THE Group for Authors! discussion
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Any authors in the KDP Select Program?
Has anyone tried the Kindle Countdown promotion? I've had fair success with it, but I think that since it's so new, a lot of readers don't understand how it works. Here's some information on the new promotion from the Goodreads group, Taming Amazon:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Caroline wrote: "Hello all,I just sent my book to kindle for KDP, so we'll see. I have to wait for it to be reviewed, then I can add KDP. I didn't have a pic because the pixels were not enough. Amazon already has ..."
If your book is for sale as a Kindle edition - *that is* KDP.
KDP = Kindle Direct Publishing
I think you're still confusing KDP with KDP Select.
Select = Selling exclusively on Amazon. In exchange for exclusivity, you get the ability to offer free days (5 per 90 days) and use the Countdown promotion.
When you change something about your book and it's under review - it is still for sale in the state it was in before you made changes.
So, if your book is available on Amazon, in a digital format, it's been published using KDP. Otherwise, it wouldn't be available on Amazon.
When you look at your bookshelf, you can see which of your books are in Select and which aren't. Those that aren't will have a column with the word "Enroll" to the right of the title.
I hope this helps to clarify things.
Has anyone tried the Kindle Countdown promotion? I've had fair success with it, but I think that since it's so new, a lot of readers don't understand how it works. Here's some information on the new promotion from the Goodreads group, Taming Amazon:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Hello all,I am enrolled in the KDP programme myself but, I am struggling to promote the book anywhere. It has been bought a handful of times and also reviewed which is amazing in my own eyes. But if I can't get the word out to people I guess the KDP will not work for me, will it?
Thanks in advance for any insight.
Hi Gary, it can get to be a lot of work. Some of the sites that will promote your book require that you have at least 10 reviews. But, how can you get the reviews without the promotion? There are several facebook groups and groups here on goodreads that will swap reviews, if you have the time to read other books.Here is a link to a goodreads group that has a list of websites and facebook groups in the "Resources" folder that will help you.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Good luck!
Gary wrote: "Hello all,
I am enrolled in the KDP programme myself but, I am struggling to promote the book anywhere. It has been bought a handful of times and also reviewed which is amazing in my own eyes. But..."
I tried to do the KDP select for a book and probably because my publisher still has it available as print and e-read I can not do the free days. My mistake, so no freebies, oh well. I did spend a lot of time for nothing, smiles, so much learning it's crazy. I like things more simplified.
Lynn wrote: "I think you are right Edward so going free is a waste of time for me until I have another book out which won't be for ages because it's going to be a magnum opus. It just seems there is no way of g..."Lynn, you could still try Countdown promotions.
Set your book for 99 cents the first day, then $1.99 the second, or something like that. I don't know if it works as well on books that are only $2.99 at full price, but it can't hurt to try if it's already enrolled in Select.
Then if you try it and gain nothing, you know there's no reason to be exclusive to Amazon until your second book comes out.
On the other hand, not being exclusive to Amazon is something I have yet to figure out the advantage of.
All of my sales are Amazon. Which seems a bit strange. Surely I don't appeal only to people who read with Kindles. lol
But I got some initial traction somehow which I don't know how to get with iTunes, B&N or Kobo. As far as I can tell, it was KDP Select that made it possible, and on sites that have no equivalent - I'm invisible.
Edward wrote: All of my sales are Amazon. Which seems a bit strange. Surely I don't appeal only to people who read with Kindles.lol I know quite a few people without Kindles who read Kindle books on their PCs, iPhones, iPads, etc., by using the free Kindle reading apps, so you probably appeal to those people, too.
Linda
Loretta wrote: "Can you use KDP select for just one of your books? And have the others not on KDP select?"Yes.
L.L. wrote: "Edward wrote: All of my sales are Amazon. Which seems a bit strange. Surely I don't appeal only to people who read with Kindles.lol I know quite a few people without Kindles who read Kindle books..."
I hadn't thought of that. Even though I use the Kindle app on my Windows phone and my iPhone. duh. :)
But I'd still like to see more than 0 sales on those platforms. An author recently said he gets the same amount of sales on iTunes as he does on Amazon. Since then, I've had it stuck in my head that there's an entire market I'm not reaching, and have no idea how to reach it.
