If this is about pre-orders then... tread carefully is my advice.

In different ways Septimus and MouseGuard could just about kill of anyone's enthusiasm for pre-orders. So bear those stories in mind.

Septimus -- people pay money, book never happens and Eric Gibson of WEG spends months working to pay people the cash for a game Bill Coffin never delivered (and I hear it is now coming out at this GenCon?!). He also spends an inordinate amount of time fighting flames on forums and avoiding people.
Message: Never, Ever, Ever, offer a pre-order on a book that isn't in the can (or in your hands to finish off).

MouseGuard -- people pay money (see the familiar pattern) then the book is tied up in legal hassles for months. Then casual comic-shop readers get the book weeks before the pre-order people, and folks pre-ordering on Amazon get charged more than people actually getting it quicker on Amazon when it comes out. How to get them steamed online at you! Bear in mind that Luke Crane has a fanatical following and that people will cut him a lot of slack -- he still got a tonne of heat and all the decisions were out of his hands which made it double tough. Throw in a retailer having to pay you for pre-orders sold when you aven't delivered the books and you have a major headache all round.
Message: Never, Ever, Ever, offer a pre-order on a book that someone is going to sell for a quick buck to anyone in preference to your loyal pre-order folks. It sours their loyalty like no other.

Pros
Generates cash before you pay the printer's bill.
Can give away PDF + book bundles to generate word of mouth and play before actual release. Generates further sales.
Get a longer "release" arc with pre-order then actual release. Twice as much visibility on forums and news site.
Money now. Did I mention this?

Cons
Money now. See the pattern? You have your customers money and what are they getting for it?
People expect a good deal compared with a rival pre-order.
Nervousness and stress, and internet rumours, when any delays happen or merely appear to happen.
What if your book never happens?
What if the pre-order book is flawed in some way and has gone out without you seeing it? (See Reign [hardback] and Hot War curly cover edition)

I think that's covered the main points that leap out to me.

For 3:16 I didn't do a pre-order but when the books were due in to IPR from the printer Fred put it up on the site and they shipped when the books arrived. Solipsist did something similar. I think the pre-order period was quite short. Neither book had a big uptake. Solipsist offered Print + Free PDF and got about 4 take-ups? So for 3:16 I didn't do any Free PDF deals.

Cold City and Hot War, where there was more expectation, had pre-orders I believe. They did pretty well since people were waiting for them and the Free PDF was instantly gratifying to the fans and made them drool over the prospect of the forthcoming hardcopy version.

Yeah, we did a pre-order thing at IPR for Hot War which was very successful. If memory serves, we didn't do one for Cold City though. We didn't do pre-order sales direct though, it would just be too much work. Gregor is right about the 'get the PDF now and the book later' thing, it really generates hype and a lot of people go for it.

Thanks for the advice guys. Its roughly what I had in mind anyway, but its nice to have it confirmed by people who know what they are talking about. Naturally, this pertains to Beat to Quarters and as I was planning it, I wouldn't announce the pre-release until I had a solid proof print in my hand anyway. The last thing I need are gangs of burly seamen chasing me around cons looking for their money!

Cheers
Neil

Take the King's shilling at http://www.omnihedron.co.uk/dutyandhonour/

That's fair enough, there's nothing worse than burly seamen.