Pre-orders and Incentives

Why Pre-order?

I pre-order a lot of books. Whether it’s the next book in a series I am reading or a debut I’m super hyped about, if I know I want to buy it I try to pre-order rather than wait for the book to  release. This isn’t always possible but I always try my best. Why does it matter? There are multiple reasons why you should consider pre-ordering books and here are a few of them:

1. When you pre-order a book it demonstrates to retail outlets that there is a demand and that the book is likely to be successful. If they see a demand then they will stock more copies of the book in their initial order, which supports the book and the author.
2. Pre-orders count towards the first week’s sales of a book so if an author you love is aiming for a bestseller list it will increase their chances.
3. Online retailers in particular usually offer a pre-order price guarantee.
4. The book should land on your doorstep promptly or be ready and waiting for you to pick up on release. This could save a lot of disappointment from stores not having enough stock.
5. Avoiding spoilers! This is more for the very popular books. Having and finishing the book first means no-one can spoil it for you!
6. Swag and incentives are very exciting. Authors and publishers will sometimes run campaigns offering free goodies if you show them that you have pre-ordered a specific book. This is a wonderful bonus if you were pre-ordering anyway but it may sway other people to get the book sooner rather than later. Common items include signed bookplates to stick in your copy of the book, art cards and pin badges.

Bookish Mail!

I have tried to stay on top of my pre-orders and have been lucky that books that I was intending to buy have also had some awesome pre-order incentives attached to their releases! Here is the swag from some of my recent purchases:

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

The cover of this book is beautiful just like Akemi’s previous book Starfish. Summer Bird Blue is a YA Contemporary novel about Rumi Seto who tragically loses her younger sister in a car accident. She is sent away to  live in Hawaii with her aunt as her mother is struggling with grief. Rumi’s world has been turned upside down. She slowly has to find her way back to her music and herself. Sounds like a pretty good read huh? I was already looking forward to reading the book but the pre-order incentives on offer were also amazing! They included a signed book plate (already stuck safely inside), a gorgeous bookmark, an exclusive art card that I love and a cute enamel pin.

All The Wandering Light by Heather Fawcett

This is the sequel to Even the Darkest Stars, which I received in one of my first ever FairyLoot boxes (pictured). I love the artwork on the cover of both books, they are absolutely beautiful. The incentives for pre-ordering book two were: A world map, a signed bookplate, a bookmark and two stickers. I didn’t realise when I e-mailed that I had missed the cut-off date for the incentives. Heather was so nice and kind that she sent me what she had left! She even sent me a magnet. How lovely is that?!

The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

The Last Namsara (pictured) was another book that I received in a Fairyloot box and fell in love with. There was no doubt that I was pre-ordering book two! I was super excited to see that there were pre-order incentives and that they were AWESOME. Incentives included: Illustrations of Roa and Asha, a world map, a signed bookplate, a dragonslayer sticker and a handwritten note from Kristen herself!

I’ve just found out that book three in the Iskari series is called The Sky Weaver. Best name ever. I’m a little bit in love already!

Current Pre-order Incentives!

There are A LOT of incentives out there right now but I thought I would share some of the ones I am hyped about (and the books, obviously the books!) I have added a link to each so you can check out the rewards for yourself!

1. Mammoth by Jill Baguchinsky. I LOVED the ARC of this book, which I reviewed here. It is releasing in November so the swag will start to ship later this month. The pre-order campaign page is here. It is open internationally!
2. This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada. I am currently reading an ARC of this book and it is fantastic. I love book one This Mortal Coil and plan to get my review up for you asap! If you love YA dystopia then you MUST read this series. The pre-order gift information is here. It is open internationally I believe.
3. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. The final book in the Throne of Glass series! If you are already a Maas fan then you have probably already seen the pre-order incentive of an enamel pin but if not then the details are here. Open to the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and India.
4.  The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. I desperately want to read this book! The pre-order incentives here are open to USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
5. Song of the Dead by Sarah Glenn Marsh. Book two in the Reign of the Fallen series. Limited to the first 250 pre-orders but available internationally if you order a signed copy. Pre-order information is here.

A great website to find out about pre-order incentives is Novel Knight who kindly lists all the ones she has come across here.

Win-Win

It’s a win-win situation. You support authors you love and can sometimes receive some pretty cool items in return! I personally love having the signed bookplates to stick in my books. Pins are also a big bonus for me. What are your favourite incentives? Have you pre-ordered anything exciting recently? I hope this post was helpful in explaining why pre-orders are such a positive thing.