Edward -- you can reach these other markets via Smashwords. I have some books with them but sales are low compared to Amazon. I became an Apple content provider a few months ago and have uploaded 2 books to iTunes.
Thanks, Eddie. But I didn't mean "reach" as in get my books on those platforms - I meant reach the readers on those platforms where I've published already.I published directly to Amazon, B&N, Kobo and iTunes.
I also have my novel on Smashwords, so it will eventually reach the other obscure channels that that SW distributes to (that I didn't opt out of in favor of doing them manually.)
I think I just need to writer a bigger, badder book that will go further. My first novel has legs on Amazon, but it just can't jump out of the pool.
(Sometimes I need to invent metaphors. lol)
Can I put my published novels on Smashwords and iTunes through my publisher or do I have to do it myself?Thanks.
Edward -- that's a tough task. Some review sites are visited by a variety of ereader users. Big Al and pals' site gets some ibook people as well as Kobo and B&N. Their reviews state what format a book is in. I've searched for ibook specific user groups but haven't found any...yet
Caroline wrote: "Can I put my published novels on Smashwords and iTunes through my publisher or do I have to do it myself?Thanks."
I think if I correctly re-phrased that, you're asking, Will your publisher put your novels on SW and iTunes, or do you have to do it.
I don't know what kind of contract you have with Xlibris, but they most likely will not put your books on Smashwords, and there would be little point in it since Xlibris is doing what SW is doing - and that is, sending your book out to other retailers.
From their website:
Can I request which distributors I want for my e-book?
No. Xlibris e-books will be distributed to as many vendors as possible within our network, including future partnerships that we and our partners acquire. It is then at the vendors’ discretion whether or not they list the e-book titles we submit to them.
What channels will e-books be sold on?
We do not provide a set list of channels... Among our list of vendors are Sony, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books on Board, Scribd, Kobo, and Google e-books. There is no guarantee though that your e-book will appear on each of these sites.
Caroline wrote: "Can I put my published novels on Smashwords and iTunes through my publisher or do I have to do it myself?Thanks."
You do have the right to put your book on Smashwords, but when you do, you'll want to opt-out of having them send it to the same places that Xlibris *may* be sending it for you.
As for iTunes, you'll have to do that yourself. (And it's way easier than getting it on Smashwords. But it takes longer.)
More from their website:
Can I still publish my book elsewhere?
Yes. The Xlibris Publishing Agreement is non-exclusive. While producing your book with Xlibris' publishing services you can continue to publish or print your book elsewhere, with as many publishers, agents, and other firms as you like.
Eddie wrote: "Edward -- that's a tough task. Some review sites are visited by a variety of ereader users. Big Al and pals' site gets some ibook people as well as Kobo and B&N. Their reviews state what format a b..."Eddie! You just made me realize something. I haven't promoted my book anywhere. lol No wonder it's not selling on any other channels.
I forgot about that. I haven't really planned on promoting this one. I think the next two I have coming up will be better, so I planned to learn all about promotion when those are finished.
I got so excited with my sales on Amazon that I wondered why the book wasn't selling anywhere else. I guess the better question would be - why is my book selling so much on Amazon. lol
Thanks for the help and for stimulating my brain.
:)
Lulu allows iTunes and Nook through its interface
I am currently exclusively with KDP and have had good results with downloads for Kindle's countdown specials. But to take advantage of that, I can't offer my books also on Itunes or other platforms. Still trying to figure out if sticking to that extent with Kindle is worth it..for my bookThe Watchman's File
Gabriel wrote: "I ran a three-day promo when my book, a legal thriller called The Guilty, first came out at the beginning of this year, with very little publicity and got around 500 downloads, from which I receive..."So how did you come out in the end afterwards?
I've struggled with the same issue. But I've sold virtually nothing through any other venue. I've decided to go with KDP Select, and see what happens with the countdown thing. I did it once and sold one book, but I didn't do any other marketing. I did it as an experiment.I have done the free book thing several times, and I'm sure it helped me sell a few books, but, although a few thousand books have been downloaded for free, I got no reviews. I don't think I'll give books away anymore.
