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Any authors in the KDP Select Program?
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Kevin
(last edited Nov 29, 2012 02:27AM)
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Nov 28, 2012 04:48AM
Thanks for sharing your sales numbers! I'm not on KDP, but I'm really interested in the topic because my first novel will be released next summer.
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I know a lot of people think the freebooks idea is devaluing the industry but I disagree. I download a lot of books- free or otherwise. I have read some great freebooks and subsequently bought or bookmarked other titles by that author.Not all readers simply fill up their kindles with books they will never read, simply because they are free. I think it is up to an author whether they want to give away their book. I saw a few extra sales after mine and I am hoping those who downloaded it will pay to get Book 2, especially in the other European sites.
I agree Alexandra. Seriously if it takes you a few hours to read a book, isn't your time worth more than a couple of dollars? I have spent too much on books by my favorite authors, and also purchased books I didn't finish - never going back to the author again. The same is true for free books.
Another idea to put in the back of your book if you don't want to suggest that the reader post a review is to list your other books. "If you enjoyed this book, you might enjoy..."
Marian wrote: "Another idea to put in the back of your book if you don't want to suggest that the reader post a review is to list your other books. "If you enjoyed this book, you might enjoy...""I made a page called "Other Books by L. L. Thrasher" and listed the books along with a brief quotation from a review of the hardcover edition. It's at the very end of the book and is listed in the table of contents. People can look at it if they want to. For future Kindle-only books, I plan to use a very short synopsis instead of an excerpt from a review.
OK came across this purely by accident today but it explains why you don't get reviews from freebies. I copied this from Amazons website. "To submit a customer review: you need to use an Amazon account that has successfully been charged for the purchase of a physical or digital item. Free digital downloads don't qualify. You don't need to have purchased the product you're reviewing. There's a 48-hour waiting period after your first physical order has been completely shipped, or your digital item has been purchased, before you'll be able to submit your review."
So if I read that correctly if you give the book away for free as in a book promotion. Those that get it during that time can't post a review about it.
Congrats Amazon just screwed us again...
I have to correct what Stephen posted. You have to have an amazon account to leave a review of a book. You don't have to have purchased the book in question, just something, sometime from Amazon or otherwise created an account with amazon. It's possible to do so without buying anything. Anyway, I've written and posted quite a few reviews on amazon of books I've gotten free via KDP Select.
Hi Stephen, I downloaded an ebook for free on Amazon and wrote a review for this same book and it was listed as a Amazon Verified Purchase.
Cheers,
Tracey
Tracey Allen
Stephen wrote: "OK came across this purely by accident ..."What Lee said.
A possible further clarification is an account has to have purchased 'something'. A 99cts digital music song counts or a $300 canoe counts. Then that particular account is tied to a physical payment (like your credit card) and Amazon recognizes the user as a valid review opinion *on any product at Amazon*. Amazon figures real people are somehow behind credit cards rather than some wacky zombie computer farm.
seems like the review removal is kind of arbitrary
Lee you are probably correct except that this was just the first time I have seen that message. So I am just putting it out there. I have written several reviews for free promo books that have been removed by amazon after they have been up for a week or longer. Despite the fact that the reviews were on verified purchases and met the guidelines for reviews. I'm not saying that it is not completely the case or that you can't leave a review for a free promo book. It just seems like amazon uses the rules as they pick and choose.
Man I wish I could get rid of a couple of my older reviews from before I did some rewrites/edits. :)
Alexandra wrote: "I know a lot of people think the freebooks idea is devaluing the industry but I disagree. I download a lot of books- free or otherwise. I have read some great freebooks and subsequently bought or b..."I've had some purchases in the UK since I had my free promo a few months ago. 345 people in the UK downloaded it then and I think the ones who are buying the second in the series are people who downloaded the first one because it was free. (I've had more sales of the second than the first.) I don't think they would have known it existed if I hadn't done the free promo. Maybe eventually others with the free copy will get around to reading it and will purchase the second one.
Nikki wrote: "seems like the review removal is kind of arbitrary"Review removal is a hot topic on the amazon forums so I looked up the guidelines, just out of curiosity. (Google AMAZON REVIEWS GUIDELINES to find it.) Most of the rules were what you'd expect but there was at least one that had never occurred to me: you can't comment on other people's reviews. I can't remember whether there were others that I hadn't expected.
