Why pre-orders are important in publishing

Five ways to set a book up for success

In the past 10 days, I’ve announced the next four Blasta Books for the 2025 series and our sole spring title for Nine Bean Rows, with all my authors encouraging their followers to pre-order their book – even if it won’t be published for months.

But why do authors bang on about pre-orders so much, I hear you ask?

Or maybe you’re an author yourself and you aren’t quite sure why they matter.

Pre-orders are important for several reasons, but basically they all boil down to setting a book up for the best possible chance of success:

• It shows retailers that people are interested in a book.

• Every single click on a book in an online store (even before publication) helps to drive that book up the retailer’s search rankings.

• Retailers will place an order according to the number of pre-orders.

• If pre-orders really take off, it gives the publisher time to organise a bigger print run or to order a second print run.

• A lot of pre-orders means a book will have the highest possible chart position (i.e. place on the bestseller lists) on publication day, and the higher its position, the more retailers and readers will notice it.

So the next time an author you follow has a book coming out, know that pre-ordering it will give it a much-needed boost.

And when you’re thinking about where to buy from, remember that shopping small helps to support big dreams.📚

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About me

I’m Kristin Jensen, the founder, publisher and editor at Blasta Books and Nine Bean Rows. Before I started my publishing house, I was a freelance editor and food writer for over 20 years and I’ve co-authored three books. I pretty much eat, sleep and breathe books and food. You can also find me on Instagram @edibleireland.📚