THE Group for Authors! discussion

Hey,

I'm wondering if any authors are enrolled in the KDP Select program and what your experiences have been.

Kenya, you should read this blog post by Michael R. Hicks
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

Very useful information about KDP Select program.

I'm really early into it, but I can report some preliminary results.

First I enrolled one of my books into the program (my only non-fiction title - THE GUY'D BOOK TO GUYS - Amazon demands exclusivity and it was the only one I could do initially, as the others are on Nook, et. al.)

I sat back to see what would happen ... and there was nothing. No improvements at all. I was thinking what a waste of time.

Then I was on a forum and someone mentioned the dates he was using for the five days of free ads. I went, 'huh? five days of free ads?' I hadn't checked the promotions tab.

So I clicked into it, and the next day it was downloaded 500 times and it shot all the way to #1 in humor/family/relationships.

It does work.

I'm curious to see if any of the new readers will start buying my other books, but these are 500 readers who had never heard of me before this.

Hi, I'm a newbie and thought I'd share my Amazon KDP Select experience. I put all my books in Select after pulling them from Smashwords (so they were removed from B&N, Kobo, Apple, Diesel, Sony, etc.). I've had a few "borrows" (five in December and five so far in January, but won't actually know what that means financially until Amazon reports how many books were actually borrowed). The one thing I really appreciated was being able to make the e-books free for up to five days in a 90-day period. I don't like the exclusivity clause, of course. I'm not sure if I'll keep the books enrolled or not. I had twenty-four reviews for one of my books at B&N and they disappeared when I pulled the e-book. =( It's a mixed bag.

Thanks Kiru that was an extremly informative post.


Thanks Norm for your story too!

I've had a lot of downloads with the free feature, which I did for two of the five days for now.

If I had more than one book on KDP, I would probably make only some of them free, under the theory that if some gets a free one, and they like it, they may buy one of the others. I don't know whether it will do me any good, but I like to see people downloading it.



Michael E. Henderson

Damien wrote: "Seriously good info in here, great topic. I myself have been curious about it. The exclusivity has kept me away from it though. I will give my books a few more months of exposure through Smashwords..."


Yep! Its amazing that amazon is really trying to take ahold of the book market! This will definetly be a big move to monitor.

Wow! I just checked that out! Awesome share. This is starting to unfold like a fun publishing soap opera! I'm eager to sit with my pop corn and see what happens next!

I'm involved with KDP Select and so far I'm happy with the way it's going. The only down side seems to be giving Amazon exclusivity over KDP Select titles so I've only enrolled a few stories.
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.

how long have you been in the program? Decent pay out?

It has only been going since December so just the one month so far but I've had 4 borrows and they're paying $1.70 per borrow. As my books that are enrolled are 99c short stories they are earning me more from being borrowed than they do from a sale.
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.

Thanks for the info!

After my two free days, about 467 copies were downloaded, and I've noticed a slight uptick in sales, although my sales are usually only a few per month.

No one has borrowed my book, but I did not expect them to. You can borrow a much more expensive book than mine from a real publisher.

Michael E. Henderson

Michael you are a real publisher now, best wishes with your book, Stephen Livingston.

I really don't like the idea of giving Amazon exclusive rights to my book. I am a Kindle owner and love Amazon, but I want to make my novel available in as many places as possible (which is why I do Amazon AND Smashwords). I mean, it's not like the Nook is unpopular.

My results have been very good. In December my sales were approximately 10 times what they were in November and select was the main reason.

Hey all,

I just took the plunge and signed all six of my eBooks up for KDP Select (four travel adventure memoirs, one book of poetry, and one retelling of the past 30 years of history, with America playing the role of Iraq and a giant fictional country called Megastan playing the role of America).

It's my birthday this weekend, and I made all six of them free for parts or all of this weekend as a little birthday present to the world. Please feel free to partake in the freebook feast :)

www.amazon.com/Pamela-Olson/e/B0051C0ZGG

Here are the titles, for reference:

Fast Times in Palestine
Siberian Travels
Tribute for Ronan (includes a juicy romance that made the tabloids in Ireland)
Camp Golden Shaft (shoestring travels in Russia and the Middle East)
The Fable of Megastan
The Brimming Void

Stephen wrote: "As part of the KDP Select program one of my short stories "The Wheel of Justice" is available to download for FREE all weekend.
UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Wheel-of-......"

I got it - anxious to read it.

