The pre-sale period is the time between your title's initial listing with the retailers to it’s actual release date.
After your book proofs are approved, we will send your POD files to our entire retail store network. Your book will begin appearing on retail websites within 2 to 3 weeks. During this pre-sale period, customers can order your book. The readers’ credit cards will not be charged until the book is actually released and shipped.
To gauge reader demand, Amazon requires a minimum of 60 days in pre-sale status for all new titles. This allows them to calculate and estimate a 2 week inventory forecast. Amazon's goal is to maintain 2 weeks worth of inventory of your title in their warehouse so they can display a stocking status of "In stock. Ships Today". Demand during the pre-sale period helps Amazon build this forecast to determine how many books need to be ordered from us as the pre-sale period ends.
Your pre-sale window is the best time to build up excitement for your launch. The longer your book is available for pre-order, the more time you have to send your eager readers to Amazon and the other stores to accumulate orders. All of these orders count as sales on your release date, giving you a good chance at cracking some top-100 best seller sub genre lists on sites like Barnes & Noble and Powell’s.