Published: April 16, 2025 | By Ashley, Shep Publishing House
6-time bestselling author who has conducted profitable pre-orders 4 times and supported dozens of authors
Hey there!
If you're an author and you have thought about hosting a pre-order or you've already done a pre-order and you didn't see the success that you wanted to see, keep reading. I'm Ashley and I support authors with profitable publishing. Today I'm going to share 6 things you need to know before you do your pre-order.
I'm someone who's done a profitable pre-order 4 times for myself as well as dozens of times with other authors I've supported, and I actually have a book on the topic - "Profitable Publishing with Pre-Orders." So let's dive in!
Key Insight
Most authors focus 90% of their energy on publishing and only 10% on marketing. Successful authors flip this ratio.
1. You Have to Have a Way to Generate Sales
Now, these are not in any particular order, but you need to have a way to generate sales and you need to understand the sales process as well as how to actually get people to buy.
Here's What I Want You to Understand
You should be devoting just as much if not more time to understanding your marketing as you do with understanding the publishing process. Often in self-publishing and really publishing in general, the focus is just on the actual publishing. Like, yes, okay, you need to get the book done. It needs to be created.
But if you spend all of this time and energy creating the book, you spend all this time and energy getting your editing done and you don't spend any energy or you spend very minimal energy in that marketing aspect, then you are not going to see the sales that you want to see and especially not the pre-orders.
Why Pre-Orders Are Different
During the pre-order period, you are selling something that's not created yet. You are trying to encourage people to buy this thing that does not exist and so they're having to trust you. They're having to believe that you are the person who is going to deliver the thing that they want. And you're going to have to keep their faith throughout your entire pre-order.
2. Make Sure You Understand How to Attract Your Audience BEFORE You Open Pre-Orders
So many authors tend to think that as soon as I let people know that my book is available, that that's when my book launch starts. But honestly, you should be dropping out information. You should be spreading those nuggets, the little trail like from Hansel and Gretel, dropping those nuggets along the way so that your readers and your potential buyers know that you're coming out with a book.
Now, if it's not your first book or even actually if it is your first book, then you can do that. However, it's not the best strategy if your goal is profit.
Bring Your Readers on a Journey
You want to bring your readers on a journey. You want them to be able to see your book baby come to life.
My Analogy: I equate it to - if you think about those friends or acquaintances from high school and college where they have their kids and they post them on social media and you've never met this kid a day in your life, you have no idea who this child is except for what their parent or their auntie or whoever posts.
And so you are the internet auntie or uncle to that parent or to that kid. And then that kid ends up graduating and you're thinking, "Man, I can't believe so and so is so big." If you were to see that child on the street, they would have no idea who you were. But you've watched their journey, you watched them grow up.
The Same is True for Your Book
People want to watch the journey of your book. They want to watch your book grow up. And they want to see it mature. They want to be not nosy, but they want to be informed. And so in order to do that, you have to make sure that you are bringing your readers on a journey by hosting a book launch.
Not just saying, "Buy my book." Not just saying, "Oh, my book's available today. Go buy it," and then never posting about it again or even waiting until it's an opportunity for them to pay for you to then ask them to buy. That can feel very off-putting to some readers.
Avoid the "Cold Pitch" Feeling
If it's something that's a good fit, okay, maybe it makes sense for them to reach out. But typically, those are things that people don't like - to just be pitched to after not even seeing if it really aligns with them.
3. Really Understand the Platform Policies of Your Pre-Order
Depending upon where you are hosting your pre-order, I'm a proponent of hosting it on your website, and I give extensive details about how to do that, the whole pre-order process, the whole pre-order and launch process in my book, "Profitable Publishing with Pre-Orders."
Funny Story: But if you were choosing to host your pre-order on a separate platform, which I do address some of the common platforms and as to why I don't choose them... I'm not going to say them because I said them over on Threads and then the CEO of the platform was like, "Hey, if you change your mind, let me know." And no shade to him. I thought that was cool that he reached out and it was like a no hate thing. But lots of people have success over there, but I share why I choose not to do it for my books and why I encourage most authors not to use it.