Damien wrote: "Michael wrote: "After my two free days, about 467 copies were downloaded, and I've noticed a slight uptick in sales, although my sales are usually only a few per month.

No one has borrowed my book..."

Good idea, thanks

André wrote: "I'm highly critical of this program. It's all great what it offers but this exclusivity clause is potentially destructive to a fair and open development of the ebook market worldwide. Sure, it can ..."

I agree to some extent. On the other hand, for indie authors, it is the best place to sell your books. I did not do much to drive sales to one place or the other, really, but in all the time I had my book on Amazon I sold several each month. I had it on B & N Nook for the same length of time and sold only one.

The main reason, in my vies, is that to a great extent Amazon puts indies on an equal footing with bona fide publishers. I have seen people complain about that, because they have to paw through the indies when they search for books, and the indies are often of a much lower quality.

A search of Amazon is likely to find my book.

Nook, in contrast, makes it very hard to find indie books. Their search is terrible, and they have no focus on it.

So, I think Amazon does it right. And if you can buy from Amazon, why do you need the others? I see it like the war between Beta and VHS.

The exclusivity clause slowed me down, too, but I thought about it for a while, and 1) it's not for ever, and 2) I wasn't selling anything anywhere else.

In the end, there will probably be one reader, the Kindle. The Nook and others like it will not last. There's no need for it.

I have to say I agree with Michael. I've not used the KDP select programe yet but I will for the first in a series I will put out next month.
Amazon is a giant but they do try and they do well. I've only recently started truly Indi publishing and I'm happy to use only KDP and Createspace. Previously I sold nothing on any other platform or re-seller. Amazon gives me free access to a huge market world wide. Barens and Noble and Nook is US only. The others are non-starters. Kindle is on Apple so thats 90% of the world market covered.
Yes they are monoploistic but they got that way for a good reason. They do what they do very well.
Like Michael said it's like Beta and VHS and I'm glad to be VHS.
Regards, davidrory.

I lament the loss of access to the books of many of my fellow indie authors as they trickle over into the exclusivity of Amazon's KDP.

My reader is not a Kindle and can only read open formats such as epub and mobi without DRM. While I have Kindle s/w on my PC, my PC is not something I can take to bed or on the train or bus to read, so I don't buy Kindle books.

I'll stick with the Smashwords open model.

I just had a whirlwind day with KDP select -- I gave my book Fast Times in Palestine away for free, and it was downloaded more than 9,000 times. It reached as high as number 19 on the Kindle free list. That's an incredible amount of free exposure.

I will not use KDP select forever -- after 90 days, I can always make it non-exclusive again. (If only paperback publishers could offer such a clause...) But I think it may be worth three months of biting your tongue and bowing to the Amazon machine for a new author to get such massive free exposure. At least for now.

I enrolled on Amazon's KDP but haven't had any luck at all, just wondered what I am doing wrong - how much self promoting do I need to do?

After reading this thread, I also enrolled in KDP Select. What harm can it do? I still struggle with how to get word of my books out there. I have blogged weekly for one year. If I get 10 views a day, I'm happy, that's how bad it is. I used to tweet occasionally but could never figure out how people following thousands of people will ever see it. I struggle with marketing, and now I'm writing again and when my third novel is completed, I will then have three books that I can't seem to get the word out about. Anyone else having this problem?

One of my short stories "Recycling" is available to download for FREE via the KDP Select promotion today (25th January 2012.)
US - http://www.amazon.com/Recycling-ebook...
UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Recycling-ebo...
If you enjoy this story any reviews would be appreciated.
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.

Lynn wrote: "After reading this thread, I also enrolled in KDP Select. What harm can it do? I still struggle with how to get word of my books out there. I have blogged weekly for one year. If I get 10 views a d..."

I'm exactly where you are, Lynn. Working on my third book, having published my first just over a year ago. Several of my blog posts (I have 3 blogs; one for each book, and one for me, the author) over the last year have had zero views. Five or six is big news. Talking to myself, basically. I used to tweet daily, and am on Facebook, but ran out of things to say. I only sell 1 or 2 books a month, either in print or e-book.

I have not enrolled in Select for reasons I've stated elsewhere (http://wp.me/p12vfw-ly), mostly out of respect for readers who do not have a Kindle and would be excluded from reading my book.

I believe, Lynn, that there is harm that the program can do. I think it tightens even further the stranglehold Amazon has on all outlets. It also makes it difficult to sell anything, i.e. make some dough, when so much is available for free, KDP Select encourages.

