Hi folks. And thanks for stopping in at Self-Publishing Central.
Today's topic, publishing paperbacks in Europe, is one that I've wondered about for quite some time. There have always been contract printers in Europe who will print your books for you. But prices were never that attractive, especially when one considered the hefty percentages that Amazon would take when you made a "Marketplace Sale" on The Continent.
Now CreateSpace has changed all that. If you have printed your U.S. titles with CreateSpace, all you need to do to make your paperbacks available in Europe through Amazon UK, Amazon DE, and the others, is to check the box on your book's Distribution Channels. You also have the same option of altering your European price structure that Amazon DTP has offered for quite a while now. And there's NO EXTRA DISTRIBUTION CHARGE.
The other really good news is that your books will be eligible for Amazon's Free Shipping after the required minimum purchase is made. (Similar to the "Free Shipping with $25.00 Order" policy in the U.S.)
So if you've printed your book with CreateSpace, what are you waiting for? Check the box and sell to Europe. If you haven't printed through CreateSpace, ask your printer if they've given you new European distribution options. If not, then get over to CS and sell to Europe in Paperback! It costs practically nothing to get started.
That's it for today. Thanks for checking in.
Cheers!
John
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
KDP Select Free Promo Update
Hello all. Thanks for stopping by at Self-Publishing Central.
Today, I feel obligated to give you an update on the Amazon KDP Select Free Promos I've held since my last post.
You may recall that my first giveaway through KDP was successful beyond my wildest expectations. That giveaway was for The Covert Element, Book Three in my James Becker Suspense/Thriller Series. Please review the results of that giveaway in my last post.
PROMO #2 -- A HIGHER COURT
The next book I offered as a two day Free Promo was my stand alone spiritual fiction book, A HIGHER COURT. During the free days I managed to give away more than 15,000 copies, mainly in the U.S. The book reached the Amazon Free Kindle Top 10 about 6:00 pm on Day 1 and remained in the Top 20 for the duration of the freebie.
During the seven days immediately following the giveaway, I sold more than 1,600 Kindle copies of A Higher Court at $6.99. During this period the book reached #115 on the Amazon Paid Kindle Bestseller list and remained there for three days. It also reached the #1 paid spot in Spirituality, Religious Fiction, and Literary Fiction during these paid days. These sales compare to a sales ranking of >100,000 before the promo.
PROMO #3 -- THE 19TH ELEMENT
About a week later I offered Book One of the Becker Series on a two day promo. I gave away more than 20,000 free books during this time, reaching #11 on the Free Kindle charts. Unfortunately, I went fishing for five days while this promo was in process, so I don't have lots of details. However, I can say that I sold >900 copies of The 19th Element over the next seven day period at $6.99 each. I'm not sure where these sales placed the book on the Bestseller list -- probably somewhere between 500 and 1,000.
PROMO #4 -- A HIGHER COURT (Second Promo for this Book)
A few weeks later I wanted to find out what would happen if I offered the same book as a Free Promo twice. So I did this with A HIGHER COURT.
During the Free Days, the book reached #8 overall in Free Kindle, #1 in Spirituality, #1 in Religious Fiction, and #1 in Literary Fiction. I gave away nearly 17,000 copies. Once the book went back into the paid column, it peaked at around #435 on the paid Kindle Bestseller list, and reached the Top Ten in the same three categories I have just mentioned above. Total paid sales in the seven days following the promo were a little over 600 copies at $6.99. As of this writing, A Higher Court is ranked at #1685 in the Paid Kindle Store.
CONCLUSION
As you can tell, I have had pretty good success with these free promo days. And as you can also tell, running a second Free Promo for the same book has yielded measurable benefit for me, though not nearly the impact of the first time around.
I recount this experience for the same reason I share everything here at Self-Publishing Central -- to let you know what's working and not working for me. Maybe you can learn from my experiences.
BTW . . . I plan to depart the KDP program when my 90 days are up. Even though it appears I could have 1,000 or more borrows a month, I really want to make my books as widely available as possible. So I'm going back to broad distribution to see how that goes this time around. Who knows? Maybe I'll be back at KDP Select sometime in the future.
That's it for today.
Cheers!
John
Today, I feel obligated to give you an update on the Amazon KDP Select Free Promos I've held since my last post.
