Inside Kindle Scout – 5 Days Left
I submitted my new novel, “L.A. Sniper,” to the Kindle Scout program a few weeks back. With five days remaining on my “promotion” period, I thought I’d post my initial impressions in the hopes they might prove helpful to other authors who are considering submitting a work, or to readers interested in getting an inside look at the process.
First, early on it was clear that Amazon had decided to tread cautiously and introduce Kindle Scout with a “soft launch” – no links on Amazon product pages, very little online advertising, and so on. Just a national press release and then silence. As a result, getting the word out to readers depended mostly on participating authors using their own social media connections (Twitter, FB, Google+, etc.) to rack up “nominations” for their novels. In time this may change, but at present those with the largest social media networks will undoubtedly rise to the “Hot and Trending” category, regardless of the quality of their writing. Of course Amazon editors will eventually weed out inferior works, but first you have to get noticed, and for now that mostly appears to be a popularity contest.
Second, in general I have been impressed by the professional quality of the covers submitted. Indie authors are definitely stepping up their game in that respect, with cover art rivaling that of trad publishing. Many of the stories look interesting as well. If there is a common weakness, it is in the editing. Grammar and spelling errors abound, even in the initial “teaser” paragraph you see when your cursor hovers over a cover. Most eBook readers will tolerate a few mistakes, but only up to a point. As Amazon has stated that no editorial services will be provided under the Scout program, authors who are considering submitting their work need to get professional editing first. In any case, in my opinion this is always a must.
Another observation: Amazon reserves the right to set the price of any eBooks published under the Scout program. When I queried Amazon on this, their response was: ” . . . while we know very well from experience that laying out a one-size-fits-all pricing plan or promotions plan for any book is not the best strategy for our authors, we are committed to ensuring any author that is published by Kindle Press earns at least $25,000 during their term with us.” Sounds reasonable to me.
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As for the number of Scout submissions to date, it seems that indie authors are holding back and waiting to see how things pan out. To date there have been just under 200 books submitted, which pales in comparison with the 10,000 novels submitted to Amazon’s “Breakout Novel Award” contest each year. Maybe the requirement for a professional-quality cover is keeping the numbers down; maybe the low ($1500) advance and the five-year contract is scaring people away. Or maybe it just takes time to get the ball rolling.
If nothing else, Kindle Scout has given me the opportunity to contact friends and get the word out about “L.A. Sniper.” Whether it’s picked up as a Kindle Scout publication or not, it’s been a fun ride, and either way “L.A. Sniper” will be available for purchase before Christmas. As for the Scout program itself, if nothing else it’s an interesting experiment in publishing. Will it last? I guess time will tell . . .
Have you checked out the Kindle Scout site yet? Find any authors you like? If you’re a writer, have you submitted anything, and if so, what do you think? Please leave a comment (click here) and join the conversation!
