Behind the Scenes - The Power of Pre-Orders - Dana K. White: A Slob Comes Clean

One reason we (procrastinators) procrastinate is that we aren’t sure we have all the information. We don’t know exactly what to do or exactly how to do it. We don’t fully understand exactly why we should do it. Waiting feels like the right choice, right up until the moment we realize that while we were waiting to feel more confident that we knew everything, the opportunity passed us by. For that reason, I’m sharing some behind the scenes nitty-gritty to help you decide whether or not you should preorder.

Please note that I don’t consider this a sales plea. I’m writing to those of you who already know you’ll get the book eventually. I’m writing to those of you who have read my other books and received the help you needed from them. My goal is to help you decide whether you want to preorder. If everyone who already knows they’re going to order the book eventually would preorder the book, this book could take the world by storm!

But if you don’t need this book, please don’t buy it. And you don’t need to keep reading!

If you can’t afford it, ask your library to order it!

Why Pre-Order my new book, Procrastinators Get Stuff Done?

It’s a little hilarious that I’m tasked with getting pre-orders for a book about procrastination. From procrastinators. Before they read the book about how to stop procrastinating.

But here I go.

But first, I promise I’m not delusional. (Really.)

Let me acknowledge a few things I’m not delusional about (even though it may seem like I’m delusional about them):

I know that getting anyone to preorder any book is hard. (This is my sixth book and sixth pre-order push.)
I know that getting procrastinators to preorder a book about procrastination is extra hard. (All of my last five books have, ultimately, been for procrastinators.)
I know that hitting a bestseller list is a huge reach. (I’ve never gotten anywhere near enough pre-orders for previous books.)
I know that an author can do everything she can do, get amazing numbers of pre-orders, and still not hit the list. (It’s actually my pet peeve when people try to explain this to me. Thank you, I already know.)
I know that asking (begging?) for preorders is annoying. (Oh yes, I do know.)
I do not know if pre-order or preorder is better. (Spell check thinks both are fine.)

Do you need this book?

For the past sixteen years, I’ve written about decluttering and home management. Now, I’m writing about procrastination because I realized I’ve been writing about procrastination all along. I’ve been teaching how to face overwhelming situations. I’ve developed strategies to get started by identifying which parts of a challenge require the lowest expenditure of emotional energy. I’ve learned how to keep going until you finish, counting each teeny tiny bit of progress as legitimate success.

If you’ve experienced success using my five step No Mess Decluttering Method, I think you’ll love my five step Anti-Procrastination Process. If you’re a procrastinator who is afraid to read a book about procrastination, this is the procrastination book for you. You’ll understand why you procrastinate and learn to beat procrastination on the things you want to do (or have to do).

This book won’t add pressure to do more, it will relieve the pressure you are already experiencing from procrastinating on things you want to do or need to do.

(Don’t need any more info? Go here to preorder and claim your bonuses!)

So why should you pre-order?

I’ll start with the general reasons why authors ask their existing readers to pre-order their books. Then, I’ll share reasons why it might be beneficial to you, specifically, to pre-order this book, specifically.

Pre-orders let bookstores and the publisher know that there is legitimate interest in this book. The pre-order numbers they can see behind the scenes affect how many copies the publisher prints and how many copies bookstores order. Bookstores need to know the book is worth the shelf space. Bookstores need to have it on hand so the book can build momentum and reach more people who need it.

How does it benefit you (the procrastinator) to pre-order?

I don’t like asking for anything from you without giving you something in return, so I have pre-order bonuses/incentives! If you’re going to order the book early, I want to thank you. You can get these bonuses via email after you fill out the form at danakwhite.com/procrastinate.

The preorder bonuses are:

an excerpt of the book to read now
four exclusive podcast episodes (with transcripts if you’d prefer to read and videos if you’d prefer to watch). In these episodes, I talk to people who have already read the book. I help them brainstorm applying my five step Anti-Procrastination Process to their unique procrastination situation.
a spot in my live book club We’ll meet to discuss the book for four weeks after the book’s release on October 6th. (Those book discussions will be recorded and you’ll be able to watch them any time during the months of October and November.)