You may recall that my first giveaway through KDP was successful beyond my wildest expectations. That giveaway was for The Covert Element, Book Three in my James Becker Suspense/Thriller Series. Please review the results of that giveaway in my last post.
PROMO #2 -- A HIGHER COURT
The next book I offered as a two day Free Promo was my stand alone spiritual fiction book, A HIGHER COURT. During the free days I managed to give away more than 15,000 copies, mainly in the U.S. The book reached the Amazon Free Kindle Top 10 about 6:00 pm on Day 1 and remained in the Top 20 for the duration of the freebie.
During the seven days immediately following the giveaway, I sold more than 1,600 Kindle copies of A Higher Court at $6.99. During this period the book reached #115 on the Amazon Paid Kindle Bestseller list and remained there for three days. It also reached the #1 paid spot in Spirituality, Religious Fiction, and Literary Fiction during these paid days. These sales compare to a sales ranking of >100,000 before the promo.
PROMO #3 -- THE 19TH ELEMENT
About a week later I offered Book One of the Becker Series on a two day promo. I gave away more than 20,000 free books during this time, reaching #11 on the Free Kindle charts. Unfortunately, I went fishing for five days while this promo was in process, so I don't have lots of details. However, I can say that I sold >900 copies of The 19th Element over the next seven day period at $6.99 each. I'm not sure where these sales placed the book on the Bestseller list -- probably somewhere between 500 and 1,000.
PROMO #4 -- A HIGHER COURT (Second Promo for this Book)
A few weeks later I wanted to find out what would happen if I offered the same book as a Free Promo twice. So I did this with A HIGHER COURT.
During the Free Days, the book reached #8 overall in Free Kindle, #1 in Spirituality, #1 in Religious Fiction, and #1 in Literary Fiction. I gave away nearly 17,000 copies. Once the book went back into the paid column, it peaked at around #435 on the paid Kindle Bestseller list, and reached the Top Ten in the same three categories I have just mentioned above. Total paid sales in the seven days following the promo were a little over 600 copies at $6.99. As of this writing, A Higher Court is ranked at #1685 in the Paid Kindle Store.
CONCLUSION
As you can tell, I have had pretty good success with these free promo days. And as you can also tell, running a second Free Promo for the same book has yielded measurable benefit for me, though not nearly the impact of the first time around.
I recount this experience for the same reason I share everything here at Self-Publishing Central -- to let you know what's working and not working for me. Maybe you can learn from my experiences.
BTW . . . I plan to depart the KDP program when my 90 days are up. Even though it appears I could have 1,000 or more borrows a month, I really want to make my books as widely available as possible. So I'm going back to broad distribution to see how that goes this time around. Who knows? Maybe I'll be back at KDP Select sometime in the future.
That's it for today.
Cheers!
John
Monday, January 23, 2012
KDP FREE BOOK PROMO RESULTS - THE COVERT ELEMENT
Free Book Promotion Results
Greetings and welcome to Self-Publishing Central. Thanks for stopping by.
Today I’m going to give you a summary of the results of my recent Free Book Promo for my suspense/thriller, THE COVERT ELEMENT. I promise you, this will be an interesting read.
THE BASICS
Book Title: THE COVERT ELEMENT (Published in May, 2011)
Pre-promo Book Kindle Ranking: >#100,000.
Requirement to hold promo: Sign THE COVERT ELEMENT up for KDP Select Program
When promo held: Jan 10 & 11 (Tues & Weds), more precisely, 12 am PST Tues to 12am PST Thurs.
Book Pricing: Decided to leave the Kindle book price at $6.99, where all my books have been priced for most of the year.
MY WILDEST HOPES:
I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with this giveaway. I had done book giveaways on my website, on this blog, and on Twitter before. Never was I able to give away so many as 25 FREE books. However, I was inspired by the detailed Free Promo results David Wisehart posted in his nine consecutive blog posts. So I thought I’d give it a try.
These were my (very optimistic) hopes for the promo:
Maybe give away as many as 8,000 or 9,000 books.
Maybe get into the Kindle Free Top 100.
Maybe sell 500-700 books after the free period ended.
As you will see, these “hopes” fell well short of the realities this promo achieved. I should have dared to hope bigger.
FREE PROMO FACTS AND FIGURES:
Here are some key facts and statistics from the two days during which my book was free to buy from Amazon:
Books given away: Over 25,000, including >1000 in UK and at least 1 in on every Amazon site.
