 What’s not to love about pre-orders on
Amazon? I can understand the appeal. Customers get their hands on the book
early, the price is often reduced, and they also know that their favorite
authors are getting a small plug every time someone places a pre-order. For a
major publishing house, pre-orders are a valuable clue as to the size of the
initial print run. And for an author, the pre-orders all register as sales on
the day of publication, thus giving the first Amazon sales rating a boost that
can carry the title to the top of the best-seller list, at least in its own
category. So why do I still have reservations about
their value? For those of you who will purchase the
Kindle edition, the only advantage I see is a possible price reduction. Pre-orders
and orders placed on the first day of publication go out at the same time. Electronic
publishers have no need to know how many books to print because they don’t
print—they just click and send. As for authors, I admit that first ratings
boost is rewarding, but it doesn’t last beyond the first few days. For readers
who purchase a trade paper edition of a new book, there are advantages. Price
reductions are more important when the price is higher. If your author offers
autographed pre-orders, that may clinch the argument. But here are a couple of facts you may not
know. Amazon does not allow independent writers and small publishers to offer pre-ordering
of printed books. That privilege is reserved for the largest publishing houses,
who may receive thousands of orders. And even their Kindle store has strict
rules about who may and may not pre-order. For example, I was recently punished
with a one-year suspension of my ability to offer pre-ordering. What was my
sin? On my last pre-order, I submitted a typo that set my publishing date ahead
by three months. I asked for a correction, which they granted. It was one
number: change month 6 to month 9. It could have been done by any third grader
I know. However, asking for a changed date is “against the rules,” so they suspended me. And that, dear readers, is why there are no
pre-orders for the Kindle version of my new edition of Beyond All Price. All is not lost, however. If you want to
pre-order a new print copy of Beyond All Price—the one with Nellie Chase’s photograph and
signature on the cover and my autograph on the title page, just visit the “Store”
page on this website and order away. The offer there will be good from now
until Monday, August 27, 2018. |
