I’ve created an ebook series
known for its plot twists.
Readers pre-order
their copies of the books
because they want to be first,
the first to have the books,
the first to read them,
the first to know.
Usually I have these books
available for pre-order
for two months before the release.
This ensures these readers hear
about the release in time
so they all can read it
that first day.
With this latest release,
one of the booksellers (Apple)
decided to release it a month early.
I had a decision to make
— I could pull it from this bookseller
(but X number of readers already had their copies)
or
I could release it everywhere early.
Releasing it everywhere early
will likely result in lower overall sales
(due to Amazon’s algorithms),
less profit in a business with very little profit.
I released it early.
Why?
Because I made a promise
to my pre-order customers
that they would read this story first.
I had to do what was right
for these customers.
The thing is…
even if my customers don’t care
about this
(though I suspect they do care – very much so),
I do.
I’m proud of myself for making this decision.
I feel happier about my business,
about my products,
about my customers.
This is one of the reasons
we should do right by our customers
because WE know it’s the right thing to do.