welcome and introductions

[Nicole]

Good luck Peter! I've wondered about your question as well. In December, I think someone actually counted 250-300 books in at one time, and the number dropped quite a bit in the following months. But I don't know how that equates with the probability of being selected.

[Peter]

Thanks Nancy and Nicole.

It has definitely been an interesting experience. The campaign ends Saturday. Regarding the number of books, it certainly has an impact on Hot and Trending. Not sure whether it has an impact on whether a book gets chosen or not.

It has become clear that Hot and Trending is only a part of the equation. How much? I don't know. But it really matters whether the Kindle Scout people like your book or not. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks!

[Barry]

Hi, everyone! My KS campaign (for the third book in my series) starts at midnight tonight, so I'm just scouting around (pun intended) for campaign ideas. My FB friends are already jumping the gun and sharing my post telling them that I'll be posting the "live" link for sharing tomorrow. :)

Barry

[Nicole]

It def impacts H&T. We had 17 new books enter on the same day during the campaign. It was much harder to gain visibility after that. But H&T seems to play such a minor role. I wonder if there isn't only a minimum number of hours somewhere above 400 (if that). I see you're in the "1 Day Left" position. I've got you nominated. Good luck!

Welcome Barry! You get automatic visibility when you first launch, so make sure to save some of that social media power for when you drop off of the "New" list. Midway through was the toughest for me. And I think having a series can be a good thing with Scout. Enjoy the ride :)

[Ferris]

Hi!
So thrilled to find this group! Taking a deep breath already just knowing I'm in good company! My novel, "Making Arrangements" is in the Kindle Scout queue, and I am surprised at how anxious I am! So scary blabbing about my book in my effort to get votes! Thanks for letting me be part of this group, and my link is http://tinyurl.com/jnehozq if you want to check it out - there I go blabbing again...

[Nicole]

Welcome Ferris! Great tagline and blurb. Best of luck in your campaign.

Nicole

[Barry]

Nicole wrote: "Welcome Barry! You get automatic visibility when you first launch, so make sure to save some of that social media power for when you drop off of the "New" list. Midway through was the toughest for me. And I think having a series can be a good thing with Scout. Enjoy the ride :)"

Thanks, Nicole. Based on your advice, I held off "boosting" my Facebook announcement post. I was in "Hot and Trending" for the first 2 days, but dropped off last night. I'm still the newest in Sci Fi/Fantasy, though, so still on the first page. I'm thinking of waiting for the FB "boost" until I'm no longer first in my category--what do you think?

Also considering a Goodreads ad, although last time I tried one I received a 1-star revenge review from someone who felt my ad made fun of Twilight. :) And I'm not sure I can even do an ad here for an unreleased book.

My KS page: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3PSG...

[Barry]

Also, I've noticed some books I was surprised made even the initial cut for KS...e.g., spelling errors in the preview (even in the first line) and one on a cover. I won't give any detail about the other quality concerns I had, as I don't want anyone in this group to feel awful if they just don't have or can't afford a good editor yet. I'm in the process of having my first book re-edited myself, so I'm not judging.

Is KS willing to do more editing work than they say they are? Because otherwise I don't see the point in putting a book up for nominations that can't be successful.

[Nicole]

I think that's a good plan with regard to holding off until you're off the first page. If you stay off of H&T without the boost, then doing it now or later will probably have the same effect. It depends on how much you want to spend throughout the campaign. You will likely be on H&T toward the end as well. I know Scout likes to see an effort, but once you've gotten a certain number of hours, I'm not certain that H&T matters as much. I was in the running with more than one book that remained H&T for the duration of the campaign and none were selected. Others were averaging around 400-500 and were selected. I'd wait on the Goodreads ad for your book (but that's JMHO). I know others have tried Twitter ads as well.

If I remember correctly, Kindle Scout specifies that novels submitted should have already undergone professional editing. Based on what those selected have said (and I believe this as well), the books do undergo an additional round of editing but the degree to which this is done varies (as does the editor or if it is outsourced).

And BTW you've got my nomination ; )

Nicole

[Barry]

Thanks, Nicole! I've been bouncing on and off the H&T list today but not stressing. :)

[Kathy]

Hi, Everyone,
So glad to have found this group as I have been looking for a way to support authors in KS. One of my three nominations is about to expire, so I'm voting for

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1EUH...

I think I found this one via a request on Linked in.

Anyway, thanks to the mods for starting this group.

[Alan]

Hi, everybody.

I’m the author of Damaged Right Out Of The Box, a humorous and wistful look at my life. I just finished my first novel, Damaged Beyond All Recognition. Inspired by the writings of Kurt Vonnegut, that book is going through the rejection cycle at the finest literary agencies. I fully expect to be approaching Kindle Scout in the near future.

I’ve looked through many of the comments posted in this community, and I thank those who have shared their thoughts about the KS process.

Here’s a summary of my initial impressions:

1. Don’t fret about being in the Hot & Trending category 100% of the time. If you’re at 25% or more at the end, that probably keeps you in contention.

2. Focus your marketing campaign while your book is on KS. Facebook is the best option—a disappointing premise because my large Twitter following appears to somewhat useless in a KS campaign.

3. If your novel isn’t well written or well edited, your chances of being selected probably are nil.

I hope to “meet” other members of the community in the coming days. I’m on Twitter (@AlanFelyk), and the link to my site is Alan Felyk’s Author Site.

