How far in advance do you plan preorders?

[alhawke]

I'm currently working on a fantasy trilogy. The first book is published. I have my cover artist working on a second and third book cover simultaneously, so my plan is to release the 2nd book and the 3rd preorder book at the same time on Amazon. What I'd like to do is write a contemporary fantasy in between the release of the 2nd and 3rd book. My readers who like contemporary fantasy will appreciate that and so will my brain. But if I do that, I'm looking at extending the preorder by three to four months (it takes me about that long to publish a book).

How long is too long for a preorder with Amazon? As you all know, each day counts regarding rank.

I could set the release date for the 3rd book for something like 6months and then release it early? I recall that some of you do that.

I should add that I don't believe in preorders as much for non-series books, but this will be for a trilogy.

[TimothyEllis]

I do the pre-order for the next book a few days before the current book releases.

And since I release on 6-8 week schedule, I pre-order for 3 months, and then release early.

The current book is a case in point. I've been averaging around 6 weeks, but this one went nearly 8.

You never quite know how each book will write, or what will happen to slow it down, so overestimating the pre-order period is a good idea.

[idontknowyet]

I do the same as Tim. I set the preorder up before the next book releases so that i can have all the links in the back of the book.
I generally post a trilogy at a time so people can see i will complete it and not leave them hanging.

[alhawke]

Thanks! But you guys set it at two to three months?  What about six months? I'm not sure yet how much wiggle room I'm going to need if I release a book in between. I have seen some writers place preorders up to nine months to a year but, conceivably, many of those orders will come up dry by the time of the actual publication--I'd think. So any thoughts on a recommended maximum advance time? Consensus is three months max? I was considering four or six.

I find myself setting many deadlines these days. They're my own self-torture, but they help for professionalism when working with readers/newsletters, editors/cover artists, etc.

[TimothyEllis]

So any thoughts on a recommended maximum advance time? Consensus is three months max? I was considering four or six.

Your normal write time, plus 1/3.

[DmGuay]

Rank is nice. But if you're talking about a book 3 in a series, it doesn't matter as much. If it were a book 1, yes. Worry about rank. But after book 1, it's all about capturing the sale from readers while you're still fresh in their mind. Long preorders are fine.

[LilyBLily]

I tend to think about four months is the max. I've just checked my records and in late June I pre-ordered a Halloween anthology that contains a story by a favorite author, which releases in late October. Four months. The author has just sent around a newsletter pushing the pre-order. Would I have pre-ordered a Christmas anthology in June? I don't know. Six months is a long time. On the other hand, if the book were part of a series rather than a stand-alone, six months--with occasional newsletters containing updates--is fine. Some writers aren't that fast, and fans will wait.

If your purpose is to assure sales of the next book, in theory a shorter pre-order period is best. In reality, the time period that works best is totally dependent on how much readers like your writing, your books, or this particular series. I've done rapid release with pre-orders on a dog of a series and it confounded all the received wisdom about both tactics. If readers are hot for the next book, they're going to pre-order no matter what the lead time is.

[alhawke]

Four months is looking like a magic number for me from the above comments. That seems to fit nicely with everyone's points.

This is all very helpful, guys. In many ways, this has to do with planning upcoming projects. I'll adapt and figure something out.

[PaulineMRoss]

Some data for you to mull over. I generally do what others have suggested, and set up the next pre-order shortly before the previous book releases. But for the last release (book 4 in a 6-book series), I set up pre-orders for both books 5 and 6. Book 5 is 3 months out, and book 6 is 6 months out. So far, pre-orders for book 5 are running at the usual level, and pre-orders for book 6 are running at about half that level. Which seems to suggest that there's some resistance to a longer pre-order. I'd say 3-4 months is probably the sweet spot.