FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Star Cruise: Lucky Charm (Sectors #19.5) by Veronica Scott (B/4 stars)
• Deadly Strain (Biological Response Team #1) by Julie Rowe (B-/3 stars)
• Lethal Game (Biological Response Team #2) by Julie Rowe (C/2 stars)
• Viral Justice (Biological Response Team #3) by Julie Rowe (C/2 stars)

Purchased:

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by library addict

Authors have said in the past that preorder numbers do help them.

Which authors?
Paper or ebook?
Trad or SP?

What definitely helps authors is sales and secondly good reviews. Or non-negative* controversy / exposure on mainstream media.

[* Well publicised school / library bans or rants from politicians (or tabloids) likely helps far more than any other publicity. I can't see how pre-orders help except to encourage trad publishers to do more promotion or a bigger paper print run, and they'd need to be big numbers.]

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Which authors?
Paper or ebook?
Trad or SP?

What definitely helps authors is sales and secondly good reviews. Or non-negative* controversy / exposure on mainstream media.

[* Well publicised school / library bans or rants from politicians (or tabloids) likely helps far more than any other publicity. I can't see how pre-orders help except to encourage trad publishers to do more promotion or a bigger paper print run, and they'd need to be big numbers.]

Pre-orders help to traditionally published authors, as the publisher look at the initial figures to decide if continuing the series.

[library addict]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Which authors?
Paper or ebook?
Trad or SP?

What definitely helps authors is sales and secondly good reviews. Or non-negative* controversy / exposure on mainstream media.

[* Well publicised school / library bans or rants from politicians (or tabloids) likely helps far more than any other publicity. I can't see how pre-orders help except to encourage trad publishers to do more promotion or a bigger paper print run, and they'd need to be big numbers.]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Pre-orders help to traditionally published authors, as the publisher look at the initial figures to decide if continuing the series.

This. Pre-orders also help determine the size of print-runs and play a factor when it comes time to negotiate a new publishing contract even if for a different trilogy or series or stand-alone. It also can factor significantly on if the publishing house puts an effort into advertising or not.

But I have also heard indie/self-published authors talk about how pre-orders count as release day sales so help boost their rankings at the various storefronts.

I don't think it matters so much with Amazon as they factor daily sales, but I could be misremembering. But for authors who sell on Kobo, Apple Books, B&N, etc it makes a difference. They can be offered opportunities to be featured in the storefront's newsletters and/or on the landing page(s), etc. Which in turn helps with visibility and more sales.

[Quoth]

Pre-orders of ebooks are release day sales.

I think it's only significant for traditional publishers on paper.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Pre-orders of ebooks are release day sales.

I think it's only significant for traditional publishers on paper.

Perhaps, but it's a market that exists, and authors have to take it into account. Dismiss it because we only read ebooks or because we don't purchase from traditional publishers, I think it doesn't make a lot of sense.

And about release day sales... I don't really know as price is charged when you pre-order, not release day (at least at Kobo).

[Quoth]

I mean a pre-order is only an actual sale on release day. You aren't charged till then. Generally applies to paper books too, even in a physical bookshop, though I suppose some bookshops might charge a deposit. Online sellers don't charge a deposit. I wasn't writing about a "sale" in the sense of discounts.

Kobo UK or Ireland on page for an ebook not yet released

Pre-order Price Guarantee ^
You'll only pay for the pre-order when it becomes available. If the publisher's price changes between your order date and the item's release, you'll pay the lowest possible price.

So unless the "sale price" change is after release?


I wasn't dismissing it. I was asking clarification in my original question. Pre-sale orders really only matter for traditional print runs. Even then, the effect has to be marginal, because even if pre-sale orders didn't exist (in sense of not possible anywhere) and the book was a success there would be another print run. So it's of importance to tradition publishers to gauge the size of print run and they still often get that wrong. Having been involved for authors and printing for over 30 years I'm sceptical that it of much importance to actual authors, except to give an idea of how it might go, but if pre-orders didn't exist the first week's sales would tell the author how well the book is doing. So the significance is for traditional publishers planning the print run, unless it somehow becomes a media sensation before release, which is very very rare without a lot of money and PR pumped somewhere, unless it's a movie/TV/game/viral social media video tie-in, or a court case, or President Trump suing the publisher.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Sky Shielder (Fire and Fang #1) by Lindsay Buroker (B/4 stars)

Purchased:

[sufue]

I just finished reading A Dragon Rider’s Guide to Retirement by Julia Huni, and really enjoyed it. Recently there has been a bit of a trend towards middle-aged heroines (and heros) in romance/romanstasy – a welcome trend IMO. But usually the protagonists are discovering their powers in their 40s and 50s, while in Guide, both main characters are having trouble with theirs: Calantha Stormbringer due to well….hmmmm….menopause, and William Ordell due to injury, the death of his war dragon, and a lousy king. So it’s a lot of fun to watch as they try to “retire”, but instead end up launching a sea dragon fire brigade for their adopted island home of Safe Haven. And a story hour for the local kids. And reading lessons for some of the adults. And...