But Amazon is the only viable venue for self-published authors. They list our books right along with everyone else. Not even B&N does that.
Michael E. Henderson
cSo far I'd agree that Kdp and the countdown deal,,,with a promotion to draw attention to it...worked best for me..so far. What's been the experience with other platforms?
Barry wrote: "cSo far I'd agree that Kdp and the countdown deal,,,with a promotion to draw attention to it...worked best for me..so far. What's been the experience with ot..."Countdown deal did almost nothing for me. Another author I know, who sells pretty well, said it didn't substantially increase her sales either. I write poetry, so it may work better for other genres. I may try it with my new novelette when it is published.
Lynn wrote: "Hi all.I am in KDP Selec t. I only uploaded my book at the end of January. I did a five day free promotion and got 467 downloads in the US and 76 in the UK. I got to no 2 in Women's Literary Ficti..."
Lynn: I did the same thing with my "cowgirl chick lit"/western contemporary romance Crashing Into Tess and had 13 k downloads....I had a spike in sales immediately afterward, I presume b/c it increased the overall rank. I think the two most important other factors are your teaser blurb and reviews, followed by a second or third work in the same genre.....good luck!
I can't find it right now, but someone said that since they only had one book to make free right now, then KDP Select was no good for them until they finished their next book.Actually, if you only have one book and don't mind it being exclusively to Amazon, it's still a good thing to use up your free days every 90 days.
Not only do you get your name and work noticed, but people who like your free book can also click on your author profile to be notified when you publish something new.
That would be nice to publish your second book and already have at least a few people interested in checking it out before you've even promoted it.
And the cost of that exposure is free.
I am new to it, still to early too tell, but appreciate all the feedback!
What if it's your first book, a novella and most likely not as good as your 2nd or third? Do you think you should list it for free? Will it hurt?
Caroline wrote: "What if it's your first book, a novella and most likely not as good as your 2nd or third? Do you think you should list it for free? Will it hurt?"If your first book is not your best work you are shooting yourself in the foot. Many readers will make their decision of you based on the first book they read. If you have a good first book and your second book is not as good or worse your readers will stick with you because you really rocked them with that first book. If you are just starting out you want to do everything in your power to put your best work out there.
Caroline wrote: "What if it's your first book, a novella and most likely not as good as your 2nd or third? Do you think you should list it for free? Will it hurt?"It depends on how it's "most likely not as good as your second or third."
If that is the general consensus from people who have read it, then don't publish it anywhere at all until you've fixed whatever is wrong with it.
Or just retire it as a memento that you can look back on privately to see how much you've improved.
If it's just your fear that it's not as good, but everyone loves it, then don't worry about it having come before the others.
Never publish anything that isn't your best possible work.
If it's good, definitely list it as free, but don't list an inferior book as free for the sake of having something to use as bait. As Stephen said, it will shoot you in the foot.
Your free book will be the first one people read and from which they'll form their opinion of you and your writing.
If you have a kick-ass short story, publish that instead and make it free.
The one ebook of mine that consistently outsold all my others last year is 16 pages long. (The novel I just published is now outselling that short story by far.) I'm currently writing the novel version of that short story because reviewers like it so much and keep asking for an expansion.
1. Only publish your best possible work.
2. Novellas and short stories can be published too.
I believe Amazon can do whatever they want. They change prices on print books when they want. On our audio book they gave it for free with 30 day trial of audible. Won't find out until they send statement what that does to sales and money earned..
I thought that although Amazon can reduce prices, the royalty they pay is based on the book's list price. For example, if I list the price at $5 and they decide to discount to $4, I'd still get a royalty based on $5. Is that correct? If not, how does it work?
Lynn wrote: "What I don't understand is that the cheapest they will let me put my book on is 99c or 77p in UK. However, some books are on there permanently for 30 p. How have they done this?"If your book is for sale at a lower price somewhere else, Amazon will match it - all the way down to free.
