Have you ever wondered why authors and publishers encourage preorders? Like most readers, I used to wait until the books I was interested in were released before purchasing, but since becoming an indie bookseller I’ve changed my opinion completely about preorders. Preorders are an essential part of guaranteeing a book’s commercial success, and publishers, authors, and indie bookstores all benefit from encouraging readers to preorder books.

So how do preorders help?

One of the most essential reasons to preorder a book is that preorders are a strong indicator to the publisher that there is interest in both the novel and the author. It also allows the publisher to adjust print runs in order to meet preorder demands, and demonstrates to the publisher that an author is commercially viable. This is especially true for debut authors who rely on hype, word of mouth, and advance reviews to drive sales, as they don’t have an existing readership or fans that are guaranteed to buy their book on the release date. All books preordered before launch are counted as first week sales, which help books get onto best-seller lists and gain critical early success.

Independent bookstores also benefit from preorders because each preorder is a guaranteed sale. Most indie bookstores are operating on a tight profit margin, and preorders allow them to bring in titles by debut authors that have no sales records. Passionate indie booksellers (such as myself) support the debut authors we love by bringing these books into our stores, but it makes our jobs so much easier when customers preorder so that we can justify ordering more copies for the store.

Publishing is a hard business, especially for debut authors who have so much riding on these early sales. I encourage you to preorder books you are excited to read, because this is a critical window for helping a debut author achieve commercial success. Strong early sales, which preorders contribute to, are essential for authors because it means that publishers are more willing to greenlight other projects they are working on, such as sequels. Here at Earthshine Tower, we write about books that we deeply believe in, and will do our best to provide reviews in time for you to help an author by making a preorder. Times are tough, and it is a big ask to suggest you spend your money on a book you haven’t read. That’s why we’ll be doing plenty of giveaways! We believe in the authors we support, and want their novels to have every opportunity to be successful.

One of the first debut authors we are proud to support here at Earthshine Tower is L.M. Sagas, and their debut novel, Cascade Failure. Cascade Failure is being released on March 19, 2024, and you can check out our review through the Library page. We have an exclusive interview with L.M. Sagas being published this weekend, and we’ll be doing two giveaways of their new book with some signed bookplates, art cards, and bookmarks! Check the Cat Corner for more information in the coming days.

You can read our review here! And check out L.M. Sagas on Twitter!