What does it mean to pre-order a book? 

Traditionally published books and, sometimes, self-published books, have an anticipated release date. On that date, and not before, the book will be available to buy. Traditional publishers usually choose a Tuesday.   

When you pre-order a book, you reserve your copy before the publishers’ release date.  You have to wait until the release date to receive the copy you bought. 

Why is it important to pre-order books?

1. It encourages the author

Breaking into a writing career is an uphill climb.  

So many factors affect the success of an writer.  One thing for sure:  you can’t be a successful author without readers.  Even more than readers, a writer needs some people willing to buy their book and not just read a borrowed copy.  

Every sale is important to an emerging author.  Someone has gambled their money that they will enjoy the book. 

Just like a rocket leaving the earth’s atmosphere, the launch of a new author takes a lot of momentum to break through the barrier of obscurity.  

Trust me, seeing your pre-order will encourage the author. 

2. It lets the publisher know there’s interest in the book

Preorders may influence the size of the run As the publisher takes a look at the number of preorders, he gains confidence that he’ll be able to sell the quantity of the books he’s printing.  It might even influence the decision of how big a run to start with. 

Established authors have a track record.  Publishers have an educated guess of how many copies of a their next book will sell based on past sales. 

Emerging authors are an unknown entity.  It’s hard to predict how sales will be. Any hard data that predicts how well a book will do helps the publisher make informed decisions.  Preorders do that.  

3. It lets booksellers know there’s interest in the book

Every day booksellers have to decide which books and how many copies will sit on their shelves.  Lots of factors go into making that decision, including knowing their clientele and knowing their authors.  Seeing a lot of interest in a book before it’s released gives booksellers more confidence to stock that book and keep multiple copies on the shelves.  

For most of my ten years as a bookseller, I was responsible for what we ordered to carry on the shelves in our store. 

It wasn’t a precise science.  Some books you thought would sell didn’t.  Others surprised you and flew off the shelves. 

New authors were always riskier.  Established authors were (sometimes) more of a sure thing.  Readers tastes differ.  It’s not always easy to guess which books will connect and which ones won’t. 

It was always a matter of trying to match your customers with books they liked.  

Books that were getting a lot of pre-release buzz were more likely to end up on our shelves.  Part of that buzz is preorders. 

4. It stacks up sales for release day

Preorders that have been coming in for weeks or months ahead of release day all count as release day sales.  

With a lot of anticipation and pre-release buzz, those sales can stack up to a significant number on release day. 

5. Stacked up orders in one week are important for hitting bestseller lists. 

Traditional bestseller lists are based on weekly sales. In order to hit a bestseller list, you need sales to spike during one week.  Of course, to stay on the list, sales have to continue week after week.  But, often, when  book hits a list, it gains enough attention to compel more people to purchase.  Without hitting the list, it often doesn’t win the same amount of attention. 

Amazon bestseller lists are another beast altogether.  Sales of books on Amazon are updated hourly.  There are also a plethora of categories that your book could be a best seller in.  Sporting a best seller badge on Amazon gives your book validity, but it’s important to note that you can game the system and choose obscure categories to win the badge.  

On the other hand, people go to Amazon to buy.  They are searching for products to buy, so if the best seller badge catches their eye, it will influence sales.  

6. Sometimes authors offers bonuses to people who pre-order their books which aren’t available after release day. 

Pre-order bonuses create urgency for readers to purchase books before their release date.  Some authors offer over a $100 worth of bonuses for a pre-order of their book.  Maybe the author will offer a free copy of the audiobook or a free online course or swag connected with the book.  Authors offering bonuses should make sure they are within the law with their incentive programs. 

7. It often guarantees price and availability

It’s frustrating to plan on buying something and find that it’s out of stock.  Of course, with pre-ordering you have to wait till release date anyway.  But, with a preorder, you’re guaranteed to get a copy, although some testimonies attest to the fact that they don’t always arrive on release day like they’re supposed to.  

Amazon offers a price guarantee as well so that if the price drops, you will get the lower price.

