Hey, Yoly. Fellow author/designer combo here. I don't recommend using preorder for your first in series. You'll need those sales for launch momentum? Are you planning a series around the book? Have you done any "pre-launch" advertising/review cultivating etc etc etc?
I've set up a preorder for my first book. Big mistake? (Also looking for beta)
Hey guys! A lot of you guys probably know me as a designer more than a writer, but I've been writing on a site, which I'm sure a lot of you guys know of, called Wattpad. I've gained a semi-strong following on the site and I've just set up my most popular book for preorder on Amazon. Not sure how WP followers will translate into sales, but I thought I would give it a shot anyways.
Is it a big mistake to set up a preorder if it's my first book? I was a bit nervous about uploading too early or too late for my release date and a preorder just seemed easier. But now I'm not sure
Thank you guys so much for the information you provide through here everyday! I couldn't have gotten as far as I have with this publishing thing without it! lol
*On a semi-related side-note, if anyone is interested in beta reading the book in exchange for a book cover design, please pm me!
It's a YA Humor/Romance novel.
Is it a big mistake to set up a preorder if it's my first book? I was a bit nervous about uploading too early or too late for my release date and a preorder just seemed easier. But now I'm not sure
Thank you guys so much for the information you provide through here everyday! I couldn't have gotten as far as I have with this publishing thing without it! lol
*On a semi-related side-note, if anyone is interested in beta reading the book in exchange for a book cover design, please pm me!
It's a YA Humor/Romance novel.1 - 20 of 20 Posts
*starts sweating profusely* fingers crossed then lol 
cinisajoy said:
Yes! I heard that it was very bad not to have your files readythewitt said:
To be honest I'm getting a bit impatient, everything is ready to go I just chose a date further ahead because I was waiting for formatting which was faster than expected. I might change it to something quicker, or firmly commit to the date I chose. But thank you for the advice! Greatly apreciated
Amazon will ban you from using pre-orders for a year if you miss your date.YolyM said:Yes! I heard that it was very bad not to have your files ready
A pre-order may take some of your launch day sales, but it will also set your also bought items which is really nice to have on launch day. It also means all those people receive the book on day one. That increases your chances of early reviews, which will help you on book promotion sites.
That said if you're ready to pull the trigger...pull the trigger. Either way, good luck with the book!
Even Paranormal Romance. That genre has 292 Coming Soon books, versus 1,112 books released in just the last 30 days.
The competition for reader eyeballs has stiffened considerably. You only get 30 days of eligibility on the Hot New Release list and if you wait until then to go for that spike of sales, you have to compete with 1, 112 other books. Pop lists on the other hand with a longer preorder period can be conquered if you can spur your readership into buying your preorder. Just because it's your first book, you still need to have a readership anxious for the book, either through blog posts, chapter samples, etc. The higher you can rank on a pop list or a hot new release list, the more likely Amazon will email out your book as a coming soon book.
I do agree that conventional wisdom for a loooong time was getting that first day sales spike. But that spike has needed to be higher and higher. #100 on the PNR Bestseller list is #1200 in the paid Kindle Store right now, that's well over 100 sales on day one on Amazon.com just to hit #100. #100 on the Hot New Release list is #4277 in the Paid Kindle Store which is about 45-70 sales on Amazon.com. Just last September, to get #1200 in the Paid Kindle Store took only about 70-80 sales on Day One.
If you can't get those sales on Day One trying to have 10-15 sales to get you on some keyword pop lists etc. can be an alternative. The reality is it's definitely taking more books and more readers to chart in some of the more popular categories. Doesn't mean a new author can't break into them, just it's going to take a very strong plan to get the first day or preorder sales going and probably implementing that plan over a number of books in order to build a following. It might not be until your 4th or 5th PNR book that you can actually chart, that's after working your tail off to build a readership reader by reader.
I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from what works for them. Just sharing what I've experienced stalking the charts. LOL.
I do think since Amazon has introduced Preorders to all of KDP, the market has changed considerably in what strategies are needed to gain visibility. I am only just now beginning to accept that long-term, it's better for me to have a good preorder period of visibility, then some visibility when the book is out from the sales ranking, and keep the whole machine going by constantly having a book just released and a book on preorder for each of my series. At this point, 8 months in, my books and name are one a number of pop lists, hot new release lists, and bestseller lists and it keeps my name in front of my target readers. They may not buy my book the first or second time they see me, but eventually, they see my books often enough, they're going to check out a sample or read a blurb.