Highest Free Kindle Ranking: #10.
Highest Free Kindle Suspense Ranking: #1.
Highest Free Kindle Ranking in the UK: #84
PAID RESULTS FROM PROMO
Okay. So the giveaway portion of the promo was fantastic! 25,000 books out to potential readers. I was thrilled. But how would all these free books affect my sales? Had I given away any hope of selling even more books?
I’m thankful to say that quite the opposite was the case. Here are some relevant rankings and statistics from the first 7 days that THE COVERT ELEMENT was back in the paid column on Kindle:
Highest Paid Kindle Ranking – #162 (achieved 3 days after promo)
Highest Paid Kindle Suspense Ranking – #13.
Highest Paid Kindle Movers & Shakers Ranking – #45.
Highest on Kindle Most Popular List – #12.
Ranking at end of First Seven Days Post Promo: Approx. #800
KINDLE BOOKS SOLD IN FIRST SEVEN DAYS AFTER FREE PROMO:
Okay, those rankings were a big improvement from the book’s pre-promo status. But how do the rankings translate into sales? (I had two other titles in the same series as THE COVERT ELEMENT, and since the promo substantially affected their sales, I am listing them here as well.)
Here’s what I have found out regarding that first seven-day paid period. These are actual numbers of kindle books sold at $6.99 each:
THE COVERT ELEMENT (Promo Book): >1,150
THE 19TH ELEMENT: >200
THE MISSING ELEMENT: >200
A HIGHER COURT: 12
COMBINED UK SALES: >50
TOTAL SALES: >1,612
Compare this to my December monthly sales for the same titles:
TOTAL SALES OF ALL BOOKS IN MONTH OF DECEMBER: 44
Wow! I’d say the promo was a huge success in the sales column. I sold more than two year’s worth of Kindle books in seven days!
KINDLE BOOKS BORROWED IN AMAZON PRIME LIBRARY IN FIRST SEVEN DAYS AFTER PROMO:
But you know, there is a new source of revenue in the Kindle world these days – royalties from the KDP Select Library. In December, publishers (in my case, that’s me) were paid $1.70 per borrow of their books. It is uncertain whether that per-book figure will increase or decrease. But in any case, it appears to have some value beyond the minuscule. So here are the number of Borrows during the seven days post promo:
THE COVERT ELEMENT: >400
THE 19TH ELEMENT: 17
THE MISSING ELEMENT: 11
A HIGHER COURT: 0
TOTAL BORROWING: >428
INTANGIBLES
– There have been four reviews from Free Promo book readers on Amazon so far – three Five Star and one Four Star.
– The “Liked” button for The Covert Element on Amazon went from 4 to 34 since the promo started.
SUPPORTERS OF MY FREE PROMO
No promotion can be successful without the help of many people. Here are a few who helped me a ton with this promotion. Please forgive me if I omit your name. There were so many. And I truly appreciate you all.
Websites that helped promote the Free Book Promo:
pixelofink.com
icravefreebies.com
centsablemomma.com
thedigitalinkspot.blogspot.com
Reviewers Roundup on FaceBook
LinkedIn Writers Groups
Google+
My FaceBook Author Page
Twitter – Especially members of The Independent Author Network (#IAN1)
Special thanks to:
David Wisehart and his blog at:
http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2012/01/kindle-ebook-sales-report-day-9.html
David’s detailed coverage of his 9 day promo and post promo results inspired me to try a free promo in the first place.
L.M. Stull – Who tweeted David’s blog. That’s how I found all of David’s great info.
All members of IAN who tirelessly tweeted and RT’d the availability of my books.
My many other Twitter and FaceBook friends who so faithfully spread the word. (Far too numerous to name, but each was crucially important.)
Finally, I credit the huge success of this promo to God. You heard me correctly. I have been praying for direction in my life. And I have specifically asked God whether I should continue writing novels. I think the results of this promo provide a clear answer. Without Him, nothing is possible.
CONCLUSION
Well...I think you’ll agree that the promo was a success by any measure. If you feel moved to give this marketing strategy a try, I’d say, “Go for it.” Honestly, there are so many potential book buyers out there, even if you gave away 100,000 copies, there’d still be millions of them left. It’s essentially an endless supply of potential readers. Okay...it’s not endless. But after you sell a million or so books, who cares?
That’s it for today. I encourage comments and suggestions that can help every self-published author make the most of this marketing opportunity.
