Q&A: “Should I create a pre-order campaign for my book launch?”

Launching a book is a cycle I know well. Today's caller is self-publishing a book on personal finance and has to decide whether to open pre-orders or pick a release date.

Hi Chris, I'm Dailson from Boston. I started an online personal finance community, and now I'm self-publishing a book to help people change their money mindset, save more, and get out of debt. Should I make the book available for pre-order, or pick a date and release it? I read an article saying most people avoid pre-ordering because there's no urgency to buy a book they can't read yet.

Dailson isn't wrong. In a world of instant gratification, most people don't want to pre-order much of anything. Even traditional authors now announce books a few weeks ahead instead of several months. The longer you build pre-order hype, the more you risk wearying your audience. Pre-orders do have a real upside if you do them right. They help you get stocked in bookstores, and if you can sell thousands of copies, they count toward week-one numbers and your odds of making a bestseller list. But that takes a great book, a platform, and a lot of people talking about it.

For a self-published book like Dailson's, my advice is to let the book speak for itself. Announce it a week or two ahead and line up early supporters who can spread the word once it's available. Then save your energy for selling the book, pitching it far and wide, and shouting it from the rooftops when people can read it right away.

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