L.L. wrote: "Nikki wrote: "seems like the review removal is kind of arbitrary"Review removal is a hot topic on the amazon forums so I looked up the guidelines, just out of curiosity. (Google AMAZON REVIEWS G..."
That must be new then, because I have commented on other reviews in the past.
just got a review for my book by a person who did not buy the book and specified it was an author solicited review--and yet it's there...I wouldn't have minded if they removed that one...
Nikki wrote: "just got a review for my book by a person who did not buy the book and specified it was an author solicited review--and yet it's there...I wouldn't have minded if they removed that one..."They probably will but it takes a little time. I think "author solicited" is a no-no.
Rebecca wrote: "L.L. wrote: "Nikki wrote: "seems like the review removal is kind of arbitrary"Review removal is a hot topic on the amazon forums so I looked up the guidelines, just out of curiosity. (Google AMA..."
I've seen reviews commenting on reviews, too. I think they've only recently stated cracking down on reviews and it will take a while for them to get to all of them. The reason given for that rule is that reviews can change location; for example, if a reviewer removes her own review. So, if someone writes "I think the review just above mine explains it perfectly," and that review has been removed, the comment would appear to be commenting on a different review. Makes sense to me to discourage such comments.
SJ wrote The other benefit is gaining reviews by putting a request in the back of the book for readers to post amazon reviews.This is a great suggestion: I'm going to see if I can get a reviews request added to the back of my ebook. Thanks for the idea!
Yes not a bad plan. I try not to review on Amazon, partly because whenever I try I get writer's block and "I liked this book cos i were gud" makes me look like a numpti:)I am now not sure if an author can comment on another author's book anyway. I don't think I ever left a review below 2 or 3 stars and I certainly don't leave a snarky review simply because someone writes in the same genre.
I tend to review here or not at all, seems less hassle that way, or I comment on facebook or google plus that I liked such and such a book.
I might put a suggestion in asking for reviews if they liked it, although is that allowed? I am so confused as to what is and what isn't.
L.L. wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "I know a lot of people think the freebooks idea is devaluing the industry but I disagree. I download a lot of books- free or otherwise. I have read some great freebooks and subseq..."I agree, I get a lot of free books and I won't get a book I would not normally at least consider simply because it is free. I have read some really great free ones and then gone onto buy a later one, or at least noted the author so I can look out for them. I might not get to the book immediately but I will get to it.
I think it is entirely up to the author if they choose to give away their book. Personally I haven't seen a huge benefit from the promotion I did but I am hoping something comes out of it when Book 2 is released, if not tough luck on me:)
Giving away free samples is a time honored way of promoting a product. Ebooks are just cheaper to giveaway than pbooks so more people are doing it.
I'm not discounting the act of giving away free samples. However in my experience I put my book up on free promo 1000+ downloads while it was free. The rest of the month 1 sale. Next month Free 750+ downloads, 1 sale. I have to say I don't expect to get rich as an author that's why I have a full time job. But I would expect that I could do better then to sell 1 book for every 1500 I give away. Also just because some one reads you book doesn't mean they will leave a review. I think the actual read to review rate is like .02% average.
I have to agree with Stephen. I gave away the first book of a series. In two three month KDP sessions there were over 7,500 free downloads, a little over 100 sales of the three books in the series and no reviews. I hope some of those 7,500 free book takers read and enjoy the book, but as a means of selling books, KDP Select is a bust in my opinion.
I've been following this discussion for a while...interesting comments. I'm deciding if I should begin the KDP Select program, but perhaps without the free downloads. I'm curious if any of you find/found value in the KDP Select program from anything other than the free downloads feature? Greater exposure to you as an author, or your book...more traffic to your blog, website? Or are you suggesting that the entire Select program is not worth joining?
I won't say that KDP is not a good program. But it does have it's flaws. And I don't see Amazon changing them anytime soon. As an author it's the only way to get your books out there for sale. Barnes and Noble has Pubit.com, and then there are a few others. However I get next to no sales on the others and have had better luck on Amazon and B&N. You can do KDP with out doing the free promotions. As far as does it drive traffic to my website... I'm not sure i haven't noticed a up tick at my website or my facebook page. If your an Indie author with a small budget it is really your only option. and Amazon knows it.