Cheers!
John
PS: I have another free book promo going on THIS WEEK Tues and Weds, Jan 24 and 25, for A HIGHER COURT. Please take a copy.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Higher-Court-ebook/dp/B004AM59MI/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327378634&sr=1-5
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
CreateSpace Offers Pro-Plan Benefits for FREE
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Monday, January 9, 2012
Free Genuine Amazon Kindle Ebook NOW!
Greetings all,
I'm hijacking my blog today for a bit of self-promotion. I'm hoping it's something you all will enjoy anyway, because it's an opportunity to get a free Kindle copy of my newest novel, THE COVERT ELEMENT.
Here are the details:
WHEN: Tuesday, January 10th and Wednesday, January 11th.
WHERE: The Covert Element at Amazon
WHY: This is my best opportunity to expose new readers to my books -- to let them try one for FREE. What have you got to lose?
HOW: In the US, just click on the link and download your FREE Kindle book from Amazon.
IN THE UK: Use this link instead.
Please confirm that the book price is listed as $0.00. Sometimes it takes Amazon an extra couple hours to complete the price adjustment.
After these two days, this book will not be offered for free again. It will return to its regular price of $6.99 in the US.
Here's the book cover and summary:
Get one for yourself and gift as many as you like to friends through Amazon's gifting button.
Hope you enjoy the free read.
Cheers!
John
I'm hijacking my blog today for a bit of self-promotion. I'm hoping it's something you all will enjoy anyway, because it's an opportunity to get a free Kindle copy of my newest novel, THE COVERT ELEMENT.
Here are the details:
WHEN: Tuesday, January 10th and Wednesday, January 11th.
WHERE: The Covert Element at Amazon
WHY: This is my best opportunity to expose new readers to my books -- to let them try one for FREE. What have you got to lose?
HOW: In the US, just click on the link and download your FREE Kindle book from Amazon.
IN THE UK: Use this link instead.
Please confirm that the book price is listed as $0.00. Sometimes it takes Amazon an extra couple hours to complete the price adjustment.
After these two days, this book will not be offered for free again. It will return to its regular price of $6.99 in the US.
Here's the book cover and summary:
SILVER MEDAL - 2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Former
military intelligence operative, James “Beck” Becker and his CIA
code-cracking wife, Beth, have retired to Beck’s hometown of Red Wing,
Minnesota. Their retirement has already proven more exhilarating than
they’d expected.
But they could never have anticipated the new source of crime and intrigue in their small community. A Mexican drug cartel has set up shop a few miles down the road. And they’re not just selling. The new meth production facility is the largest north of the Rio Grande.
To complicate matters further, Terry “Bull” Red Feather’s former comrade-in-arms has come to visit. And he’s on a mission. His decades-long assault on the cartels is coming to a head. His plan is to blow up the drug plant . . . if he can find it. He wants Bull to help.
The Beckers’ challenge? To dismantle cartel operations before a full-blown drug war breaks out in Red Wing.
But they could never have anticipated the new source of crime and intrigue in their small community. A Mexican drug cartel has set up shop a few miles down the road. And they’re not just selling. The new meth production facility is the largest north of the Rio Grande.
To complicate matters further, Terry “Bull” Red Feather’s former comrade-in-arms has come to visit. And he’s on a mission. His decades-long assault on the cartels is coming to a head. His plan is to blow up the drug plant . . . if he can find it. He wants Bull to help.
The Beckers’ challenge? To dismantle cartel operations before a full-blown drug war breaks out in Red Wing.
_______________________
Get one for yourself and gift as many as you like to friends through Amazon's gifting button.
Hope you enjoy the free read.
Cheers!
John
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Interview with Author Jennifer Chase
Author, Jennifer Chase
Hello all. Thanks for stopping by Self-Publishing Central.
Today we welcome crime thriller author, Jennifer Chase, who has graciously agreed to take time out from her busy schedule busting perps to grant us a brief interview.
John: Hey, Jennifer. How's it going today?
Jennifer: Great, John. Thanks for inviting me to visit with your followers.
John: Okay. Let's kick things off with the basics. How about your bio?
Jennifer: Here's the formal into I generally use:
BIO: Jennifer Chase holds a bachelor degree in police forensics
and a master's degree in criminology. She is a member of the International
Association of Forensic Criminologists. Her intense curiosity into the
psychological aspect of crime is what drives her to write crime fiction. She
has published four crime thrillers and one screenwriting workbook. She lives in California, where she's
currently at work on her next book.