8. It gives you the chance to spread the news on social media networks

Word of mouth is easier than ever with social media networks. It’s also harder than ever to stand out from the crowd, and get noticed on a noisy internet. There’s a lot of demands for people’s time and attention.

But, the good news is, spreading the news by social media networks can be very affordable. With dedicated fans, news of a book release can spread far and wide. It’s fun to be part of a movement you believe in.

Along with sales, reviews are critical. They build credibility. They influence the word -of- mouth factor.  People need to be talking about new books. They need to tell their social networks about it, and especially why they liked them.  All this builds the critical buzz for book sales to take off.

How do you pre-order a book on Amazon?

Click on the title of the book.  If it has not been released yet, there should be a pre-order button.  Click on that button to reserve your copy when the book is released. 

Case in point. Amy Lynn Green’s new book is now available for preorder on Amazon. There’s plenty of time to build buzz between now and it’s November release.

Follow my affiliate link below to find out more about Amy’s book. (Note: If you purchase using this link, a small percentage will go to support this site.)

Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green

Reading is my survival strategy.

Stress is real and relentless. Reading opens the door to escape. It provides a change of scenery that is vital to my survival. Reading lowers my stress.

Come to find out, research shows that reading lowers stress better than other traditional approaches.  

How does reading lower your stress?

1. Reading absorbs the mind, pushing away anxious or fearful thoughts

Your mind literally escapes to another world. 

Researcher and cognitive neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis stated:

“Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation. It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination.”

Stress comes from negative thinking about your current situation. 

Reading breaks that negative thinking cycle, by distracting you from your present circumstances. 

Sometimes taking a break from your own life is just what you need.  Reading gives you a chance to “get away” even if you can’t get away.  It’s a mini-vacation. 

Who couldn’t use more vacations?  What a great way to deal with stress. Take more vacations.  

The real trick is to choose reading material that is a panacea not an extra stressor.  

Americans typically like stories with happy endings.  We want everything to turn out okay and we want justice served.  We want the good guys to win and the bad guys to suffer. That feels satisfying. Especially if it’s not working out that way in our lives right now. 

Meditating on happy endings lifts our mood and lowers stress.

2. Reading relaxes the body, slowing the heart rate and easing muscle tension 

Reading is more effective at reducing stress than other approaches. 

A study at Mindlab International at the University of Sussex found that reading reduced stress better than other traditional approaches, including a cup of coffee or tea, taking a walk, or listening to music.  

A slower heart rate and reduced muscle tension was reported in as little as 6 minutes of reading according to the study.

There’s a wide range of books to read, from taxing to effortless.  

I’ve found that easy reading is the best bet during stressful times.  Without any concentration to follow the plot line or the characters, pages flip at warp speed and the process is as effortless as floating. 

3. Reading eliminates social anxiety by low risk involvement

At the root of social anxiety is the worry about being judged by other people.  

Reading allows you to be an invisible observer to another world.  The fears of personally interacting with people no longer exist.  You can vicariously enter and escape that world unscathed.  

At the same time, you can identify with the characters you read about.

Involvement in the story is a very low risk involvement. 

4. Reading encourages emotional expression by identifying with the players, fictional or real  

We connect with a story at an emotional level. We transcend reality when we get lost in a story. There’s a real sense of “coming back” to real life when the story’s over.  Because, for a while, we were there with the players.  Seeing through their eyes.  Feeling their emotions.  

Real grief can be expressed by identifying with characters who touch you emotionally. Sometimes it’s a relief to be able to express grief that you’ve been carrying when a story touches you. 

On the flip side, successes, wins and triumphs can be enjoyed vicariously. We love the hero’s journey.  How much better when he’s an everyman like Bilbo Baggins– little leery, a little anxious, a little tethered to the comforts of home.  But, he timidly accepts adventure and flexes his courage muscles.  At each bend in the road, he becomes stronger.  We feel it.  We celebrate his ultimate success because we have been there every step of the way. 