Stephen wrote: "I won't say that KDP is not a good program. But it does have it's flaws. And I don't see Amazon changing them anytime soon. As an author it's the only way to get your books out there for sale. Ba..."Thanks, Stephen. I have a non-fiction print book, but thought I'd offer an ebook as an option for those who prefer that format. Once I put together the ebook and spend some time in the KDP program I'll report back and let everyone know if it made a significant difference.
Stephen, the only other option I've found is GR itself. The downside is that most of the 10M readers on the site aren't interested in new authors, only those they already know and love. Still, there are 50k authors on GR. If an appreciable number of them would do what I do (look for, find, read and review books by Indie authors), we'd at least get a lot of reviews and some sales.
Wow! That would be nice. I'm afraid I fail at half of that. I look for indie authors but I haven't reviewed yet. It's hard to sort through the authors to find an area of interest. Selfishly I prefer reading those to others. So far the several I've found belong to authors who already have numerous reviews and many fans. I'm afraid my review would be lost in those already written. And these already do a good job - I couldn't add anything material.
Re the give-aways; I've just now discovered that we have to hit both markets - the USA and the UK. I thought when we posted our 'give-away' dates with Amazon that they automatically did that for us ?????I've sold nothing in the UK. Additionally, I checked my book out on the UK site and it has none of the reviews. When I queried Amazon they said they don't put the reviews up if the book wasn't bought in THAT country. Phew!
There is no point in joining the KDP Select program unless you plan on giving books away. Although most of the people who have posted on this thread have reported that they haven't seen a big boost in sales after their free promotions, you could be the exception. The primary beneficiary of the program is Amazon: they can brag in their sales pitch for Kindles that they have 145,000 free downloads.One thing that you are doing when you join KDP Select is that you're eliminating your books from other markets. Lots of people have B & N nooks. You can't use Smashwords or Kobo or Lulu. It's something to think about.
One of my short stories "Recycling" is available to download for free today and tomorrow via KDP select.US - http://www.amazon.com/Recycling-a-sho...
UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Recycling-a-s...
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.
Stephen wrote: "I'm not discounting the act of giving away free samples. ... I think the actual read to review rate is like .02% average. The percentages for my free short story aren't quite that low, but definitely less than 1%.
Given my own tendency to have books on my shelf for a year before reading them, I'm wondering whether free books might pay dividends over a longer timescale than months. Maybe the benefits won't appear for a year or two?
I'm doing KDP. For me it's been great. I let mine go for free for 3 days. 200+ free down loads - 9 sales - 1 review. I stopped the freebies and probably will not do it again. I've let it go for 99 cents for 2 weeks (sales - Ahhh, I keep that secret but it's less than 100 - no new reviews). But, thirty minutes ago I raised the price to 3 bucks. That should become effective by tomorrow.
June wrote: "Re the give-aways; I've just now discovered that we have to hit both markets - the USA and the UK. I thought when we posted our 'give-away' dates with Amazon that they automatically did that for us..."I may be misunderstanding your post, but when I scheduled my one-day free promo, 1500 were downloaded and 345 of those were in the UK and a few were in Germany and France. So setting up a free promo with Select must automatically apply to all amazon sites.
Marion Wrote: "One thing that you are doing when you join KDP Select is that you're eliminating your books from other markets. Lots of people have B & N nooks. You can't use Smashwords or Kobo or Lulu. It's something to think about."Need to Clarify KDP only locks you into not selling it anywhere else for the first 90 Days. Even if you stay in the KDP Select program after the 90 days you can sell you works anywhere else. Also if you choose not to use the KDP Select option you can still sell your book on amazon.com and anywhere else.
Kevin wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I'm not discounting the act of giving away free samples. ... I think the actual read to review rate is like .02% average." The percentages for my free short story aren't quite that low, but definitely less than 1%."
I wasn't saying just free stories, But I was just stating the the average reader to review rate is about 1%. I had to go back and check my facts and it wasn't .02% as I earlier stated. It is actually closer to 1%.