John: Please tell us a bit about your book: Dark Mind (Emily Stone Series #3) - characters, plot, etc.
Jennifer: A Serial Killer Plagues an Island Paradise.
Vigilante detective Emily Stone continues her covert pursuits to find serial killers and child abductors, all under the radar while shadowing police investigations.
Emily searches for an abducted nine-year-old girl taken by ruthless and enterprising slave brokers. Following the clues from California to the garden island of Kauai, she begins to piece together the evidence and ventures deep into the jungle.
It doesn’t take long before Emily is thrown into the middle of murder, mayhem, and conspiracy. Locals aren’t talking as a serial killer now stalks the island, taking women in a brutal frenzy of ancient superstitions and folklore. Local cops are unprepared for what lies ahead. In a race against the clock, Emily and her team must identify the killer before time runs out.
Vigilante detective Emily Stone continues her covert pursuits to find serial killers and child abductors, all under the radar while shadowing police investigations.
Emily searches for an abducted nine-year-old girl taken by ruthless and enterprising slave brokers. Following the clues from California to the garden island of Kauai, she begins to piece together the evidence and ventures deep into the jungle.
It doesn’t take long before Emily is thrown into the middle of murder, mayhem, and conspiracy. Locals aren’t talking as a serial killer now stalks the island, taking women in a brutal frenzy of ancient superstitions and folklore. Local cops are unprepared for what lies ahead. In a race against the clock, Emily and her team must identify the killer before time runs out.
John: If you could meet, in person, any of your characters,
who would it be and why?
Jennifer: I would love to meet my heroine Emily Stone because
she inspires and reminds me how we all need to look out for one another.
However, she’s smarter and definitely tougher than I am. She’s a character that goes out and does what
we “would like to” do in order to assist law enforcement by finding serial
killers and rescuing children from abduction.
John: If you could fictionalize yourself and put yourself
in any situation, how would it play out? Could you give us a scene/scenario of
such an occurrence?
Jennifer: Ever since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to solve
a mystery – something that has been on the books for a while, like a cold
murder case or a great train robbery. I
would fictionalize myself as a character that’s a cross between Nancy Drew,
Jessica Fletcher, and a smidge of the Scooby Doo gang. This character would be light hearted, but
making a difference in solving crimes that have been forgotten by law
enforcement and the general public.
John: Do you have any particular habits that you do while
writing? Places you write the best, foods, drinks, etc that help set your
"writing mood"?
Jennifer: Well…
the cat is out of the bag. I write barefooted.
Yep, I’ve admitted my weird writer quirk. I like to write in my home office where it’s
quiet and with few distractions. I find
that I can get more done in a shorter period of time. I don’t drink coffee, but you can find a
large glass of mineral water with a slice lemon sitting on the corner of my
desk. When I’m writing, I have classical
piano playing even when I’m writing a stressful scene or inside the mind of a
serial killer.
John: What are you reading right now?
Jennifer: I just
finished a great thriller Hunter by Robert Bidinotto and I’m in the
middle of a fun, local mystery A Slice of Carmel by Barbara
Chamberlain. In addition, I’m frequently
referring to many of my non-fiction textbooks on forensics, criminal profiling
and serial homicide.
John: Who are some of your favorite authors
and/or books?
Jennifer: I love
so many authors. The authors that stand
out for me and what you’ll find on my bookshelf right now are Dean Koontz, JT
Ellison, Vince Flynn, Tess Gerritsen (Rizzoli & Isles) David Baldacci,
Stephen King, Jeffrey Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme Series), Lee Child (Jack Reacher
rules), many independent authors (the list seems to grow everyday), and the
list goes on…
John: If you could meet any author, dead or
alive, who would it be and why?
Jennifer: This is a great question! I’m torn, but I would pick
Shakespeare. Why you ask? I have some questions for him about his
insight into murder, crime, psychology and the motivations of people in
general. I think he was a criminologist
of sorts.
John: Okay, here are a few "get to know
you better" questions:
Please share with us a favorite memory.
Jennifer: There’s so many!
From childhood, I would say the times I spent riding horses from the
ages of seven to about fourteen years old.