[Angela]

Hello, everyone! I am an indie author with previously self-published books on Amazon. I am new to the Kindle Scout game. My campaign just launched on April 1st and will run until May 1st. I'm only a few days in, and I've been on the Hot & Trending list almost the entire time. I hope that's a good sign!

If anyone has any tips or tricks, I would love to hear all about them!! And if you'd like to check out my campaign, here is the link: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1EUH...

[Lizabeth]

Hey, everyone! I'm Liz Scott and I've love to hang with you all and learn a thing or two about the Scout program.

[Vincent]

Hi All,

My book Torn Away just started the other day on Kindle Scout.

There was actually a problem with the tag line and because my campaign was approved on Friday and went live Sunday, it took until this morning to get someone to fix it.

But it's fixed now!
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2L5L...

[K.A.]

Thread looks semi-retired, but I like these running introduction/discussion lists so: let's resurrect it!

I did a fair bit of research and reading through discussion boards, but there's not a lot of recent (2017-ish) data or stories from YA authors who've gone through the process, so if anyone would like to chime in with their experience in the campaign whether or not they got picked up, would love to hear it.

Particularly curious what kind of page views people have been getting lately. Some early threads mentioned pretty low traffic to H&T rates, but it seems like there must be a lot more competition now. So far I'm getting 200-400 page views a day, but I haven't yet launched outside promotions to my followers.

Also, has anyone noticed a correlation between placement under genre list and traffic/popularity? I've noticed my position on the front page under Fantasy & YA moving closer to first position. But it looks like that's more about recently added books than traffic or nominations?

& of course, if anyone's into YA dark fantasy with ghosts, world monsters, and twisted dystopian settings in the vein of Victoria Schwab's THIS SAVAGE SONG, I'd love your nominations for BLIND THE EYES at (shortlinked) https://goo.gl/aEu6Zh

[Navi]

Hi K.A.,

I believe your position under genre list is sorted by start date, not traffic/popularity. You'll notice most on the first page say "29 days left", and it goes down from there. This is different from H&T which is randomized (at least, from what I've gleaned from other discussions).

I'm not doing as hot on page views (~100s/day) for my campaign, but there is also a ton more competition than from 2 years ago.

I took a look at your book and gave it a nomination; the concept is intriguing! Hope you can return the favor: I have a historical fantasy novel in a world where music is magic.
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2ORF...

Cheers,
Navi

[K.A.]

Navi wrote: "Hi K.A.,

I believe your position under genre list is sorted by start date, not traffic/popularity.

I did notice that, but I find it interesting that your position within everyone who came out the same day shifts around - maybe it's just randomized for better visibility or something . . .

Thanks for the vote! I've got some nomination slots coming up in a couple days and will tag you back then. Someone on the kboards thread (which is excellent) mentioned that saves and nominations may both count when it comes to hitting H&T, so here's hoping that gives an extra boost too!

[Terri]

Hi. I just found this group and joined it today after starting a Scout campaign for my YA book Fearless this week. kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2FIFMM1QYOWX I've been scouring all the previous discussions for advice on promotions. These have not only given me more ideas, but I've also learned more about the Scout program so I just wanted to say thank you.

[K.A.]

Terri wrote: "...I've been scouring all the previous discussi..."

Hi Terri! Good luck with your entry. The link above isn't working for me, so you might want to repost that.

YA seems to be a tough sell on KS - I had some strong organic traffic for my first three days, and now at about a week in I'm starting to lean more on paid advertising (& still haven't hit H&T lol). There's also been a bit of a rush of entries so that's raising the difficulty level for everyone!

If you haven't already checked it out, this thread has the best information and resources on KS I've seen anywhere: https://www.kboards.com/index.php/top... but it's super long, so I'd suggest jumping to near the end and just reading comments from the last few months or so.

[Sharone]

Hello, Everyone,
The Kindle Scout campaign for my contemporary women's fiction, Travel Secrets, is nearly over. I'd appreciate your votes. I just wish I could get on the hot list just once more before my nomination ends in 4 days: http://tinyurl.com/sharlemond
Any advice on how to do that is most welcome! Thanks in advance.

[Sharone]

Hello, Everyone,
The Kindle Scout campaign for my contemporary women's fiction, Travel Secrets, is nearly over. I'd appreciate your votes. I just wish I could get on the hot list just once more before my nomination ends in 4 days: http://tinyurl.com/sharlemond
Any advice on how to do that is most welcome! Thanks in advance.

[Terri]

Terri wrote: "Hi. I just found this group and joined it today after starting a Scout campaign for my YA book Fearless this week. https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2FIF... I've been scouring all the previous discussi..."

[Terri]

I fixed my link for my YA book Fearless that launched this week. https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2FIF....

[Terri]

K.A. wrote: "Terri wrote: "...I've been scouring all the previous discussi..."

Hi Terri! Good luck with your entry. The link above isn't working for me, so you might want to repost that.

YA seems to be a tou..."

Thanks for the advice and letting me know my link wasn't working. I appreciate it and I'm checking out the thread.

[Everly]

The private jet thingie sounds like a good idea. There's quite a few of us so I'm guessing a little twin prop wouldn't cut it. Plus, we'd need a piano bar, massage chairs... can you have a fireplace in a jet? Probably some FAA regulation against that. Wait, it's our plane, we can do what we want.