What has to be done by the end of this week?
Week Eight. Manuscript sent to editor. Book loaded onto KDP for PreOrder as Kindle eBook.
Why Bother with Creating a Pre-Order for a Kindle eBook?
Publication Schedule
Realistically I always allow 5 working days for the new book details to load onto KDP and for the book page to appear on Amazon. By setting a specific release date, this gives me time to check that the book details look the way I want and I can amend the book description and meta data on the book page if needed.
Hot New Releases Chart
If anyone buys a copy of the book when it is in pre-order on Amazon, the sale is recorded on that day, which means that it kicks off the Amazon algorithrm. The boost pre-launch can kick the book into the Hot New Releases Chart for that niche sub-category.
[ This is in contrast to many other online publishing platforms where the pre-order sales are accumulated and counted on the launch day.]
Amazon Author Central
I want to create a new account on Amazon Author Central for my new pen name of Sophie Brent. To do this, I need to have a book to claim, even if it is on pre-order.
Advance Review Quotes and Testimonials
When the book goes live it is great to have some endorsements and advance reviews which I can add to the book description as Editorial Reviews inside Amazon Author Central.
These Editorial reviews will be listed on the book page, separately from reader reviews, and help to reassure readers that they will not be wasting their time and money investing in your book.
Link URL for the book
I can link to the specific pre-order page in the pre-launch marketing campaign and social media posts.
Goodreads
I want to create a profile for Sophie Brent on Goodreads. To do that I need to link to a book that I have published.
There are three things to watch out for with Pre-Orders
Timelines
You have to load your final manuscript onto KDP at least three working days before the scheduled release day. If you don’t, all of those readers who bought your book on pre-order will receive the draft you loaded when you set the pre-order up. Don’t forgot to factor in the Amazon review time etc. If your miss your pre-order window and a rough draft goes live, readers might leave negative reviews that will impact sales later. So always load a publication ready draft if you can.
Sales Ranking
My process is that I don’t promote or share the link to the pre-order book until I start the pre-launch campaign. The goal is to focus sales in a short time period just before and just after launch – maximising the sales ranking. That’s why I recommend scheduling the pre-order date no more than two weeks before the target launch date. If you are looking for that magical ‘bestseller’ sticker, you won’t get it if all of your pals ordered the book during pre-order.
Reviews
Keep in mind that ARC readers can’t review a pre-order book on Amazon, so if you’re looking to get some early reviews for it, you may want to consider directing readers to Goodreads which you can leave reviews for pre-order books.
There are more notes from Amazon here:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G202173620
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201499380
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201499400
Now back to the editing! Nina