That was a much gentler and wonderful time in my life. As an adult, getting married on the island of
Kauai with all of those wonderful memories my husband and I have shared
together. My own personal independent
favorite memory would have to be the experience training my Labrador with the
local police K9 units.
John: Please describe a perfect meal -
including menu and those present.
Jennifer: Perfect
meal… so many tasty entrees to choose from… It would have to be an authentic
Caesar salad, a perfect medium rare filet mignon, mango seasoned rice, assorted
steamed vegetables, a nice red wine, and crème brulee for dessert. This meal would be perfect to share with
family and friends, especially people I haven’t seen in a while. It would be nice to have everyone all
together for a perfect meal. Did I write
the word “perfect” too many times in my answer?
John: What are some of your favorite ways to relax?
Jennifer: I love to take leisurely hikes around my California
area up in the hills, around the forests of the state parks, and along the
beaches. It’s a way for me to
completely relax and just concentrate on my surroundings. It’s a stress reliever for me and sometimes I
get some of my best novel ideas.
John: If you could live anywhere in the
world, where would it be and why?
Jennifer: This is a difficult question, but I’d have to say
Greece. I’m not sure why because I’ve
never visited, but I would love to spend some time writing there. It’s a magnificent, picturesque area with
wonderful food and a warm culture.
John: I know this is an inconceivable thought, but if you could only read books by one
author, who would it be?
Jennifer: Yikes only one author! My pick would be the entire library of Dean
Koontz. He blends genres of mystery,
thriller, suspense, horror, and paranormal.
I wouldn’t get bored reading his books more than once.
John: Share with us a few of your dreams. Also
whether they have been fulfilled or are still a work in progress.
Jennifer: I’m sure that many writers share this dream to be a
household name. That would be wonderful
along with my own personal getaway beach house.
But, seriously I would like to make a difference in some way, bigger
than my own personal life. There’s an
organization called Project Pooch matching juvenile offenders with
rescue dogs. It’s an amazing project of
rehabilitation for both parties involved and producing some great results. I would love to be instrumental in a project
like this in my area, especially with my background in criminology.
John: What are some of your guilty pleasures?
Jennifer: Ice cream!!!
I can pass on most desserts and sweets, but I couldn’t live without my
ice cream: butter pecan, chocolate chip, and French vanilla. That reminds me, I need to buy another gallon
at the grocery store!
John: If you could leave the world with one piece of
advice, what would it be?
Jennifer: I may
be exceedingly naive, but I like to stay hopeful and optimistic in the
difficult days ahead. We all should
leave the world a little bit better than how we found it.
John: Jennifer, I really appreciate you visiting with us today at Self-Publishing Central. Perhaps we'll see you again when your next book comes out.
Jennifer: That would be fun. Thanks for having me today.
Check out Jennifer's latest book on Amazon or Nook. And visit her on The Independent Author Network at her member page.
Thank you all for coming by.
Cheers!
John
Friday, December 9, 2011
Amazon KDP Select Library
Hello all. Thanks for stopping by Self-Publishing Central.
Well . . . Amazon has been busy lately. Not long ago, they announced their acquisition of Marshall Cavendish's U.S. book titles. This is really no surprise, since Amazon has been firing up its "traditional publishing" market entry for quite a while.
And their latest offering (just in time for Christmas, by the way), is called KDP Select. If you somehow have managed to miss all the publicity regarding this new service, I'll give you a brief summary.
Summary of KDP Select: Kindle publishers (like you and I) can elect to sell any or all of their titles exclusively through Amazon Kindle. In exchange for this exclusivity, Amazon lets the publishers sign up to place their title(s) in the Select Lending Library, where Amazon Prime Members can borrow the book(s) for free.
Why would anyone want to sign up for this arrangement? Oh yeah . . . I left out the money part. Amazon is setting aside $500,000 each calendar month to be divided between the KDP Select publishers on a pro rata basis, according to a ratio between the number of times one's book is borrowed versus the total number of borrowings of all books that month.
More KDP Select Details: To clarify the above, the following will apply to any titles you may choose to enroll in the KDP Select program:
1) You may not sell that title as an ebook through anyone but Amazon Kindle. The instructions say the exclusivity is for a period of 90 days. If you look deeper, you'll see that the entire Select program runs on a 90 day cycle. In other words, you need to commit to a new 90 day period of exclusivity every 90 days. Or to put it plainly, as long as your title is part of the Select program, you may not sell ebooks of that title outside of Amazon Kindle.