The same dynamic can happen with non-fiction as well, such as a celebrity memoir or based on true facts account. 

Reading about characters and real people who solved problems helps us believe we can solve the problems in our lives.  

That increases the optimism in our lives.  It makes our thoughts happier.  It makes our self-talk happier.  

We can literally renew our minds by thinking about uplifting stories.  And we can control our emotional state by regulating what enters our minds.  And we can consciously choose our books to lift our mood. 

We can orchestrate our own emotional state. 

Now that’s power.  

5. Reading unlocks the most powerful vehicle for learning: story 

Story is the door.

The magic door that unlocks the imagination and emotion.

Through that door we embark on our personal journey.

We transcend time and leave our lives behind.

We walk with the hero. We follow the guide. Our hearts beat faster as we feel the fear. We feel the despair. Our cheeks are wet with sympathetic tears.

But then. We conquer the dragon. We exhilarate in victory.

We come down from the mountain, we pass through the door and return to our own lives.

But we bring the courage with us.

It creates within us a hope that we can conquer the dragons in our world.

That’s the power of story.

6. Reading stimulates the mind with dopamine hits from learning new things

Research shows that introducing new information to the brain results in a dopamine hit.

Dopamine produces a natural high that makes you feel better. Learning new things is exciting. Reading is a great way to learn. 

Increase your dopamine hits by consistently having a To Be Read stack of books featuring new things you want to learn. 

How does reading help you lower stress?

PS Looking for a place to start? Check out 8 Stand Out Novels to Rekindle Your Love for Reading and 9 Stand Our Memiors That Will Inspire You.

My granddaughter LOVES books. It’s great, cuz her grandma does, too. At 16 months, she’s expanded her attention span and her interest to include picture books. We still do a lot of board books and this list of our favorites has some of both.

Books for toddlers have to please two audiences.  The child and the adult.  It’s a tall order, because the child wants his favorites read over and over and over again.  The book has to have enough delight for the adult to repeat it over and over and over again. 

(Note: This post contains affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, a percentage of your purchase will support this site.)

Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day

A book with virtually no words, this one is perfect for a toddler to read to themself.

In real life, it’s horrifying to think of a mother going out shopping and leaving the dog to babysit. In spite of the realistic pictures, let’s put this story in the realm of fantasy and leave it there.

Good night Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Another book with virtually no words, but the progression of the story takes a bit of mental gymnastics.

Perfect for toddlers as well as preschoolers.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Even before the toddler can follow the storyline, the beautifully drawn animals in the story will entice.

This one was gifted by a dear friend when my kids were little and became a favorite at our house.

First 100 Words by Priddy Baby

One of the best benefits of early reading is vocabulary building.

Toddlers are little sponges soaking up words without trying. This book intentionally focuses on that skill.

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

One of my personal favorites. Loved reading it to my kids and now my grandkids.

Can you get any more visceral than a search for your own mother? Beautiful rendition of one of our heart’s deepest longings.

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins

This book is all about auditory delight with rhythm and rhyme, although who can resist millions of monkeys?

Hello, Ninja by N. D. Wilson

A brand new favorite that my grand daughter requests over and over.

Somehow, N. D. Wilson was able to write a simple story without a sing-songy rhymes or moralizing.

Simply delightful.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

Beautiful illustrations, simple story.

And, of course, who can resist whimsical animals?

The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood

Repetitive story line. Beautiful illustrations.

A mood building book that leaves you feeling happy.

Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier

The pictures tell the story in this modern classic. The detail in the illustrations are incredible.

Great for all ages. Plus food for thought: what was it really like on that ark?

Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry

You would think that a book that’s been around for 50 years would have a lot of obsolete words.

Surprisingly, not that much has changed in the past 5 decades. Scarry’s art work is sure to please.

A Child’s First Bible by Kenneth Taylor

Even though there are more popular Bible Story Books out there, this is my top pick.

I prefer the realistic pictures. But the critical element for me is the faithfulness to the biblical text. Some books take liberties with the stories that don’t remain faithful to the Bible.

