The Best Way to Support Your Favorite Author

A Bit of Inside Info on the Publishing Industry

As an author, people sometimes ask me how they can best help me out.

Obviously, one critical way is to buy the book. But there’s more to it.

Supporting an author is not just about what to buy but when to buy.

It’s book launch week for my newest book, The Spirit of Justice, and I want to let you in on a reality of the publishing industry that could help your favorite authors.

In the book market, pre-orders are everything.

For one, they signal to booksellers—Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, independent bookshops, and more—that there is reader interest and demand for a particular book.

They keep track of which books are coming out and have all these tools to measure how many folks are ordering ahead of time. So they will adjust their book inventory based on the perceived demand of a volume.

The retailers typically order multiple copies and can really help increase momentum for a book even more.

Pre-orders are also really important because they help boost a book’s visibility.

The book starts popping up on internet searches, social media, and other places that want to be in on “the next big thing” in books.

Authors really push for pre-orders because that time between when a book is first available for pre-order and when it is actually available for delivery is their best chance to get on those fancy bestseller lists.

Here’s a bit of info most readers don’t realize—The first week of book sales also count toward pre-orders!

This is a great help to authors because they get to stack all those first week orders—when attention is highest—onto whatever pre-order sales they garnered.

So this is a request from me to grab your copy of The Spirit of Justice before Monday (9/9).

I hold gratitude for every single person who chooses to buy the book, whether in the pre-order phase, the first week, or years from now.

But if you really want to help an author out, making your purchase this first week of sales is best.

Thank you if you already have your copy (so excited for my next announcement about it…stay tuned).

Consider gifting an additional copy to a friend, or simply sharing one of the assets below with a friend you think might be interested or on your social media.

If you haven’t yet gotten your copy, this weekend is the best time to get it.

You’ve exceeded my expectations for getting and sharing this book. Can’t thank you enough. And let’s press onward to finish the week strong!

Feel free to share any of the following assets with friends and on social media!

High energy video (see Jemar’s dance moves! 🕺🏾

Who’s that handsome guy holding the book?

Clean. Simple. Dignified.

My attempt at humor…

What ideas am I missing to help spread the word about this book? Or who should I reach out to? Comment below. Any and all ideas welcome!