Stephen wrote: "Marion Wrote: "One thing that you are doing when you join KDP Select is that you're eliminating your books from other markets. Lots of people have B & N nooks. You can't use Smashwords or Kobo or L..."I thought that if you renew your membership in KDP Select, you are bound by the same contract you signed originally, whether or not you use the free promotions. That contract states that you can't use other venues, such as the nook, Lulu, etc.
Yes I think you can have books elsewhere so long as you don't click the select box.
L.L. wrote: "June wrote: "Re the give-aways; I've just now discovered that we have to hit both markets - the USA and the UK. I thought when we posted our 'give-away' dates with Amazon that they automatically di..."Mine did. Free downloads in UK, Germany, Italy & Spain.
Marian wrote: "Stephen wrote: "Marion Wrote: "One thing that you are doing when you join KDP Select is that you're eliminating your books from other markets. Lots of people have B & N nooks. You can't use Smashwo..."That's the way I understand it also.
Steven wrote: "L.L. wrote: "June wrote: "Re the give-aways; I've just now discovered that we have to hit both markets - the USA and the UK. I thought when we posted our 'give-away' dates with Amazon that they aut..."This is from the KDP Select website:
When you choose to enroll your book in KDP Select, you're committing to make the digital format of that book available exclusively through KDP. During the period of exclusivity, you cannot distribute your book digitally anywhere else, including on your website, blogs, etc. However, you can continue to distribute your book in physical format, or in any format other than digital.
OK so I think I need to send this to my lawyer cause the way I read it you can't list it anywhere, that offers it for sale even if the link leads it back to amazon.com. Two if you offer any portion of the book like a portion of a chapter even free on your blog or personal website it is also a violation. I'm not sure if that's correct but then again I'm not a lawyer either.
Marian wrote: "Steven wrote: "L.L. wrote: "June wrote: "Re the give-aways; I've just now discovered that we have to hit both markets - the USA and the UK. I thought when we posted our 'give-away' dates with Amazo..."Yes, I meant ebooks, You can distribute in those other formats. Sorry if I was not clear.
Stephen wrote: "OK so I think I need to send this to my lawyer cause the way I read it you can't list it anywhere, that offers it for sale even if the link leads it back to amazon.com. Two if you offer any portion..."I would like to know the answer to that about the personal website excerpts.
I do know that I can become an 'amazon Associate' and have a link app to the book on amazon. You even get a few extra percent in royality for ebooks sold using that link - if memory serves.
I think excerpts on your website are okay, it helps build interest and is good for Amazon. I also think links are okay. The key is, as long as the electronic version is ONLY for sale on Amazon. (That means it can't be free anywhere either)
Stephen wrote: "OK so I think I need to send this to my lawyer cause the way I read it you can't list it anywhere, that offers it for sale even if the link leads it back to amazon.com. Two if you offer any portion..."It says you can't *distribute* your book. You can advertise it by using a link on your website; amazon wants you to advertise it! You just can't let people download it. The other restriction is that you can't use amazon's trademarks, which I assume means its logos. Search on Google for [amazon KDP linking your website] and you'll find the FAQ explaining how to handle links on your website. It's part of the "Merchandising Your Book" section. You can visit Stephen King's website or John Grisham's, and see the links to amazon product pages; I'm sure they're on most authors' websites.
Stephen wrote: "Marion Wrote: "One thing that you are doing when you join KDP Select is that you're eliminating your books from other markets. Lots of people have B & N nooks. You can't use Smashwords or Kobo or L..."No. If you are in select it is KDP only. You get an initial 90 term but they leave it on autorenewal so unless you uncheck the box the books will remain in select and can't be sold or offered elsewhere.
If you want to sell your books on SW or nook uncheck the box and when the term runs out they remain in Amazon but not exclusive. You can't use the freebie days, the borroews or the 70% royalties in India, but you can of course sell your book elsewhere.
I think you can have the link promoting your book elsewhere- how else is anyone supposed to find it? However the TnC are vague as he bit I read yesterday seemed to say marketing was up to you but also belonged to Amazon. Legal speak- got to love it:)So a link on facebook or here is ok. "Yay my book is free go to"Mybook at Amazon"
You cannot, I believe, offer excerpts or whatever on your blog. Well that said you can't be caught doing so.
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