have KU and wait to read books there so don’t pre-order. To clarify, I will sometimes pre-order a book if it won’t be going into KU and is at a reduced price for pre-order. I generally wait to read everything else until it releases into KU. I will infrequently pre-order a book that will go into KU if it is a very favorite author or if there is another extenuating circumstance behind it.
I only occasionally preorder books.
It is always wonderful to hear from you. Have a marvelous weekend. God bless you.
Hi, Valerie!
I tend to pre-order when the authors ask specifically (like for the Love’s Treasure collection) or if there is a series that I want to make sure I don’t miss. Mostly, though, I get ideas from Bookbub and from author newsletters (and, of course, Inspy Romance).
One of the down sides from a reader perspective is that Amazon won’t give you a list of your pre-orders, at least that I have been able to find, just per book from the book’s page. So I wind up going to pre-order only to find that I had already done it and wondering how many others are lurking out there. :0
Y’all stay cool down there. :-)
Many may not thing about this and many probably are not using gift cards but with the Aussie dollar I tend to top up when the dollar is better. But sometimes you forget when you pre-ordered the money wasn’t taken and it can be a surprise. (In many ways I would rather pay up front even early and if the book doesn’t end up being printed get a refund).
I wonder if its cos there is not other payment method linked to the account as I pre-order with a giftcard but they also have my credit card on record
Books I really want I’ll pre-order as early as possible
I don’t pre-order unless it’s something I’m really into or collect the series
Will you share survey results?
I don’t preorder much at all, I just pretty much wait for the book to come out unless it is a book in a series that I have been waiting for.
Thanks for clarifying, Melynda! It makes complete sense that you would treat KU vs non-KU books differently when it comes to preorders. Thanks for your insight!
That’s good to know. Thanks for your input, Denise!
Thank you, Debra! I hope you’re having a lovely weekend. God’s blessings to you!
I hadn’t even thought of that, but I can see how it would be frustrating to take the time to go to preorder a book…only to find out you already had. Although I suppose it’s a nice surprise when a book shows up on your Kindle that you’d forgotten you preordered–like Christmas all year! Thanks for your insights. I hope you’re enjoying a beautiful fall weekend (it’s so funny how temperatures in the 80s are considered fall here…and how much I love that, lol).
Oh, that could be!
That’s great to know! Thanks for sharing, Amy!
That makes sense–sometimes you just need the whole series! Thanks for your input!
Oh yes! I thought they would show up after taking the poll, but for some reason they don’t. I’m writing a reminder to myself right now to share them in next month’s post. But as of right now, here’s what we have: 35% preorder books seldom, 31% occasionally, 21% frequently, and 13% never. The biggest factor in a decision to preorder is a discounted preorder price; for the majority of people, the release date doesn’t impact their decision to buy; those who don’t preorder a book generally follow the author to know when it releases or hope they will see it when it comes out; and both people with KU and without KU say they preorder books at least sometimes. Thanks, Natalya!
That’s helpful to know! Thanks, Alicia!