Andrew wrote: "I believe, Lynn, that there is harm that the program can do. I think it tightens even further the stranglehold Amazon has on all outlets. It also makes it difficult to sell anything, i.e. make some..."

Yes, it troubles me too, the monopoly thing. So while, in my personal life, I badmouth Wal-Mart here I am doing the KDP Select program which limits you to only selling on Amazon. I am conflicted and may decide against it. I understand I have three days to back out (buyer's remorse) otherwise I have to wait the 90 days.

Marty wrote: "Lynn wrote: "After reading this thread, I also enrolled in KDP Select. What harm can it do? I still struggle with how to get word of my books out there. I have blogged weekly for one year. If I get..."

I can still sell my print copies though, correct? A lot of my readers are not tech-savvy, being in their fifties and sixties. Most are, but not all. So I need an outlet for those who do not own a Kindle yet can navigate their way around Amazon.

Amazon may be making lots of money, but they created the opportunity for many authors to make money who wouldn't have a chance through the traditional channels. Now that I live in rural America where the only store to buy anything from is Walmart, I'm very grateful for them. Times change. Don't lose money by dragging your feet because someone else will profit. Publishing houses always made money before (80-90%), and they always will in the future...but not as much. When my book is ready this spring, I'll be looking long and hard at KDP Select to see if it will help me reach more people

Political protests aside, I still worry for those readers who, like me, have an e-reader other than a Kindle, who will be excluded from reading my book. As a reader myself, I'm finding that books I intended to purchase from fellow authors are already disappearing into the black hole of KDP Select. AS A READER I'm being punished for not buying a Kindle.

Imagine if movies were distributed the same way. Because Sony was first with a VCR (based on the "thanks to Amazon" argument), they'd make studios distribute movies only in BetaMax format, and only those with Sony players could buy or rent them. Consumers would have to decide to buy a Sony machine and watch only Sony movies, or buy another and watch everything BUT Sony movies.

The model sucks for consumers, never mind if I can make a few extra bucks off of it.

Print copies have no effect on your Amazon KDP Select contract. Print copies can still be available through all sales channels.

I joined KDP Select about two months ago and so far I've used 4 of the 5 free promotional days. I had roughly 500 downloads during the promotion. The first morning I nearly fell off the couch when I saw the sales that had poured in overnight. I had no idea it would be that successful. My middle-grade novel reached #17 on the top 100 free children’s fantasy list. It was pretty exciting.

The program works for me. The exposure alone is worth it. Keep in mind, customers who buy your book during the promotional period are also buying other free books in your genre. So your book is being added to their Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought list. This feature generates real sales after the promotion ends.

I also had a boost in visits to my website and blog during the days following the promotion. Random people “liked” my book on their Facebook page, adding to the exposure. And hopefully those customers will come back and buy the next book!

I thought I'd try to borrow a book and discovered that as a Prime member, although you can get one-month free trial, it costs $79 per year. I didn't realize that and it seems a bit steep to me. You do get other benefits by being a "Prime" member, but how many people will go for the $79? Even though if you are an avid reader it makes sense, still I'm not sure how many will do it. Does anyone have any statistics on the membership?

The Amazon KDP program is a no-brainer for me.

I want people to read my books, and I want my Amazon ranking to increase, oh and I want to make more money as an author. KDP does all three things for me.

I sold a tiny handful of my books on Apple and Smashwords so it was easy for me to remove them from there and go to KDP.

In my first day of the KDP promotion there were 1,753 downloads of my book "Creating the Perfect Lifestyle" which took my book to the 150th most popular book on all of Amazon. After the promotion it sold better than before (at $8.97), and is still selling multiple copies a day. Then I get to add $1.70 per borrow - and I am making hundreds of dollars a month MORE than I made before going on KDP.

Oli Hille
Amazon #1 Bestselling Author

Pamela wrote: "Hey all,

I just took the plunge and signed all six of my eBooks up for KDP Select (four travel adventure memoirs, one book of poetry, and one retelling of the past 30 years of history, with Americ..."

Are you still selling your ebooks at other retailers now that you're with KDP Select, or did you remove all your books from other retailers?

Hi Pamela,

I just checked, and your ebooks are still for sale at Barnes and Noble. You should dump those before Amazon finds out.