If you need recommendations of books for younger babies, check out my post One Book a Month for Baby’s First Year.

What books would you add to these lists?

Are you discouraged about the changes you hoped to make in the new year? Are you disappointed that you haven’t been more consistent, that you’re only seeing minimal results? That mammoth efforts have resulted in snail pace advances?

Yeah, me too.

As a bookseller, I learned that diet books sell well in January.  On TV weight loss programs and gym memberships are promoted heavily this time of year. 

Our culture is predictable about wanting to lose weight and get in shape after a season of celebrating and indulgence.  

The problem is human behavior doesn’t change that easily. 

It takes 66 repetitions to form a new habit.  

So, in January, human nature is fighting against the habits and repetitions of the previous three or four months. 

Breaking out of that inertia is tough. 

Establishing new habits is tough. 

I think we forget we’re up against a double whammy.  Breaking the old habits and establishing the new.  No wonder it’s so hard. 

Then there’s the problem of goals.  Maybe we need a paradigm shift there, too. 

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits says,“If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.”

“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”

“Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment. That’s the counterintuitive thing about improvement. We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem. What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results. When you solve problems at the results level, you only solve them temporarily. In order to improve for good, you need to solve problems at the systems level. Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.”

“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running. And a system can be successful in many different forms, not just the one you first envision.”

“I’ve found that goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress.”

It’s the eternal optimist in me that thinks I can radically change my life, forgetting about that gravitational pull that makes it so difficult for the rocket to leave the earth’s atmosphere.  The same gravitational pull that keeps me in the warm bed instead of braving the cold to exercise.  

Trying to establish new systems in January might be a fatal flaw.

The way to get around it is to anticipate the problems ahead of time, or at least acknowledge that you are going to have them. 

Accept your imperfect efforts. 

Make adjustments. 

Keep going. 

Reward yourself for efforts, not results. 

Look for intrinsic benefits.

Stick to the plan, even when you’re not seeing the results you want to see.  If you have a good plan, believe the process. 

The problem is obstacles, false starts and setbacks. 

Don’t worry about results.  Maybe you shouldn’t even measure results.  Just worry about efforts.  Be faithful to your efforts and the results will take care of themselves. 

So, if you’re feeling discouraged, don’t look at the numbers.  Don’t measure the results.  Measure the efforts.  Stay consistent with the efforts and the results will take care of themselves. 

Remind yourself: I have put in the time.  I have put in the effort.  I will trust the process for results. 

It starts with group projects in school, then it moves to team sports and finally corporate life: the critical skill of building great teams.

I picked five star books for this list — all books that I loved.

Some of them won’t show up on typical teamwork book lists. Some are stories of great teams in action, or in one case, Into Thin Air, a breakdown of leadership and teamwork and the fatal results.

I’m fascinated by team dynamics and love to learn the principles that make teams work.

(Note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that at no extra cost to you, a percentage of your purchase goes to support this site.)

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

The Culture Code is similar to Good to Great because it analyzes high performing teams to see what the similar elements are. 

It doesn’t take a statistical approach like Good to Great, but from the viewpoint of an investigative journalist instead. 

Daniel Coyle studied great teams with extraordinary results like Pixar, Google and the San Antonio Spurs. He found that huge budgets and big organizations aren’t the key to success.

Instead, Coyle identifies safety and vulnerability as the critical elements for high performing teams. It’s also important to have freedom to try new things without asking for permission and for every member of the team to have equal say, not just team leaders.

Fearless by Eric Blehm

Navy SEALS are often lauded for superior teamwork. What makes them so effective?

Fearless tells the story of one SEAL from the elite Team Six, Adam Brown.

His journey to becoming a highly decorated SEAL is certainly not conventional. This traces the story from before he began rigorous training to become a SEAL, through the time when he was involved in perilous missions up until his ultimate sacrifice.