The competition for reader eyeballs has stiffened considerably. You only get 30 days of eligibility on the Hot New Release list and if you wait until then to go for that spike of sales, you have to compete with 1, 112 other books. Pop lists on the other hand with a longer preorder period can be conquered if you can spur your readership into buying your preorder. Just because it's your first book, you still need to have a readership anxious for the book, either through blog posts, chapter samples, etc. The higher you can rank on a pop list or a hot new release list, the more likely Amazon will email out your book as a coming soon book.
I do agree that conventional wisdom for a loooong time was getting that first day sales spike. But that spike has needed to be higher and higher. #100 on the PNR Bestseller list is #1200 in the paid Kindle Store right now, that's well over 100 sales on day one on Amazon.com just to hit #100. #100 on the Hot New Release list is #4277 in the Paid Kindle Store which is about 45-70 sales on Amazon.com. Just last September, to get #1200 in the Paid Kindle Store took only about 70-80 sales on Day One.
If you can't get those sales on Day One trying to have 10-15 sales to get you on some keyword pop lists etc. can be an alternative. The reality is it's definitely taking more books and more readers to chart in some of the more popular categories. Doesn't mean a new author can't break into them, just it's going to take a very strong plan to get the first day or preorder sales going and probably implementing that plan over a number of books in order to build a following. It might not be until your 4th or 5th PNR book that you can actually chart, that's after working your tail off to build a readership reader by reader.
I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from what works for them. Just sharing what I've experienced stalking the charts. LOL.
I do think since Amazon has introduced Preorders to all of KDP, the market has changed considerably in what strategies are needed to gain visibility. I am only just now beginning to accept that long-term, it's better for me to have a good preorder period of visibility, then some visibility when the book is out from the sales ranking, and keep the whole machine going by constantly having a book just released and a book on preorder for each of my series. At this point, 8 months in, my books and name are one a number of pop lists, hot new release lists, and bestseller lists and it keeps my name in front of my target readers. They may not buy my book the first or second time they see me, but eventually, they see my books often enough, they're going to check out a sample or read a blurb.
I charted briefly on my first release. I had a a decent marketing plan, but I spent zero dollars on it. As you can see my ranks now aren't best-seller or anything, but I'll occasionally chart when I do a promo. I'm also in some relatively weird sub-cats that have allowed me to be in the 1,2,3 positions in them from time to time that has gotten me feature on some of Amazon's random "recommended best-seller" lists. All I know is that my third book which was no preorder did x3 as well as my second. But if it's hard to say if that is also because of permafree etc etc. But all in all most authors in PNR have a mixed experience with preorders.Elizabeth Ann West said:Even Paranormal Romance. That genre has 292 Coming Soon books, versus 1,112 books released in just the last 30 days.
The competition for reader eyeballs has stiffened considerably. You only get 30 days of eligibility on the Hot New Release list and if you wait until then to go for that spike of sales, you have to compete with 1, 112 other books. Pop lists on the other hand with a longer preorder period can be conquered if you can spur your readership into buying your preorder. Just because it's your first book, you still need to have a readership anxious for the book, either through blog posts, chapter samples, etc. The higher you can rank on a pop list or a hot new release list, the more likely Amazon will email out your book as a coming soon book.
I do agree that conventional wisdom for a loooong time was getting that first day sales spike. But that spike has needed to be higher and higher. #100 on the PNR Bestseller list is #1200 in the paid Kindle Store right now, that's well over 100 sales on day one on Amazon.com just to hit #100. #100 on the Hot New Release list is #4277 in the Paid Kindle Store which is about 45-70 sales on Amazon.com. Just last September, to get #1200 in the Paid Kindle Store took only about 70-80 sales on Day One.
If you can't get those sales on Day One trying to have 10-15 sales to get you on some keyword pop lists etc. can be an alternative. The reality is it's definitely taking more books and more readers to chart in some of the more popular categories. Doesn't mean a new author can't break into them, just it's going to take a very strong plan to get the first day or preorder sales going and probably implementing that plan over a number of books in order to build a following. It might not be until your 4th or 5th PNR book that you can actually chart, that's after working your tail off to build a readership reader by reader.
I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from what works for them. Just sharing what I've experienced stalking the charts. LOL.
I do think since Amazon has introduced Preorders to all of KDP, the market has changed considerably in what strategies are needed to gain visibility. I am only just now beginning to accept that long-term, it's better for me to have a good preorder period of visibility, then some visibility when the book is out from the sales ranking, and keep the whole machine going by constantly having a book just released and a book on preorder for each of my series. At this point, 8 months in, my books and name are one a number of pop lists, hot new release lists, and bestseller lists and it keeps my name in front of my target readers. They may not buy my book the first or second time they see me, but eventually, they see my books often enough, they're going to check out a sample or read a blurb.
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