What’s that? A new novel? Oh, that sounds lovely! How do I pick up a copy, and help spread the news?
First of all, thanks so much for being here! I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without my community – writers, readers, friends and fans. You all are amazing!
I especially appreciate the patience and flexibility you’ve allowed me and my creative team as I’ve learned the new art of the publishing process. It takes a lot to get a book out into the world, and I’m discovering more and more things that I need to learn as I go along.
I’m excited to announce that my book Skate Cute is available for pre-order through the Champagne Book Group website, soon to be added to Amazon and other online vendors as well. This post is designed to walk through the pre-order steps on the CBG website to make the process a little more transparent.
Why Pre-Order?
Skate Cute is coming out on Amazon in less than two weeks, so why all this fuss about pre-ordering from the Champagne website?
Two answers to that question. First, I like to emphasize buying books directly from publishers or independent bookstores as much as I can, for a few reasons. Major vendors like Amazon make it possible to get tons of books easily into the hands of readers, so I can’t fault them for that, but they do take a sizable cut of the profits (and use it all to… go back to the Moon?). Authors and publishers and bookstores alike appreciate your efforts to support small businesses like ourselves – especially local!
But why pre-order at all? Why not just wait till the book is already out?
It’s all about the algorithms.
Pre-order purchases and early reviews generate “buzz” about the book that makes it more noticeable to Google and Amazon search algorithms, as well as generally getting the word out to anyone and everyone. As the author, I’m sincerely hoping you all will enjoy reading Skate Cute as much as I have enjoyed writing it, and now I’d love to get it out there in front of as many readers as possible!
Okay, How Do I Pre-Order?
I’m glad you asked! Just today, I pretended to be an interested reader and bought a copy of my own book (yup, it’s worth it) just to run through the process and record everything as it went down. Now I get to share all this lovely life experience with you, to hopefully make your lives easier.
Should you choose to accept your mission. Of pre-ordering Skate Cute from Champagne.
You ready? Here we go!
Step 1: Check to see if the book is available
Champagne’s website has been giving all of us a bit of trouble recently, so sometimes the pre-order link isn’t available on the book page. So first you must navigate to this page and see what you find. Check your view against the images below:
If you see a green countdown and pre-order button on the page, you’re good to go! If not, drop a link in my contact form and we’ll get that fixed for you as soon as possible (thanks for your patience).
But if you found a pre-order link and clicked it, here’s what you should see:
Wait a minute, you might ask… Am I ordering an e-book or a print copy? Will it be delivered to my email or my doorstep?
Great question.
Champagne is an online-first publisher, which means they emphasize e-books over print. Each book is available in e-book format for several months before the print-on-demand copy is ready. So right now all you can order is the e-book.
If e-reading isn’t your thing, good news: the print copy will be out in a few months! If you mosey on over to sign up for my newsletter, I’ll be sure to keep you updated as the print version becomes available.
But if you’re still on board with an e-book, good news: that’s what you’re ordering here when you pre-order. (I know the page format above looks confusing, with a slot for “Free shipping,” but bear with me – it’ll all turn out in the end.)
Step 2: Make an account
But wait, you might ask, I have to make an account?
I get it. I don’t like making lots of accounts online for lots of little things. It’s okay to have a healthy dose of skepticism for the ways that online vendors store and use your personal information.
I can’t make that decision for you, and it’s okay if you decide to stop the Champagne pre-order process here. If you still want to support my writing and read my book(s), I would recommend signing up for my newsletter to get updates on when the books are available at other online vendors. I’m truly grateful for any way that you’re willing to support my writing and get the word out.
But if you’re still willing to give Champagne Book Group a try, I can promise that they’re a hard-working online-first small publisher with a heart for getting good books into the hands of delighted readers, as well as taking care of our planet. If they’ve got a few website quirks here and there, it’s because they’re a little too busy delivering great products to have time to tidy up an old system that works well enough for now. Thanks again for your patience!
So, if you’re still with me, here’s a walk-through on how to set up your account, using the images below.
Here’s a screenshot of the account sign-up page, which you find by scrolling down from the previous image.
Once you’ve entered your information in the form, click Save, and it will take you to the next page below.
Step 3: “Choose” a “delivery method”
The page above is a little confusing, because it asks you which delivery method you want for your e-book. (In reality, your e-book won’t be “delivered” at all; you’ll have to download it from the website. But that’s for later.)
Here I understand both the confusion on the buyer’s end, and the complication on the vendor’s end. Champagne sells e-books as well as print books, and the machinery for checking out with either type looks the same. So, even though we don’t have a print book option yet, you have the delivery method choice set out here.
Pick “Digital.” I did. I think it makes life simpler for ordering the e-book.
Moving on, here’s what you should see below the delivery methods:
Step 4: Make a payment
Champagne lets you choose to pay with a check (which takes longer) or through PayPal. (It says that you can pay with your credit card, but I found that the credit card option required a PayPal account anyway.)
I have a PayPal account, so I chose that option. It also gave me a little peace of mind to know that my payment information is stored within PayPal rather than on Champagne’s website.
I found the payment process through PayPal to be intuitive, so I haven’t included instructions on that part in this blog post. There was one step where PayPal warned me that I would need to complete the payment on Champagne’s website, but then it sent me directly to the following confirmation page:
And… it looks like it worked? So… Congratulations! You have successfully pre-ordered a book from Champagne’s website!
Okay, but… where is it?
If you’ve pre-ordered, you should get the message that your book will be delivered soon. Which is only half correct. The “soon” part is right on – Skate Cute is releasing on May 16! Which is really soon!
But alas, the book won’t show up in your inbox. I wish it would. But the world doesn’t currently work that way.
It’s easy to get your book copy, though, once the book is actually available on May 16. Here’s what to do.
First, go to your account on the Champagne website, the one with the email and password you just set up. (You may have to log in again, if you’re coming back to it after a hiatus. Or after partying all day and night with me at the skating rink celebrating the book release.)
Start by heading to the Champagne homepage, and scroll past all the lovely new titles to the bottom of the page:
If you click on “My Orders,” you should see something like this (hopefully with a longer list, because you know you want to buy my friend Andria Henry’s upcoming adorable small-town romance right after you pre-order mine, of course):
You can also hit the “Back to My Account” button and see the Account menu:
At the very bottom of this list, you’ll see a section called “My downloads.” Here’s where your Skate Cute e-book will end up hiding, once we hit that magical hour of 12:00:00 AM on May 16, 2022.
An hour which I know you all will be staying up for, eagerly waiting to click the aforementioned button and launch your next reading adventure.
Well, okay. At least I will. Be eagerly waiting at midnight, and all that. Me, and maybe my cat.
That’s it! Best of Luck…
If you’ve stayed with me this far, congratulations again! And thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for your interest in my book. I can’t wait to share it with you, and I hope you enjoy.
Whatever path you choose, Find your Fun—
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