Amazon's KDP Select Has Its Hooks In Me
I've previously chronicled my first experience with KDP Select. Once that ninety day period was completed, I decided to opt out of the program so I could offer Collapse on other outlets, primarily Nook, Smashwords, and Kobo. On November 1st, everything was in motion so that proud owners of Nooks and Kobos could enjoy reading my novel. During my ninety day exclusivity with Amazon, I received periodic contact from potential readers asking when Collapse would be available elsewhere. It bothered me to receive correspondence like this because I felt like sales were suffering. I looked forward to moving into other markets thinking that it would be a golden opportunity for more sales.
Boy, was I wrong!
In three weeks time, I've sold a grand total of seven books outside of Amazon. I've also lost out on not being a part of the Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL). When you are enrolled in KDP Select, one of the benefits is profiting from KOLL. Anytime your novel is loaned out from one Kindle owner to another or an Amazon Prime member uses their free monthly download on you, Amazon sends a few bucks your way, but only if you are enrolled in KDP Select. For my first KDP Select period, I had 228 borrows netting me $506. If the previous three weeks away from KDP Select is any indication, I will never make $506 over three months selling my novel on Nook, Kobo, or Smashwords. I'd be lucky to make $100. The math is pretty simple.
Peddling my novel outside of Amazon also means that I'm not eligible for the free promos. During my first KDP Select period, I gave away over 22K copies of my novel. That's a lot of publicity for free. I was pleased to watch Collapse make it all the way to number 12 on the Top 100 Free list and number 1 on the free list for its categories.
I can't say with certainty, but it's my educated guess that my rankings have dropped significantly since I've been away from KDP Select. I haven't really done anything different in my advertising other than not signing back up for KDP Select. Could it be that my novel has just run its course and will fade away? Maybe, but I'll never admit to that, not in a million years. I think the old girl has a lot of living left to do
I think her best chance at a long and healthy life is with Amazon.
Boy, was I wrong!
In three weeks time, I've sold a grand total of seven books outside of Amazon. I've also lost out on not being a part of the Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL). When you are enrolled in KDP Select, one of the benefits is profiting from KOLL. Anytime your novel is loaned out from one Kindle owner to another or an Amazon Prime member uses their free monthly download on you, Amazon sends a few bucks your way, but only if you are enrolled in KDP Select. For my first KDP Select period, I had 228 borrows netting me $506. If the previous three weeks away from KDP Select is any indication, I will never make $506 over three months selling my novel on Nook, Kobo, or Smashwords. I'd be lucky to make $100. The math is pretty simple.
Peddling my novel outside of Amazon also means that I'm not eligible for the free promos. During my first KDP Select period, I gave away over 22K copies of my novel. That's a lot of publicity for free. I was pleased to watch Collapse make it all the way to number 12 on the Top 100 Free list and number 1 on the free list for its categories.
I can't say with certainty, but it's my educated guess that my rankings have dropped significantly since I've been away from KDP Select. I haven't really done anything different in my advertising other than not signing back up for KDP Select. Could it be that my novel has just run its course and will fade away? Maybe, but I'll never admit to that, not in a million years. I think the old girl has a lot of living left to do
I think her best chance at a long and healthy life is with Amazon.
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Marie
(new)
Nov 23, 2012 10:50AM
Hey Richard, Hope you are doing well. I was once on KDP select in Amazon with one of my samll books. On my free 5 day it went as low as 934 in the free kindle store - #37 in historical romance - #90 in contempory romance. And gave away 488 books. I never received any reviews and only until I took it off the KDP select did I start getting reviews on it. I don't know, just letting you know how it worked for me. I am amazed you gave away so many books. I hope you can get your book going again.
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I had my eye on KDP, I have one more book with Authorhouse then I was thinking about Outskirtpress, but something about Amazon keeps drawing me to it. I will take in all the information I can, pray on it then make a decision. I am happy for you Richard, and thank you for the information. The more I know the better. If I do take that route I will be more than happy to tell you how it turned out.
I published two books with Amazon KDP in July. The first book, Coming Home, I enrolled in Select, but decided to make book two, Sleeping With the Enemy, available for sale elsewhere (especially as some people were asking for a Nook version). I published Sleeping with Smashwords, and waited to see what would happen.
In four months, I made a whopping $15 from Smashwords (nearly all of it via B&N), while the borrows on Book 1 continued to pile up. In early November, I made the momentous decision to pull Sleeping from Smashwords. Once the book was no longer available via the various distribution channels, I enrolled it in Select. Since then, I've had 129 borrows in the US, plus 2 in the UK. The math is pretty self-explanatory. While I realize that for others, the mileage may vary, for me, Select is the way to go.
In four months, I made a whopping $15 from Smashwords (nearly all of it via B&N), while the borrows on Book 1 continued to pile up. In early November, I made the momentous decision to pull Sleeping from Smashwords. Once the book was no longer available via the various distribution channels, I enrolled it in Select. Since then, I've had 129 borrows in the US, plus 2 in the UK. The math is pretty self-explanatory. While I realize that for others, the mileage may vary, for me, Select is the way to go.