Riley wrote: "I contemplated enrolling in KDP Select when I published The William S Club but chickened out in the end due to its exclusivity. I've heard some authors rave about it and talk about increases in per..."Interesting point
Elle wrote: "Marian wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Marian wrote: "Marian wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Marian wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I used two free KDP Select days to promote my latest book. It resulted in 156 downloads, no review..."Good point
Ardin wrote: "I have to make an adjustment to some of my earlier comments. I can now say that I have noticed a (small) benefit from my kdp days. I had a day over the weekend with 5 sales. I probably had about 10..."Interesting, has there been a change since then?
Laura wrote: "So, I'm coming to the end of my 90 days in KDP Select. I enrolled my first historical novel more or less as an experiment. I feel the free days were great to get some exposure, but after 90 days, s..."Laura wrote: "So, I'm coming to the end of my 90 days in KDP Select. I enrolled my first historical novel more or less as an experiment. I feel the free days were great to get some exposure, but after 90 days, s..."
Hello,I'm curious to know how everything went, how did you fare on SW?
Kevis wrote: "Steven wrote: "I liked what you said, Kevis.Down here at the grocery the people grazing at the giveaway table are called moochers. I'm told that the greatest number of them never buy a thing.
I ..."
Interesting post..I agree. I was wondering was i the only person thinking along those lines.
Unless you have really good promotions lined up, it's almost impossible to do well with the Countdown. One of my novels started on the Countdown yesterday. There were 1,454 Countdown books, 91 pages of them! I have no idea of where my book was. It could have been on page 90. People don't go much past the first few pages; they get plenty of emails offering them books. They don't need the Countdown to find bargains. Meanwhile, to have the Countdown, you must pay the price of being in Select for 3 months. You can't sell your books elsewhere.Go on kboards Writer's Cafe. Many of the authors are doing well on Apple, B & N, Kobo, etc. I've learned a lot from them.
My 4 novels are on KDP. I've had some brilliant results from the promos, and some poor results too.
Joanna wrote: "My 4 novels are on KDP. I've had some brilliant results from the promos, and some poor results too."Can you tell us about your good results? What promos did you use?
Hi Marian, A few years ago I put my crime novel, The Doll Collection, on a free promo for 1 day - a Sunday. On the Tuesday I sold 85. I was stunned.Things have changed since then because Amazon changed the algorithims and eventually I decided not to bother with free promos. I now use the Countdown promo - the results are not as dramatic, but sales are steady.
I have used KDP at times. The results have differed according to the time I took to promote the free day, or days.I haven't decided it it's worthwhile or not.I'll try Joanna's comment on the Countdown promotion.
Been on KDP for some years with my 12 novels, never had any feedback at all, did some free days 66 copies downloaded not a thing came back, but at least 66 peopled downloaded it, then one author told me she had 1200 copies downloaded, puts my to shame
I'll be enrolling my next book, Moonlight in KDP Select when it's published. I'm eager to add my experience with the program to the group. Should be fun to watch together :)
It's interesting that under the countdown promotions I sell a lot more in the UK than I do in the US.
I use KDP and I like it. Initially, I was just going to do the 90 and then pull unenroll them so I could sell through other outlets, but I've been happy and I earn far more on "borrows" through prime (per book) than I make in royalties. I'm happy with KDP and will probably stay with it.
C.S. wrote: "I use KDP and I like it. Initially, I was just going to do the 90 and then pull unenroll them so I could sell through other outlets, but I've been happy and I earn far more on "borrows" through pri..."I couldn't agree more on your note regarding KOLL (the Prime Borrowing) which gives $3 ish a pop and there is never a refund.
Lately, I've also noticed quite significant KOLL originated from Amazon.co.uk, .de, .co.jp, .es and etc. Compared to what I sell to those marketplaces, the KOLL numbers are disproportionately huge.
If you stay with KDP Select, there are also reliable techniques one can employ to increase the royalty rate from 70% to 80% (give or take about 3%.)
I explained the premise of such mechanism in a blog of mine here: The World According to Amazon
Hi all. Currently in day two of three free days on KDP and I've had well over 100 downloads so I think it's a success. I will let everyone know what happens
THE Group for Authors!
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Good luck. Let..."
ALready did. I put my book link on one of the threads focusing for free ebook. I also already promote it to websites and FB groups. I'll let you know the result.