As you might guess, I read this far too late into the night last night. And sadly the next book isn't going to be out until August of next year, but the author has a number of other books out under both of her pen names: Julia Huni and Lia Huni. So although my TBR list is far too long, I'm going to add a few books to it. Oh, and Guide is KU if you have that...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FFPXRNCH
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FFPXRNCH

[Terisa de morgan]

Thank you! Yes, I've got KU so...

[sufue]

I enjoyed Dragon Rider so much ^^ that I put Julia Huni on my eReaderIQ list, and this morning a book from one of her other series popped up as free.

Dark Quasar Rising is the first in her "Friends of a Former Space Janitor" series, and since I just now finished binge-reading the original "Space Janitor" series, I grabbed this one. (Even though it's also KU, but free is free, and books do drop out of KU sometimes.) Space Janitor was a mix of science-fiction and murder-mystery/thriller, with a five-book slow burn romance - not intellectually deep, but lots of fun. So I assume that "Friends of a Former Space Janitor" will be more of the same...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ7H5N8K
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CJ7H5N8K

Spoiler:

In the heart of enemy territory, Vanti must save the day without blowing her cover... or her cool.

Security for a reality star cruising on a billionaire's space yacht should be excellent cover for secret agent Lindsay "Vanti" Fioravanti. Her boss, the famous Elodie-Oh, doesn't care where they go, as long as it's viral.

Then Arun, the ship's owner and pilot, grabs an opportunity to do business on Gagarin--a planet emerging into capitalism with enthusiasm. Getting in on the new market is a huge risk, but could offer enormous rewards. And visiting Gagarin gives Vanti the chance to recruit new informants.

But when a shipmate is kidnapped, Vanti and Arun must come to the rescue. Can they do it without exposing Vanti's secret identity? And if not, who will feed the cat?

ADD: Oh, and the second book in the series, Dark Quasar Ignites, is only $0.99/£0.99 right now, probably in honor of the third book in the series, which came out yesterday.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWZ1V693
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CWZ1V693

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• The Things Gods Break (The Crucible #2) by Abigail Owen (A/5 stars)
• Latham (Soldiers of the Ardannan #2) by Veronica Scott (B-/3 stars)

Purchased:

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Sin’s Daughter (Otherkin/The Sins Series #.5) by Eve Silver (C+/3 stars)
• Sins of the Heart (Otherkin/The Sins Series #1) by Eve Silver (D-/1 star)
• Sins of the Soul (Otherkin/The Sins Series #2) by Eve Silver (B-/3 stars)
• Sins of the Flesh (Otherkin/The Sins Series #3) by Eve Silver (C-/2 stars)
• Body of Sin (Otherkin/The Sins Series #4) by Eve Silver (B-/3 stars)

Purchased:
none

[danicca]

I picked up Guide to Retirement and liked it very much. Now I'm waiting for next book in series, so thanks for recommendation. Please share other hidden gems you run across.

[sufue]

That's funny, because I was just coming here to comment that I have very much liked Jenny Schwartz's two books so far in the Caldryn Parliament series, which don't fit nicely into any genre. I suppose they are mostly science fiction, at least based in a sci-fi-ish world, and they also each have a nice mystery. But I think I detect signs of a (very) slow burn romance, and the discussions here seem to fit the two I have read better. Maybe just because they are KU? Anyway, books 3 and 4 are still coming, with #3 out later this month, on the 29th, perfectly timed for a long airplane flight I have on Dec 1, and #4 in June, 2026.

As far as the books themselves, I've really enjoyed the main character, Vanda Kavanagh, especially her relationship with her gremlin partner, Giddy, and also her issues with her family, which make me feel right at home. And her maybe-romance with the former hexaraid sports star, Justus Lumikko. And her cleverness in getting things to mostly go the way she wants without exerting a lot of obvious power. Of which she has plenty.

Stars Die, #1
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXMQQT8J
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DXMQQT8J

Hexes Fly, #2
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXN1LF23
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DXN1LF23

Originally Posted by danicca

I picked up Guide to Retirement and liked it very much. Now I'm waiting for next book in series, so thanks for recommendation. Please share other hidden gems you run across.