Of special note on the subject of teamwork is the way Navy SEALs operate, a process that Daniel Coyle highlights in his book and plays out in Adam Brown’s team.

Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet

David Marquet tells the engaging story of his own command on a naval submarine. He explains why he chose the leadership style he did and what effect it had– on the intangibles as well as the metrics. He built on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to define his leadership style. Using your team’s strengths as well as their free will and initiative was key.

Retention of personnel was a metric that turned around drastically. Morale is harder to measure, but it, too, was greatly impacted.

Empowerment not only made a huge difference in the way the men saw themselves, but impacted the safety and effectiveness of the whole ship.

“Most empowerment programs fail because they are just that, “programs” or “initiatives” rather than the central principle–the genetic code”, according to Marquet. “We say ‘empowerment’ but do it in a way that is disempowering.”

Top down leadership is so prevalent, so easy to execute initially and so deadly to effective teamwork and outcomes.

“What happens in a top-down culture when the leader is wrong? Everyone goes over the cliff.”

“I intend to” became the watchword on the ship, in place of top down dictatorial commands given out by an all-powerful leader. Leadership style matters.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

In the 1936 Berlin Olympics a U.S. college rowing team competed for the gold. Joe Rantz, an almost accidental member of the team, is an unlikely hero, but you can’t help but root for him.

Tracing the background of some others on the champion rowing team puts you in the boat with the rowers and has you cheering with the crowds on the shore.

I love the real life lessons of leadership and teamwork, and wonder how to transfer these lessons to other teams.

The up close and behind the scenes glimpses of history are instructive and sobering.  So much to glean from this book.

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

Endurance is a good study in leadership and teamwork. It’s an amazing triumph over the elements, even though the primary mission wasn’t accomplished. The incredible feat was bringing back everyone home alive.

The decisions that had to be made; the feats of survival; the human interaction; the challenges that they faced. These are the elements of the story that draw you in and keep you turning pages.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

In 1996, eight mountain climbers lost their lives while attempting to summit Everest.  Jon Krakauer is a journalist and climber who survived and wrote about it.

To me, one of the most interesting dynamics is the role of leadership and teamwork in summiting as well as personal, individual responsibility.

One of the critical factors in the deaths of those on the mountain in 1996 was the enforcement of the turn around time.

Hall, the team leader, had been so strict about that for other teams, but with this one, he wasn’t.  He didn’t communicate clearly whether the turn around time was one o clock or two clock.  On the actual summit day, people were summiting at 4 and 5 o clock.

No one seemed to know that there was a storm blowing in.

There’s a lot of competing forces at play:  people who spent a lot of money to summit, the commercialization of summiting, magazines that would pay a lot for the story, advertisers looking for heroes.

There’s also different teams that were summiting and the different philosophies of the team leaders.

Should a leader be making decisions that are unquestioned?  Does that actually put his team at greater risk because they don’t follow their own wisdom?  Actually, the genius of Hall’s leadership was to make the decisions ahead of time, not in the heat of the moment.  And the actual breakdown came in not following through with those wise decisions.

The safety net wasn’t there when it needed to be.

The bottom line is, it’s impossible to erase all risk.  That’s one factor that makes the challenge of climbing Everest so attractive:  there is an element of risk involved.  Defying death is part of the victory.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Have you ever wondered why some teams can accomplish incredible feats and others can’t accomplish anything?  What if there were a way to diagnose the problems and solve them?  Now there is.

Five Dysfunctions is a leadership fable.  It is a page-turning quick read fiction, for the very reason a good movie is:  it’s full of conflict.

“The characters in this book ring true, are completely recognizable, and fully-realized. The book itself is well-written, and, I believe, ranks with the best of the genre.” –Jack Covert, co-author with Todd Sattersten of 100 Best Business Books of All Time

Five Dysfunctions identifies the major obstacles that keep a group from functioning as a team.  There are repeatable patterns that keep a team from reaching it’s goals.  By identifying these patterns and working to change them, the team can move forward and accomplish it’s goals.

What are the Five Dysfunctions?