My hope is that the excerpt will get you excited, the exclusive podcasts will start the process of changing your thinking around procrastination, and the book discussions will provide support as you start applying what you learn.

The four sessions cover a variety of overwhelming, procrastinatable situations:

Helping a loved one move into an assisted living facility
Finishing a quilt project that’s been stalled for three years
Moving retirement accounts from a former career
Tackling 30,000+ photos from a special phase of life that are spread across multiple devices

(Don’t need any more info? Go here to preorder and claim your bonuses!)

But really, Dana, why are you pushing so hard for pre-orders?

Think back to the moment when you discovered you weren’t alone in your struggles to maintain your home. Think about the relief, validation. and hope you experienced. Your struggles were legitimized. Your shame was removed. Things that once baffled you started to make sense.

Did you hear me on a podcast? Did someone share on social media? Did an algorithm that knew you needed decluttering help connect us?

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to share hope with those who once felt hopeless in their homes. But I still face the obstacle of skepticism. The way I talk about home management and decluttering isn’t what people expect to hear.

I’ll give you a spoiler. The way I talk about procrastination isn’t going to be what people expect. The book gaining credibility will lend credibility to the strategies within it. Credibility is essential for people (or algorithms) to be willing to spread the word.

I’ve hit the Wall Street Journal and Publisher’s Weekly lists before, but I’m sure you know which one is the dream: The New York Times bestseller list. Hitting that particular list opens doors to share the hope of the book with more people. When a book hits that list, it immediately gains credibility. Media outlets know that this is a subject people do want to learn about, and they want to learn it from this author. Shows, podcasts,and media outlets want to share things that they feel confident their audience will want to hear.

While this book is not about home management, it is about “us.” Those of us who haven’t gotten the hope we need through traditional procrastination advice or traditional decluttering advice. This book is for people who need to hear from someone who truly struggles and has figured out how to make progress anyway.

To be clear, I know that hitting any list is a longshot. But even if we don’t hit it, the more pre-orders we have, the more this book will be able to reach the people who don’t even know yet that they need it.

So how does a book hit the bestseller lists?

Books that are on bestseller lists get there based on the number of books they sell in one week. One single week. Pre-orders greatly increase the chances of a book hitting a bestseller list because even if the pre-orders have been spread out over several months, all those pre-ordered books count toward sales numbers for the week that the book releases.

Cumulative sales do not matter. Decluttering at the Speed of Life has sold more than 500,000 copies since it was published in 2018 .Slow and steady (half a million copies over 8 years) is wonderful, but it doesn’t get you on the bestseller lists. Lots of sales in a single week are necessary for that.

Many books that have hit the New York Times bestseller list will not sell anywhere near 500K copies in their lifetimes. But it only takes one week to be a NYT bestseller forever.

So what numbers are we going for?

The numbers required are ambiguous on purpose. The list-makers don’t want anyone gaming the system, for good reason. (And again, I don’t want anyone buying a book they don’t need, even mine.) Some used to say 7,000 copies. Some now say 10,000. But no one can actually say because each week is different.

AND, while some lists are based on numbers alone, the NYT bestseller list is a curated list. Books do have to have exceptionally high numbers to even be noticed or considered, but ultimately the books on the list are chosen.

Because I haven’t hit this list before, it’s safe to assume I’m not on their “authors to watch” list. If there’s hope of hitting it, we need numbers that can’t be ignored.

What I Believe is My Biggest Challenge

My last book was my “heart book.” I shared the spiritual side of my deslobification journey. I felt so strongly that I had to write it, and I’m incredibly grateful for the beautiful feedback I get from those who’ve read it.

I knew that writing a spiritually focused book could affect my career that is not built on spiritual content. I made a conscious decision to take that risk. The reception has been very kind, even from those who do not share my faith. For a while, I thought there hadn’t been any negative repercussions to my career.