2) Prime Members may think this sounds like a great deal. After all, there is no due date for any borrowed book. Wow! I might consider paying for a Prime membership, if it weren't for the following caveat: Prime Members may only borrow ONE BOOK PER MONTH for free. That's right. You can borrow 12 books per year. Big whoop! Do you think the Prime Members will borrow the 99 cent books? No. They can buy those. They'll borrow the expensive ebooks. It only makes sense. I no longer feel enticed to join Prime.
3) Just which books are going to end up in the Select Library anyway? Good question. Amazon boasts a starting lineup of 5,000 titles - including NY Times Bestsellers. I read "NY Times Bestsellers" as J.A. Konrath and maybe one more. You can bet that the traditional publishers aren't going to restrict their ebook sales to Amazon only. Heck, Amazon is their arch enemy. On the other hand, maybe this opens the door for more indie titles to get a piece of the borrowing pie, and thus, a piece of the $500,000. That remains to be seen. No one has ever tried this model on a large scale before (at least as far as I can tell).
Is it smart to sign your titles up for KDP Select? Here's my take.
The whole thing is a big experiment, which if successful, will allow Amazon to further squash Barnes & Noble and its other ebook competitors. If Amazon has its way, the end of this path would leave Amazon as the sole ebook provider. Oops! Monopoly! All of a sudden, Amazon wouldn't have to compete for authors. So author royalties go down. We're all at the mercy of Amazon (which we know to be a merciful and benevolent non-profit enterprise, right?). No. Amazon will ALWAYS act in ways that benefit Amazon, all others be damned.
Conclusion:
Might you be able to make a few bucks by listing your title(s) with KDP Select? Sure. It's possible. Stick a toe in if you want. That's what I'm doing. I'm signing up a book that I sell almost exclusively on Amazon Kindle already. And this book's sales are a small percentage of my overall book sales. It's a "toe"!
In my opinion . . . and I'm certain many will disagree . . . putting all of your titles into KDP Select risks alienating other sales channels, losing sales rankings in those other channels, and supporting Amazon's predatory bid for an ebook monopoly, in which we will ALL lose.
You should know that, in general, I have a bias against monopolistic companies and in favor of free trade. I think our economy works best that way. So why are all my books for sale on Amazon? No choice, really. B&N sells very few of my ebooks and won't let me shelve my paperbacks at all. Local book stores (with very few exceptions) won't even take a FREE copy of the books for review. iBooks has a proprietary interface that requires you to upload your books using a Mac and Mac software - which is equally anti-competitive, and a pain in the @#%. And my books are listed on Smashwords, but the sales there are meager compared to Amazon.
So there you have it. My two cents. For a contrasting viewpoint, check out Jeff Bennington's The Writing Bomb blog.
I hope you found today's post helpful. Thanks again for stopping by.
Cheers!
John
Here's some reading material from Amazon's KDP Select contract, in case you're interested:
5 Your Commitment. Your commitment to these terms and conditions is important, and the benefits we provide to you as part of this option are conditioned on your following through on your commitments. If you un-publish your Digital Book, we will remove it from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, but you must continue to comply with these commitments, including exclusivity, through the remainder of the Digital Book’s then-current 90-day period of participation in KDP Select. If you don’t comply with these KDP Select terms and conditions, we will not owe you Royalties for that Digital Book earned through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Program, and we may offset any of those Royalties that were previously paid against future Royalties, or require you to remit them to us. We may also withhold your Royalty payments on all your Digital Books for a period of up to 90 days while we investigate. This doesn’t limit other remedies we have, such as prohibiting your future participation in KDP Select or KDP generally.
Well . . . Amazon has been busy lately. Not long ago, they announced their acquisition of Marshall Cavendish's U.S. book titles. This is really no surprise, since Amazon has been firing up its "traditional publishing" market entry for quite a while.
And their latest offering (just in time for Christmas, by the way), is called KDP Select. If you somehow have managed to miss all the publicity regarding this new service, I'll give you a brief summary.
Summary of KDP Select: Kindle publishers (like you and I) can elect to sell any or all of their titles exclusively through Amazon Kindle. In exchange for this exclusivity, Amazon lets the publishers sign up to place their title(s) in the Select Lending Library, where Amazon Prime Members can borrow the book(s) for free.