Know What You're Getting Into
Either way, you have to know the parameters of the platform. You have to understand what it is that they are requiring you to do, whether you're hosting it on Amazon KDP, which again, it's not a platform I suggest using, and I explain that in the book as to why, as well as I'll link some other videos to share that.
If You're Hosting on Your Own Website
If you're hosting on your own website, you also want to make sure whether or not your platform allows pre-orders because some of them don't. So understanding what your website policies are. Having a policy in place such as if you're doing online sales.
Don't Forget Email Marketing Compliance
If you're sending out emails, making sure you're staying compliant with your email marketing because just because you have an account and it's connected, are you being compliant with what the laws and regulations are of your area and of the areas that you're sending emails to.
And so being mindful of all those things is so important because you want to be able to stay and use those platforms.
4. Be Mindful of Your Delivery Times
You need to really understand your delivery times. Understanding when is your book going to be finished, when is it going to be shipped to you, when is it going to be shipped to the reader, however you're setting up your pre-order, you want to make sure you have those timelines so that way you can communicate those with your reader. And you also want to keep them abreast of them.
My Real-World Example
For example, almost two years ago, goodness. Yeah, almost two years ago, well, no, about a year and a half ago, I had a book that was printed overseas and I had delays because they kept delaying it. They kept saying, "Oh, it's here," and they kept moving it back and forth in between two countries around Lunar New Year.
And I'm thinking, is it going to make it out of there before Lunar New Year is over or before it starts, I mean. And so, I had to communicate with my audience and let them know, hey, this is the status. I've been tracking it. I can see it. It's not lost.
And my audience was very gracious and they're like, "Well, you've already done these other things such as give us a copy of the PDF of the book and so we can use that for what we needed because it was a cookbook and so they could put that on their tablet and do whatever they needed to do with it to cook the recipes."
So, they were totally fine, but I had been communicative with them during the entire process. So, they were aware of what was transpiring and also what would transpire in the future.
If You've Never Published Before
So really understanding those timelines. If you have never published a book, then I am cautious to tell you that you should or not cautious, I'm going to inform you that you should work with someone or at least find a mentor, a coach or someone to be able to understand those publishing timelines if you're going to host a pre-order.
5. Develop a Comprehensive Delivery System
Beyond the Book: Successful pre-orders often include additional value-added items.
Delivery Method Options
Amazon KDP Auto-Delivery
- Automatic digital delivery
- Less profit potential
- Limited customization options
Website-Hosted Pre-Orders
- Higher profit margins
- Complete control over customer experience
- Requires more complex delivery setup
Bundle Strategy for Maximum Profit
According to Ashley, successful authors "don't just sell our book during the pre-order process. We maximize profit and include additional things with our book to bundle it."
Choose bundle items that:
- Support readers in getting the most from your book
- Encourage recommendations to others
- Motivate positive reviews
- Avoid low-value "knickknacks" that reduce profit margins
Action Step: Plan your complete delivery system before launching, including all technical and logistical components.
6. Create a System for Sustained Success
The Launch Cliff Problem: Most authors experience a sales spike during launch followed by a dramatic drop-off.
The Consistent Sales Strategy
Platform algorithms (including Amazon KDP) prefer:
- Steady, consistent sales over time
- Sustained engagement rather than one-time spikes
- Ongoing visibility in search results
Building Long-Term Success
Successful authors develop:
- Continuous marketing systems that match their lifestyle
- Consistent sales funnels beyond the initial launch
- Strategic partnerships for ongoing promotion
- Content marketing that drives long-term discovery
Timeline for Getting Paid
Profit Acceleration: You don't have to wait months or years to see returns on your book investment.
"We don't have to wait weeks, months, or years to be able to make our money back from our books. That doesn't have to be your reality." - Ashley
With proper strategy, authors can:
- Cover publishing costs before the book launches
- Generate profit during the pre-order period
- Build sustainable income from day one
This article is based on my video training originally published April 16, 2025. For the complete step-by-step guidance, grab my book "Profitable Publishing with Pre-Orders" or book a VIP Day if you want me to do most of the heavy lifting for you!