The KDP Select Experiment: Part 2 - Waiting to Exhale
Yesterday I wrote about Part 1 of my Mission Impossible/KDP Select experiment. Keep reading for info on a FREE ebook offer.
For non-writers who aren't familiar with this, it's a special program that Amazon just launched. Unfortunately it has caused some controversy in the book industry and not all authors, publishers, distributors are happy. Since I'm both an author and a publisher, I feel compelled to explore this program to make a more educated evaluation of what it can (or can't) do for me or other authors.
KDP Select gives writers a few enticing perks: a share in a now $700,000 (was raised from $500,000 recently) pool if authors' books are borrowed in the new Kindle Owners Lending Library; an opportunity to list an ebook for free for a short promotion (1-5 days total within a 90-day period); and the chance at making more bestsellers lists and sales.
The downside is that authors have to give up all other distribution for these books and only sell via Amazon. Readers get perks too: they can borrow books indefinitely and there are some other perks. Overall, most readers probably won't really notice or care about this program, other than the lending/borrowing aspect.
After making my decision to enroll a book or two, I decided to use two existing titles--DIVINE INTERVENTION and THE RIVER. The only problem was they were both distributed via Smashwords, which then distributed them to Apple, Kobo Books, Diesel, Sony, and B&N.
So here are the steps and timeline I had to go through:
1. I made my decision to try KDP Select on January 6, 2012.
2. On Jan. 7, I held my breath and unpublished DIVINE INTERVENTION and THE RIVER from Smashwords.
3. I noticed that on January 14, both titles were gone from Kobo Books. The other retailers still listed the ebooks. So I held my breath and waited some more.
4. On Jan. 18, I noticed Barnes and Noble had removed the Nook editions.
5. The others were removed Jan 19 and 20.
6. I enrolled both books in KDP Select program mid-afternoon, Jan. 20.
So based on my experiences, it took 2 weeks to get my books deleted from these retailers. I was worried it would take much longer. I'm not sure I could have held my breath any longer.
The next thing I had to do was remove excerpts, so I followed these steps:
1. I removed both excerpts from my website.
2. I removed excerpts from my blogs (3).
3. I searched writing sites I frequented like Authors Den for excerpts and removed any there.
4. I googled my book titles and "excerpt" and went through many pages to see where else I may have placed an excerpt. And I deleted any I found.
Once all these steps were completed, I exhaled. Whew! The excerpt steps were a bit of a pain and I'm worried I may have missed one, but hopefully if I did Amazon will be decent enough to let me know so I can remove it. I'd hate to think they'd delete DIVINE INTERVENTION and THE RIVER from KDP Select just because an excerpt is floating around in cyberspace. But that's one of their rules. No excerpts. Personally, I think that's a stupid rule. Excerpts help sell books...doh!
Okay, so now I guess you'd like to know about the FREE ebook I promised. Well, from today, January 21 to 25, you can get DIVINE INTERVENTION in Kindle edition FREE. Just go to: http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Intervention-series-ebook/dp/B003AYEJSC
Tomorrow I'll report some numbers. I doubt I'll see much change this early on, but at least you'll know where I started from so you can compare it with wherever I end up. Check back tomorrow or follow my blog. Also, please follow me on Twitter. @cherylktardif or http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif and you should see tweets reminding you to check my blog.
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a bestselling Canadian suspense author.
www.cherylktardif.com
Check out Cheryl Kaye Tardif's novels!
For non-writers who aren't familiar with this, it's a special program that Amazon just launched. Unfortunately it has caused some controversy in the book industry and not all authors, publishers, distributors are happy. Since I'm both an author and a publisher, I feel compelled to explore this program to make a more educated evaluation of what it can (or can't) do for me or other authors.
KDP Select gives writers a few enticing perks: a share in a now $700,000 (was raised from $500,000 recently) pool if authors' books are borrowed in the new Kindle Owners Lending Library; an opportunity to list an ebook for free for a short promotion (1-5 days total within a 90-day period); and the chance at making more bestsellers lists and sales.
The downside is that authors have to give up all other distribution for these books and only sell via Amazon. Readers get perks too: they can borrow books indefinitely and there are some other perks. Overall, most readers probably won't really notice or care about this program, other than the lending/borrowing aspect.After making my decision to enroll a book or two, I decided to use two existing titles--DIVINE INTERVENTION and THE RIVER. The only problem was they were both distributed via Smashwords, which then distributed them to Apple, Kobo Books, Diesel, Sony, and B&N.
So here are the steps and timeline I had to go through:
1. I made my decision to try KDP Select on January 6, 2012.
2. On Jan. 7, I held my breath and unpublished DIVINE INTERVENTION and THE RIVER from Smashwords.
3. I noticed that on January 14, both titles were gone from Kobo Books. The other retailers still listed the ebooks. So I held my breath and waited some more.
4. On Jan. 18, I noticed Barnes and Noble had removed the Nook editions.
5. The others were removed Jan 19 and 20.
6. I enrolled both books in KDP Select program mid-afternoon, Jan. 20.
So based on my experiences, it took 2 weeks to get my books deleted from these retailers. I was worried it would take much longer. I'm not sure I could have held my breath any longer.
The next thing I had to do was remove excerpts, so I followed these steps:
1. I removed both excerpts from my website.
2. I removed excerpts from my blogs (3).
3. I searched writing sites I frequented like Authors Den for excerpts and removed any there.
4. I googled my book titles and "excerpt" and went through many pages to see where else I may have placed an excerpt. And I deleted any I found.
Once all these steps were completed, I exhaled. Whew! The excerpt steps were a bit of a pain and I'm worried I may have missed one, but hopefully if I did Amazon will be decent enough to let me know so I can remove it. I'd hate to think they'd delete DIVINE INTERVENTION and THE RIVER from KDP Select just because an excerpt is floating around in cyberspace. But that's one of their rules. No excerpts. Personally, I think that's a stupid rule. Excerpts help sell books...doh!Okay, so now I guess you'd like to know about the FREE ebook I promised. Well, from today, January 21 to 25, you can get DIVINE INTERVENTION in Kindle edition FREE. Just go to: http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Intervention-series-ebook/dp/B003AYEJSC
Tomorrow I'll report some numbers. I doubt I'll see much change this early on, but at least you'll know where I started from so you can compare it with wherever I end up. Check back tomorrow or follow my blog. Also, please follow me on Twitter. @cherylktardif or http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif and you should see tweets reminding you to check my blog.
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a bestselling Canadian suspense author.
www.cherylktardif.com
Check out Cheryl Kaye Tardif's novels!
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