Why would anyone want to sign up for this arrangement? Oh yeah . . . I left out the money part. Amazon is setting aside $500,000 each calendar month to be divided between the KDP Select publishers on a pro rata basis, according to a ratio between the number of times one's book is borrowed versus the total number of borrowings of all books that month.
More KDP Select Details: To clarify the above, the following will apply to any titles you may choose to enroll in the KDP Select program:
1) You may not sell that title as an ebook through anyone but Amazon Kindle. The instructions say the exclusivity is for a period of 90 days. If you look deeper, you'll see that the entire Select program runs on a 90 day cycle. In other words, you need to commit to a new 90 day period of exclusivity every 90 days. Or to put it plainly, as long as your title is part of the Select program, you may not sell ebooks of that title outside of Amazon Kindle.
2) Prime Members may think this sounds like a great deal. After all, there is no due date for any borrowed book. Wow! I might consider paying for a Prime membership, if it weren't for the following caveat: Prime Members may only borrow ONE BOOK PER MONTH for free. That's right. You can borrow 12 books per year. Big whoop! Do you think the Prime Members will borrow the 99 cent books? No. They can buy those. They'll borrow the expensive ebooks. It only makes sense. I no longer feel enticed to join Prime.
3) Just which books are going to end up in the Select Library anyway? Good question. Amazon boasts a starting lineup of 5,000 titles - including NY Times Bestsellers. I read "NY Times Bestsellers" as J.A. Konrath and maybe one more. You can bet that the traditional publishers aren't going to restrict their ebook sales to Amazon only. Heck, Amazon is their arch enemy. On the other hand, maybe this opens the door for more indie titles to get a piece of the borrowing pie, and thus, a piece of the $500,000. That remains to be seen. No one has ever tried this model on a large scale before (at least as far as I can tell).
Is it smart to sign your titles up for KDP Select? Here's my take.
The whole thing is a big experiment, which if successful, will allow Amazon to further squash Barnes & Noble and its other ebook competitors. If Amazon has its way, the end of this path would leave Amazon as the sole ebook provider. Oops! Monopoly! All of a sudden, Amazon wouldn't have to compete for authors. So author royalties go down. We're all at the mercy of Amazon (which we know to be a merciful and benevolent non-profit enterprise, right?). No. Amazon will ALWAYS act in ways that benefit Amazon, all others be damned.
Conclusion:
Might you be able to make a few bucks by listing your title(s) with KDP Select? Sure. It's possible. Stick a toe in if you want. That's what I'm doing. I'm signing up a book that I sell almost exclusively on Amazon Kindle already. And this book's sales are a small percentage of my overall book sales. It's a "toe"!
In my opinion . . . and I'm certain many will disagree . . . putting all of your titles into KDP Select risks alienating other sales channels, losing sales rankings in those other channels, and supporting Amazon's predatory bid for an ebook monopoly, in which we will ALL lose.
You should know that, in general, I have a bias against monopolistic companies and in favor of free trade. I think our economy works best that way. So why are all my books for sale on Amazon? No choice, really. B&N sells very few of my ebooks and won't let me shelve my paperbacks at all. Local book stores (with very few exceptions) won't even take a FREE copy of the books for review. iBooks has a proprietary interface that requires you to upload your books using a Mac and Mac software - which is equally anti-competitive, and a pain in the @#%. And my books are listed on Smashwords, but the sales there are meager compared to Amazon.
So there you have it. My two cents. For a contrasting viewpoint, check out Jeff Bennington's The Writing Bomb blog.
I hope you found today's post helpful. Thanks again for stopping by.
Cheers!
John
Here's some reading material from Amazon's KDP Select contract, in case you're interested:
5 Your Commitment. Your commitment to these terms and conditions is important, and the benefits we provide to you as part of this option are conditioned on your following through on your commitments. If you un-publish your Digital Book, we will remove it from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, but you must continue to comply with these commitments, including exclusivity, through the remainder of the Digital Book’s then-current 90-day period of participation in KDP Select. If you don’t comply with these KDP Select terms and conditions, we will not owe you Royalties for that Digital Book earned through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Program, and we may offset any of those Royalties that were previously paid against future Royalties, or require you to remit them to us. We may also withhold your Royalty payments on all your Digital Books for a period of up to 90 days while we investigate. This doesn’t limit other remedies we have, such as prohibiting your future participation in KDP Select or KDP generally.
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