How to Partner with a Bookstore for a Preorder Campaign

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Today’s guest post is excerpted from It Depends: An Author’s Practical Guide to Debut Year by M. Stevenson.

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A preorder campaign is when authors or publishers provide some sort of incentive to readers who preorder a book. With a few rare exceptions, publishers generally do not run preorder campaigns. If you’ve seen authors announcing their preorder campaigns on social media, chances are very high that those authors completely organized and funded the campaigns themselves.

Results are mixed on whether preorder campaigns actually move the sales needle at all, plus preorder campaigns can take a lot of work and/or money, though it’s possible to run one for free. I’ve chosen to do preorder campaigns for my books, mostly because I wanted to.

Preorder campaigns boil down to two basic options: You can do it all yourself, or you can partner with an independent bookstore. You can also do a combination of both. For my debut novel, Behooved, I partnered with indie bookstores for all my physical incentives, but I also ran a digital campaign that was open internationally. This article is about how to navigate a bookstore partnership, including what I learned from my first experience and what I’m doing this time around. (Note that chains like Barnes & Noble usually won’t agree to participate because of corporate policies, so this article focuses on indies.)

How preorders work with bookstore partners

A good time frame to connect with stores is about 3–6 months before release—not so far away that publication day is out of mind, but not so close to release that you don’t have time to get everything in place.

Most independent bookstores should be familiar with the concept of a preorder campaign, but if they’re not, you might need to explain what you have in mind. Make sure that if they’re shipping the books out, you’re including only items that won’t cost them extra to ship, such as art prints and stickers that can be slipped inside the cover. This one might be obvious, but also make sure you’re supporting the store yourself—asking about a preorder campaign should not be your first time visiting.

Once you’ve set up your campaign with your bookstore(s), if you’re working with a local store, you’ll arrange a time in the week before release day to go in and sign preorders in person. If your stores aren’t local, you’ll need to mail them your swag long enough before release day that they have a chance to prepare orders to ship.

For my debut preorder campaign, I contacted all my local independent bookstores, as well as a few other stores that weren’t local to me but had a good reputation and/or where I had a connection. I asked my local stores in person and then followed up via email to confirm details, and I emailed the non-local stores directly. I ended up working with three stores: one local store, one non-local store owned by a friend, and one store that reached out to me and asked to join after I’d announced my preorder campaign. This felt manageable to me, but of course it’s up to you whether you want to work with just one store or as many as will have you.

Working with an independent bookstore supports them through sales. Additionally, most indies have their own social media and marketing presence, and if they post about the preorder campaign you could get a few more sales that way. Another bonus is that aside from delivering the supplies to the bookstore, you don’t have to do the work of mailing out the incentives or paying for shipping. The bookstores can just stick your items inside the copy of the book since shipping is already covered by the customer. I was very happy to work with independent bookstores, as not only were they super supportive around release, but they now have me in mind for future events—plus, they’re just really awesome places to support.

How to approach bookstores about your book

Especially if, like many authors, you’re an introvert, it can be terrifying to introduce yourself as an author at local bookstores. If you’re deeply nervous, sometimes it’s easier to start with an email introduction. Most independent bookstores have a contact form or contact email on their website. Many stores prefer to be emailed first anyway, though do expect some ghosting; bookstores get lots of emails from authors, and yours could very well get lost in the masses. Ask if there’s a good time to come introduce yourself in person, or just let them know you and your book exist. You can also bring a friend for moral support!

Personally, when I introduced myself to my local stores, I went in person, took an ARC of my book with me so I would have a visual prop, and then followed up later via email. I had enough ARCs that I was able to leave a physical copy. Later, when I ran out of ARCs, I left a bookmark that included my book cover and a QR code linking to my website and contact information.

Do make sure you’re not introducing yourself in person at a time when the stores are super busy, like during the holiday rush or a store event. Your script can go something like this:

Hi, I’m a local author and I wanted to introduce myself. My book, TITLE, comes out from PUBLISHER in MONTH. It’s about [one sentence pitch]. I’d love to collaborate on a preorder campaign. Is there a person I can talk to about that?

Lead with your publisher

Whether you’re introducing yourself via email or in person, make sure your publisher is one of the first things you tell a bookstore about yourself. It’s not bragging or being snobby. Bookstores get countless inquiries about stocking self-published books, and some stores either don’t stock self-published titles at all or have a different process for ordering them. For instance, my local bookstores will stock select self-published titles, but only on commission. When you tell a store you’re distributed and/or published by a larger publisher, they handle it differently from self-published titles.

If you’re emailing, put your publisher in the subject line, such as: Local author of TITLE published by Macmillan.

I err on the side of using the corporate publisher name rather than the specific imprint since it’s more recognizable, especially if the store isn’t as familiar with your genre.

Example email to booksellers

Here is a version of an actual email I sent to one of my local bookstores. Feel free to use it as a template.

A few notes: First, when I stated I was a fan of the store, it was true. Don’t pretend you’ve frequented the store for years if you’ve never shopped there before.

Second, bookstore margins are tight, so it’s important that your preorder campaign doesn’t cost them anything extra. Shipping of non-book items can get really expensive.

Parting advice

It can be scary to approach a bookstore—especially if it’s your only local store and, like me, you’re terrified of showing your face there again if they say no. Working with a store can also be more of a hassle to set up. I was ghosted by several bookstores for my first preorder campaign, which was frustrating, though understandable—bookstores are busy. But I’m excited to take this route again with my sophomore novel, The Bookbinder & the Thief, as I felt it was worth it for the connections I built with the bookstores I worked with—and now that I have those connections, it’s easier to find partners this time around.

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Note from Jane: If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out It Depends: An Author’s Practical Guide to Debut Year by M. Stevenson.