The Secret Publishing Metric That Can Make or Break a Book

Author Diary #9: Why Your Single Preorder Matters More Than You Think

Hello, Protagonists!

Welcome to another Author Diary—a behind-the-scenes note on what I’ve been thinking about as The Incredible Kindness of Paper inches closer to release.

In this post you’ll find:

📚 What’s Filling My Creative Well - books + articles that are lighting up my brain

📈 The Secret Publishing Metric That Can Make or Break a Book

💰 25% Barnes & Noble code

✍🏼 Autographed Copies of The Incredible Kindness of Paper

As always, thank you for being here, not just as readers, but as fellow story-lovers and co-dreamers of this beautiful, bookish life.

~ evelyn

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What’s Filling My Creative Well

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan - This over-the-top beach read is our book club pick this month. We’ll also discuss the film adaptation and the screenplay. Join us even if you haven’t read the book!

• Book Club meeting is Sunday, July 20th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT

• Discussion Qs and Zoom link are HERE.

“The Top 10 Bestselling Books of 2025 So Far” - I like data I can hold onto, so this Publishers Weekly summary that shows sales numbers was very interesting to me.

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📈 The Secret Publishing Metric That Can Make or Break a Book

I’ve been thinking about this post for weeks, and if I’m being honest, I’ve been putting it off because it feels vulnerable to pull back the curtain on something so... money-oriented.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing these Author Diaries, it’s that you all genuinely want to understand how publishing works behind the scenes. And there’s one publishing reality that I think every reader and writer should know about.

Preorders mean A LOT.

Now, before your eyes glaze over thinking “Oh great, another author begging me to buy their book,” hear me out.

This isn’t really about my book (although yes, The Incredible Kindness of Paper comes out August 12th and yes, preorders are live everywhere).

This is about understanding a publishing secret that, once you know it, changes how you think about supporting authors forever.

The Moment I Finally Got It

For years before I was published, I was that reader who thought: “Eh, why would I preorder? I can just buy it when it comes out. Books don’t sell out like concert tickets.”

Oh, sweet summer child Evelyn. Books absolutely can sell out.

But more importantly, preorders aren’t really about availability. They’re about visibility, credibility, and industry math that happens completely behind the scenes.

So, this is what I wish I’d known as a reader:

The Publishing Math You Never See

» Preorders help determine print runs.

When my publisher looks at early preorder numbers, they’re essentially reading tea leaves about demand. Strong preorders can mean the difference between printing 10,000 copies and printing 25,000 copies for a first run.

And if a book sells out of that initial printing? Readers have to wait weeks for a reprint. I’ve seen authors devastated because their books were literally unavailable during their peak publicity moment.

» Bookstores use preorder data to decide what to stock.

This is something I sort of knew in the back of my mind, but I didn’t understand how true it was. Barnes & Noble recently announced they’re stocking fewer debut hardcovers until they’re “proven” to sell. Preorders are part of that proof.

Your local indie bookstore? They’re looking at the same numbers. When you preorder from them specifically, a real human sees that data and thinks, “Okay, people want this book.”

» All preorders count toward first-week sales.

Whether you preorder six months out or six days out, that sale gets tallied during the book’s first week on shelves. And first-week numbers determine bestseller lists, Amazon rankings, and sometimes even whether the publishing world pays attention to an author’s next book.

The Ripple Effect (a.k.a. Why This Reminds Me of Origami Roses)

In The Incredible Kindness of Paper, my main character Chloe starts leaving yellow origami roses with uplifting messages around New York City. She thinks she’s just brightening one person’s day, but those small acts create ripples she never sees—a rose reaches someone at exactly the right moment, changes their perspective, impacts their choices, and affects other people.

Preorders work the same way.

Your single preorder doesn’t just represent one sale.

It signals to bookstores, “Hey—Stock this book.”

It tells publishers, “Invest in marketing.”

It shows Amazon’s algorithm, “Recommend this to other readers.”

It creates visibility that leads to more visibility.

For authors of color and other marginalized writers especially, preorders send a crucial message: “This book has an audience beyond the publisher’s assumptions.”

What This Means for Our Community

The thing I really want to say, as gently as possible, is:

If you’re here learning from authors sharing their experiences, if you believe in the power of storytelling... you’re part of a community. And communities support each other.

I’m not saying you have to preorder every book by every author you follow (though that would be amazing).

I’m saying that when an author you genuinely want to support has a book coming out, preordering is one of the most impactful things you can do.

More impactful than buying on release day.

More impactful than posting about it later.

A preorder takes thirty seconds and costs the same as buying the book later, but it carries exponentially more weight in the publishing ecosystem.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Today’s Reality

Preorder culture has declined significantly in the last decade. People are used to instant gratification—why wait for a book when you can get it immediately? But this shift has made preorders even more valuable for authors, because they’re rarer.

When I see authors posting about preorders, I know they’re not just being promotional. They’re sharing a vulnerability: “I need your help to make this book successful, and this is the most concrete way you can help.”

Okay, Yes, Let’s Talk About My Book

The Incredible Kindness of Paper comes out August 12th. It’s “book club fiction” about childhood pen pals who reconnect through origami roses that spread kindness around NYC.

It’s about small acts having big impacts, about optimism as a radical choice, about believing in people’s essential goodness.

If that sounds like something you’d want to read anyway (or gift to a friend or family member), preordering it helps in all the ways I described above.

If you’re planning to request it from your library, asking them to order it in advance accomplishes the same goal.

But what I really hope is that understanding how preorders work changes how you think about supporting all the authors whose work moves you.

Small Acts, Big Impacts

Every time I’ve preordered a friend’s book, I think about that author getting a little notification that someone believes in their work enough to commit before they can even hold it. I think about that data point landing in some publisher’s spreadsheet, adding to the evidence that this book matters.

It’s such a small thing. Like folding a paper rose and leaving it where someone might need it.

But small things, accumulated, change everything.

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💰 25% off at Barnes & Noble

Barnes and Noble is offering 25% off all Preorders from July 8 - 11! You can get The Incredible Kindness of Paper on sale by using code PREORDER25.

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✍🏼 Autographed Copies!

Alternative: If you want an autographed copy and you want to support an independent bookstore, you can preorder The Incredible Kindness of Paper at my local indie, Books Inc. Palo Alto.

» All orders placed by August 12th can be autographed and personalized with your name.

Just put a note in your online order that says:

PALO ALTO store: Autographed copy, please!

Personalize to [insert your name].

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The Incredible Kindness of Paper is also available for preorder on Amazon or your favorite bookseller!

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» This post is part of my year-long Author Diary series where I take you behind the scenes, from idea to publication of a book.

Catch up here:

• Diary #1: How do Book Auctions Work?

• Diary #2: The Secret Behind Book Cover Design

• Diary #3: First Pass Pages and Why the Font in Books Matters

• Diary #4: What are ARCs? And Why Does It Take So Long to Publish a Book?

• Diary #5: How Authors Make Money: Advances, Royalties, Foreign Rights, Translations & More

• Diary #6: What are Book Blurbs? The Gift (and Burden) of the Book Blurbing System

• Diary #7: Book Publicity, Part 1: Collaborating with Other Authors

• Diary #8: Book Publicity, Part 2: Working with Influencers, Book Boxes, and more