I am often asked by authors if we can offer pre-sales of their books. And, I always tell them no. Here’s why:

1. WE’RE TOO FAST. BookLocker gets a book to market in a month or less. The “other guys” typically take four to six months to get a book to market. Since they work so slowly, their authors have plenty of free time to offer pre-sales. BookLocker authors are able to actually SELL COPIES of their books just a month after they submit their manuscript to us. Yes, we get files formatted/designed and converted, and perform original cover design as well, upload files to the printer, have the print galley (the first printed, bound copy of the book) delivered to the author, and put the book up for sale online all within a month of the author sending their final file to us.

If you have a manuscript ready to publish now, yes, BookLocker can get it on the market in time for Christmas shoppers to buy a copy.

2. AMAZON ERRORS. An author working with one of our competitors recently contacted us saying that he had pre-orders for his book on Amazon. When the book finally went on the market, Amazon had the book listed as “unavailable” and, not only that, they emailed some of his pre-order customers asking if they wanted to cancel their orders.

3. CUSTOMER FRUSTRATION. Many people who are interested in a book want to buy it right then. If they can’t, they may be frustrated, and not want to pre-order the book. And, chances are that same person might not see your future ads. I never pre-order items because I never know if/when I’m going to actually get said item. Oftentimes, I’ll go shopping for a similar item that I can buy right at that moment.

4. AD FATIGUE. People get tired of seeing the same ads over and over and over. While they may have wanted the book when it wasn’t yet available, if they keep getting bombarded with mentions of the book in their social media feeds, they may get upset, and refuse the buy the book when it finally comes out.

5. THE AUTHOR MAY DELAY THE PROCESS. It’s not unusual for an author to decide to do one last edit on the book, and then another, and another, ask friends to send in review comments, and more. Of course, these delays are beyond BookLocker’s control, and would affect the final release date of the book. If we were pre-selling copies, with a promised release date, and it that date came and went without the book hitting the market, it would lead to angry customers, refund requests, etc.

And, finally, one author wrote to me this week saying her book was ready but that she wanted to offer pre-orders, and “hold” the book until December 1st to get more people interested in it. I told her, “That type of product hype only works for iPhones and celebrity authors like Stephen King. And, you’ll be missing out on Christmas sales. Many people have already started their Christmas shopping, including me.”

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Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)

See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.

ANGELA ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AngelaHoy

BOOKLOCKER ON FACEBOOK - Provides links to free excerpts!
https://www.facebook.com/booklockerbooks

ANGELA ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/angela.hoy.750

ANGELA ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelahoy/

Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/

Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE

HOW TO REMEMBER, WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR LIFE STORY

Angela Hoy's popular online class is now available in book format!

Remember Your Past
Write It and Publish It
in as little as 12 weeks!

Angela Hoy's book will get you started!

• Using Angela's MEMORY TRIGGERS, recall memories that have been dormant for years
• Record those memories in chronological order in your memory notebook
• Using the memory notebook as your outline, write your autobiography!
• Also works for biographies and memoirs!

Read more here:
https://booklocker.com/books/4764.html