1. Absence of trust
2. Fear of conflict
3. Lack of commitment
4. Avoidance of accountability
5. Inattention to results.

Lencioni is spot on in his analysis and his resolution.  This book is life-changing.

What great books have you read about teamwork? Let me know in comments.

P.S. Did you miss these book lists?

David Platt’s Something Needs to Change tops the list of 5 Books About Humanity’s Greatest Rescue.

And some of my all-time favorite books are part of 8 Stand Out Novels To Rekindle Your Love for Reading.

Four Things I Learned in 10 Years as a Bookseller

A woman walks into our bookstore. She’s looking for a book on grief for a friend who just lost her husband. I direct her to our small collection of books on grief and help her find something.

During my decade a bookseller, I never came across a manual on how to grieve the loss of a business, specifically a bookstore. 

How does one do that? 

I need to figure it out, because we closed our store.  

At the heart of the issue, I am at peace.  I believe in God’s sovereignty.  I believe in a free market economy, where consumers vote with their dollars and innovators win. 

I love that there are new, cheaper ways to buy books and access information and learn and be entertained. 

The natural result is that brick and mortar retail stores are affected. 

As I figure out how to let go, I realize I’ve learned a lot in ten years.  

About retail.  About business.  About myself.  About readers.  About consumers. 

But mostly what it takes to get a book from the author to the reader. 

1.  Connecting good readers with good books is hard work. 

Somebody’s got to do the work:  the author, the reader, the marketer or the bookseller.  

Sometimes an author’s network does the heavy lifting.  Sometimes the reader’s network does the work. Often it’s a combination of all of the above.

But someone has to do it. 

It’s a communication issue, as well as a trust issue. 

Authors who make the effort to do 90% of the work to find their audience are likely to find success.  Authors who depend on marketers to do the work or wait for readers to find them are likely to fail. 

Booksellers can help bridge the gap.  Bloggers, podcasters and other media outlets can also meet this need, helping connect good readers with good books. 

A best sellers list can’t flesh out the picture of author or book the way a blogger or podcaster can.  

And bloggers, podcasters and media outlets can be impartial in a way marketers can’t. 

2. There are millions of books that don’t go far.  

They live and die close to home and become garage sale fodder without making much of a splash.  Some of them are good books.

Of course, we love best sellers and don’t like to think much about the books that come and go without really finding their audience.

For books that sell incredibly well, there is an element of mystery.  

There’s a tipping point when a book buzz takes on a life of its own.  Without any control or direction or plan, the flame spreads and people hear about a book and read the book and talk about it.

3. The easiest way to sell your book is to get famous first.

Sometimes the spark that starts that fire smolders for a decade or two.  Sometimes it’s nurtured and tended within the author’s sphere or just within the author before it spreads. 

Before Michelle Obama wrote a book, she was a household name.  Many people were curious about what it’s like to be the First Lady and the path leading to that position. Her book sold well.

If you want to get famous, writing books is a slow way to get there.  It has nothing to do with an ego trip.  It’s just a matter of people knowing your name and what you’re all about. 

Books from unknown authors do sell if they solve a persistent and pressing problem.  That would apply mostly to non-fiction books. 

In the fiction world, the author really has to be known.  Or, at least, get good reviews.  Or be recommended and endorsed by reliable people.

4.  There are some books that people prefer to own and some they prefer to borrow.

Some books are for entertainment and diversion.  Others are for information and enlightenment. 

The reason you read might determine whether you buy or borrow. 

Many an avid fiction reader doesn’t have the budget to buy everything they want to read.  Lots of non-fiction books can be borrowed, too.  In general, people prefer to buy devotionals, Bibles, blank journals, workbooks and books they want on hand for reference.  

Some books are so great, readers want to mark them up and write in them or have on hand to loan out.  That’s one more category–books that are so great that people want to buy them and  give them away. 

As I transition into a new chapter, I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to be part of the book machine.

As Anne Bogel says, “Book people are the best people.”

I’ll miss them.