The only negative I've found with KDP Select is the free promos. Many kindle readers are now simply searching through the hunndreds of daily free offerings listed at Amazon. Each genre has hundreds of authors starting 5 days of free promos. Why purchase a book for 2.99 when you can find a book just as enticing for free?

Lynn wrote: "I thought I'd try to borrow a book and discovered that as a Prime member, although you can get one-month free trial, it costs $79 per year. I didn't realize that and it seems a bit steep to me. You..." Hi Lynn, with Prime you get two-day free shipping on anything in Amazon and some third party suppliers. If you are a big online shopper like my family, then the $79 pays for itself very quickly. And, you can't beat two day delivery and sometimes we receive shipment in just 24 hours. Amazing!

Marty wrote: "Political protests aside, I still worry for those readers who, like me, have an e-reader other than a Kindle, who will be excluded from reading my book. As a reader myself, I'm finding that books I..."

Anyone with a computer can download the kindle app which means you can still participate in the kindle offerings without buying a kindle!

Lynn wrote: You do get other benefits by being a "Prime" member, but how many people will go for the $79? Even though if you are an avid reader it makes sense, still I'm not sure how many will do it. Does anyone have any statistics on the membership?

Amazon plays their stats pretty close to the chest, but a quick Internet search shows one estimates of about 2 million in 2009 and another estimate that Prime membership is about 20% of the "active" customer base. Either way you look at it, it's a lot of people.

However, from a KDP Select perspective, it doesn't matter how many people are in Prime. What matters is how many of them take advantage of the Lending Library. That figure was 295,000 in December. We can expect it to be MUCH higher for January because of all the free Prime memberships that Christmas shoppers received with their new Kindle Fire. We can also expect it to drop back down in February as those memberships expire. Looking at it from this perspective, you can see why Amazon set the KDP Select fund pool at 700,000 for January and 600,000 for February.

My bet is that Amazon will continue to finesse the numbers until they offer just the right amount per borrow to keep authors in the program and maintain exclusivity.

James wrote: "Lynn wrote: You do get other benefits by being a "Prime" member, but how many people will go for the $79? Even though if you are an avid reader it makes sense, still I'm not sure how many will do i..."

Thanks James, this is very helpful. It makes a lot of sense and now I'm feeling a lot better about doing it.

Rick wrote: "The only negative I've found with KDP Select is the free promos. "

Some of those commercial Kindle-lending sites have started posting the freebie of the day with a message to the effect of, "It's free today. Even if it's not to your taste, snag it, so you can lend it to someone else in exchange for what you really want to read."

I just got done with the free promo. Over 5 days I had 1486 downloads. I pushed it pretty hard through social media the whole time. I topped the free lists in two categories (Marriage and Love & Romance) and peaked at #435 overall. I'm happy with the results, but now we'll see if it translates into more sales.

I would say that all the action happened in the first two days (about half of all my downloads were in the first day). Doing five days at once was probably too much. You have the option of spreading the five days over a 90 day period. I'll probably space things out the next time around.

Sheila wrote: "Marty wrote: "Political protests aside, I still worry for those readers who, like me, have an e-reader other than a Kindle, who will be excluded from reading my book. As a reader myself, I'm findin..."

Or a smart phone....the app can be downloaded in minutes and everyone has one

Sara wrote: "Or a smart phone....the app can be downloaded in minutes and everyone has one…"

Maybe if you're stuck on a bus or crowded subway, but does anybody really want to read an entire novel on a phone?

I'm having my first KDPSelect promo days today and tomorrow, as I found my Nook sales were so infrequent it suddenly made joining this a no-brainer.

I don't know what will come of it, but right now people are really downloading both in the US and UK (and even some in Germany), so it's exciting.

Fingers crossed...

Marty wrote: "Sara wrote: "Or a smart phone....the app can be downloaded in minutes and everyone has one…"

Maybe if you're stuck on a bus or crowded subway, but does anybody really want to read an entire novel ..."

I'm nearly done with reading Les Miserables on my phone (the unabridged version). It works fine for me, especially since I can use it to read at night without bothering my wife.

I have two childrens book on Amazon.com. My first book"The Day My Socks Ran Away" have been out for about a month and a half. I have had three sales.
My second book"ABC's For You And Me" has been out since Jan. 31st. I thought I was signed up for the select program untill I found that I needed to complete the proccess by going into the promotion tab and setting a date. In the last 4 days, my second book has had 171 downloads and my first book is still at three sales.