Enable pre-orders

Important: Google Play partners can sell ebooks in certain countries/regions. The features described here aren't available in every country/region. Currently, selling audiobooks on Play is available to some partners. Google isn’t currently accepting new audiobook partners. Check back for updates.

Pre-orders allow customers to order, but not read, your book before its release date. On the release date, customers who pre-ordered your book are charged for the purchase and they gain access to the book.

How to enable pre-orders

Your book can be available for pre-order sales if you specify a future on sale date up to a year in advance and you provide all other necessary settings and files. You can provide an on-sale date either on the Metadata/Book info tab. You can also use a spreadsheet.

This setting doesn't affect your book's preview availability on Google Books.

1. Sign in to the Partner Center.
2. On the left, select Book Catalog.
3. Select the title you want to make the change.
4. On the left, select Book Info Settings Show advanced settings.
5. Under "Allow preview before on sale date," select No.

Due to variable process time and other factors, Google can't guarantee that a book will be available for pre-order sales during a specific time range. We recommend that you send us your book as soon as you can as it can take up to 48 hours to process a .pdf or .epub file.

Tip: If you change a book's price after a customer pre-orders it, the customer will be charged the lower of the 2 prices when the ebook is delivered.

Status of pre-orders within your account and on Google Play

When your book is available for pre-order, its status displays as:

•  "Live on Google Play" in your Book Catalog
• "Preorderable on Google Play" in spreadsheets and on the "Summary" tab for the book.

When you view the book on Google Play, you'll find a Pre-order button with the price. Note that potential buyers won't have the option to read a sample of the book until the on-sale date.

Pre-orders are tracked in your Google Play sales reports. There you can find out if a pre-order has been placed, fulfilled, or canceled. Because customers aren't charged for pre-orders until the release date, these purchases only appear in your earnings reports once the books have been digitally delivered to the customers.