The KDP Select Experiment: Part 1 - Mission Impossible?

On December 21 I blogged about the huge carrot Amazon was dangling in front of authors--the opportunity to share in a $500,000 pool via the new KDP Select program. I mentioned that I wasn't happy with some of the conditions of this program or with Amazon's obvious ploy to monopolize the industry. Regardless of the smile on my face in the pic to the left, I don't like being backed into a corner. However, I recognize from a business perspective they're doing what most successful businesses attempt to do--destroy the competition.

The exclusivity clause still bothers me, even now that I have enrolled two of my titles into the program. It bothers me that those with other ereaders outside of the Kindle won't have access to these two titles--DIVINE INTERVENTION and THE RIVER. But from a business perspective I'd be remiss in my duties to completely ignore or overlook what Amazon is offering. I still think Amazon could have taken away the exclusivity clause and still have a ton of interest. It would have been "fair" to everyone else. But big business rarely ever plays fair.

On January 6 I clarified my thoughts about KDP Select after more consideration. Yes, I was drawn to the program. It IS enticing. Yes, I still don't like all the terms. But I decided to test KDP Select. I've always been a risk-taker. I'm not one to sit back and wait forever. I'm also not one to drink the Kool-Aid and blindly follow like a lemming diving off a cliff. I took a few days to investigate, to read other people's opinions and experiences, and to understand all the pros and cons.

As an author, I owe it to myself to see if Select really has anything to offer me--or if the program is just too good to be true. As a publisher I owe it to my authors to experiment with my own books before making changes with theirs.

I had to plan what exactly I would do to experiment with Select, and which books I'd use. My choices were: a.) submit a new manuscript that hadn't yet been published, or b.) remove a book or two from my other distribution chains and enroll them in KDP Select. Since I don't have a new completed work ready, I opted for option b.

I selected 2 of my titles that have been doing well in sales but weren't my top bestsellers. DIVINE INTERVENTION is book 1 in a paranormal suspense series, and THE RIVER is a techno-thriller that is very similar in plot to the new TV series that's airing in February, also called THE RIVER. I also chose DI because if my experiment goes well and I see a huge increase in sales, then book 2--DIVINE JUSTICE--should see a sales spike afterward.

Over the next few weeks, I'll report on my experiment here so you can follow my journey. We'll find out if this is a Mission Impossible experiment or a Mission Possible. This way you'll have a good idea of what to expect if you decide to do what I've done and pull books out of other distribution.

My next post will deal with this process, letting you know how long it took before Smashwords, Kobo Books, Diesel and others stopped selling my ebooks. I hope you'll check back here tomorrow. You may want to follow my blog or subscribe to the feed.Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a bestselling Canadian suspense author.
www.cherylktardif.com

Check out Cheryl Kaye Tardif's novels!