Now, I’m seeing the repercussions. Bookstores stock books according to predictions of how well they will sell. The best data they have is the sales numbers for my last book. But my last book only appealed to a fraction of my readers.

As a business owner and Decluttering Expert, I get it. Every copy a bookstore puts on a shelf takes up space where another book can’t go. They want to know what has the best chance of selling, so they look at numbers. Pre-orders are numbers.

Please note that I would absolutely write and publish Jesus Doesn’t Care About Your Messy House exactly when I published it, even knowing what I know now.

How does this book’s success help you?

I see, again and again, that one of the biggest benefits people experience from learning my decluttering strategies is a common language around the topic. They feel understood. They realize that there isn’t anything wrong with them. Their brains just work differently so they need different strategies. As more people read the books and start using the language, they can skip past the pleading and explaining and get right to the progress. That’s my hope for this book and the conversation around procrastination.

I’ve identified things that make us feel overwhelmed and strategies to break through that overwhelm. I created a process for getting started on overwhelming tasks. This process and these strategies are a language you can use to understand yourself and feel understood. My hope is that people who need to hear the news that their brain just works differently, but who’d never look for decluttering advice will learn they are not alone through this book.

For that to happen, though, we need to expand past our circle. The more people who order, the more sites like Amazon and Audible and Barnes & Noble will show the book to more people. That means pre-ordering is the very best thing you can do to help spread the word.

Does it matter where you order?

Yes and no. Order your copy wherever you like to buy books. But if it’s a toss up between the place “where everyone orders” and another smaller place, order from the smaller place. It matters for the booksellers (we want to support them) and it matters for the list (they’re looking for variety).

Does it matter what format you order?

I hate to say this, but it does. Physical books hold more weight for most bestseller lists.

But only order what you’ll read! My pre-order bonuses are available for anyone who pre-orders any format (physical hardback, audio, or ebook). I personally LOVE my ereader! I definitely don’t want to contribute to your clutter!

BUT if you are one of the MANY people who tell me they eventually collect all three formats of my books because they want to be able to listen to the audiobook, have the digital version on their ereader, and highlight and underline a physical copy, I’d love if your pre-order was a physical hardcover. Those are the pre-orders that get the most attention from booksellers and bestseller lists.

How close have my other books gotten to hitting a bestseller list?

Actual numbers are always a little difficult to find. The best access I have to numbers is through NPD BookScan which tracks sales of physical copies sold everywhere. It’s known for not being perfectly accurate, but it does give a general idea.

I share the following numbers because I KNOW that when you see my subscriber numbers there’s an assumption that half the people who follow me on Facebook probably pre-order my books, so your preorder won’t make a difference. Oh no. That is definitely not the case.

Pre-order plus first week of sales of physical copies:

How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: 970 (my first book)

Decluttering at the Speed of Life: 2167

Organizing for the Rest of Us: 3200

Jesus Doesn’t Care About Your Messy House: 1711

To even have a chance of hitting a big list, we need to sell at least five times as many copies as Decluttering at the Speed of Life did in its first week. I know that’s a HUGE GOAL! But if 14% of my newsletter subscribers preordered, we would hit that goal so fast! Or 4% of my YouTube subscribers. Or 2% of the people who’ve purchased Decluttering at the Speed of Life since 2018!

Final Words (out of so many words)

If you’re wondering if I feel awkward putting this out there, the answer is yes. It is. So awkward. I’ve almost lost the nerve several times.

But here’s what I know. People need hope. I have hope to offer. But the only way for people to know about that hope is for me to put it out there. To talk about it. I have to give everything I can to this pre-order campaign, no matter how awkward it feels. Trying to be cool has never worked for me anyway.

I’ll leave you with a spoiler for the book. The number one question to ask in any situation where you are procrastinating is: What is the smallest thing I can do right now that will have to be done anyway if I ever get this overall thing done?

One small thing you can do right now is pre-order Procrastinators Get Stuff Done. If you’re ever going to read this book to learn how to break through procrastination in a way that works for your brain, that’s the smallest thing you can do right now that would have to be done anyway. Order the book.