Support for Indie Authors discussion

I self-published my book on Amazon, but opted out of "KDP Select". I was afraid that by only committing to use Amazon for my ebook, would result in lower sales. I'm not starting to wonder though as I've heard so many have had good success with KDP if I should reconsider. Thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I have some books that I have on KDP and two books which aren't, as they are on Ingram Spark, but it's too soon yet to give you any positive feedback either way.

I do like the KDP free days, they normally give you a good spike in rank and sales. Also, if your book is in KDP you can do Amazon advertising, but haven't used that myself.

There are several threads that discuss the pros and cons of select already in this folder. Just keep in mind that everyone will have a different experience. The only true way to know what is right for you will be to experiment. Try going exclusive for one enrollment period to see if it is a benefit.

Sharon wrote: "I self-published my book on Amazon, but opted out of "KDP Select". I was afraid that by only committing to use Amazon for my ebook, would result in lower sales. I'm not starting to wonder though as..."

Hi, Sharon. Your question is a good one. And, I can only answer from my own experience. I chose this time (novel #8) to go with KDP Select. I had always gone through another self-publisher as well as KDP. This time, my book has multiple thousands of page reads within one week. I was stunned. And, it looks there are more page reads coming. I have no idea what my royalties will be, nor when they are awarded. But, I am still stunned that so many people are borrowing the novel from either KU or KOLL. You might want to re-consider using KDP Select, unless you've already released it elsewhere.
Wishing you success!

Sheila - thanks for the feedback. I'll be anxious to hear once you receive your royalties how that increased (not specifically obviously) in general. I did upload to Amazon and Draft2Digital. Not sure if I can pull it back from Draft2Digital or not to sign up for KDP. I'll have to call and ask that would work or if its possible.

Thanks again!

You can pull your book out of the other digital platforms if you decide to go with Select. I personally love Select and bring in a decent income from Kindle Unlimited.

The KU royalties are not a flat rate like your sales, but you can get a decent estimate by guessing half a cent per page. So a 300-page book (Kindle pages, not paperback pages) will bring in about $1.50 in royalties if the whole book is read on KU.

The royalties from KU are paid along with your ebook sales royalties. Monthly payments have about a two-month delay, I think. So at the end of this month (October), I should be receiving royalties for the month of August.

Like Christina said, experiences can really differ and the only way to know for sure with your particular book and marketing strategy is with trial and error. Good luck :).

Sharon wrote: "I self-published my book on Amazon, but opted out of "KDP Select". I was afraid that by only committing to use Amazon for my ebook, would result in lower sales. I'm not starting to wonder though as..."

Actually, opinions vary here. However, I was on KDP Select, then left and tried other platforms and didn't have the same success. I returned to KDP Select and in less than three weeks my ratings and sales rose as well as the number of pages read on KU.

However, it might have been just luck. I don't know

Thanks Marie - I'm going to definitely look into trying this! Marie wrote: "You can pull your book out of the other digital platforms if you decide to go with Select. I personally love Select and bring in a decent income from Kindle Unlimited.

The KU royalties are not a ..."

One thing I'd add, and this is mostly based on research because I'm not published yet, is to focus on timing and hitting good release dates. The U.S is going into holiday season which is a big sales period for some people because people aren't just buying gifts. They are traveling, visiting relatives they don't like, staying in places where the only consistent form of entertainment may be a book in print or an E-reader. So I'm releasing in the next few weeks to catch that tide early, and have a realease planned for two weeks in a row followed by a one week rest, followed by two more releases, etc. etc.

From what I gather the thing about KDP select or any free type promotion is to experiments, but to also do it strategically so your free days don't interrupt a boom in the sales period. One great tip is having multiple stories. Get a short story or two up to par alongside your main work and offer it at a reasonable price. It helps people find you and makes up the financial difference in a tiny way.

KDP Select is the best thing ever! I genuinely don't understand why everyone doesn't use it. Any sales that are lost from not using other markets are more than made up by kindle unlimited.

Select does have some great benefits. I really like the option to do one free book giveaway per enrollment period. Personally, I've only had experience with two other publishers but I love having the benefit of being able to say "read it for free if you have a Kindle subscription!" Then again, I'm just at the point of starting to get my name out there. I like the ability to ride the coattails of Amazon's huge customer base.

Hmm. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all formula...

There are a ton of factors to consider. Genre being a big one. Romance seems to do well on KDP but I've talked to a SciFi author who sold waaay more on iBooks than Amazon. Who would've thunk, eh?

I reckon it kinda sorta depends on what your goals are too. If you just wanna make a bit of moolah as fast as possible, then Select is most likely gonna help. But if you wanna make NYT's bestseller or even USA Today bestseller, they both require you to be on multiple platforms. Being an "Amazon Bestseller" just doesn't seem to cut it for the big dogs haha!

Best of luck, Miss Sharon! Let us know what you choose and how awesome it goes ^_~

Hugs,
Ann

Thanks everyone. For right now, beings this is our first book, we just want to get it recognized and get our name out there. We were only set up on Amazon and Draft2Digital and when I looked at the activity on Draft2Digital it was obvious that Amazon was the way to go. So, I pulled out from D2D and went strictly with Amazon. "Signs from God" is now Live on Kindle Unlimited! Here's hoping we recognize a difference and can get our name recognized until our next books come out and one day we do become a "BIG DOG" on the NYT's Bestseller List :)

Annabelle wrote: "KDP Select is the best thing ever! I genuinely don't understand why everyone doesn't use it. Any sales that are lost from not using other markets are more than made up by kindle unlimited."

Some authors don't like giving Amazon exclusive rights to their books, which is the "price" you pay for Select.

I use it for one of my pen names, but for others, the sales I get on other channels far exceed the paltry payouts for pages read in KU.

Sharon wrote: "Thanks everyone. For right now, beings this is our first book, we just want to get it recognized and get our name out there. We were only set up on Amazon and Draft2Digital and when I looked at the..."

Sharon, so glad for you! Sounds like you're making good moves to get started in the "literary world." I couldn't be happier for you. I hope you get tremendous results from going the KDP Select route. Keep us posted on results. I'm really good at rejoicing with friends, even NEW friends!

Thanks appreciate the kind words and advice! I'll keep you posted!

Hey Ken, that's so awesome that you make a lot of money from other channels. I haven't tried it myself, but a friend of mine who did a lot of indie publishing always told me that her sales on all the other channels were usually not too good. I always assumed that most people buy books from Amazon these days. But I really don't know.

Annabelle wrote: "Hey Ken, that's so awesome that you make a lot of money from other channels. I haven't tried it myself, but a friend of mine who did a lot of indie publishing always told me that her sales on all t..."

You really won't know until you try. It does take a much longer time to build up a following on the other channels, because indie authors don't have much visibility there, compared to Amazon.

Annie wrote: "Hmm. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all formula...

There are a ton of factors to consider. Genre being a big one. Romance seems to do well on KDP but I've talked to a SciFi author who sold ..."

As been pointed out, everyone's situation is different. When we researched this, we heard exactly the opposite: romance on iBooks selling quite well and sci-fi not selling at all there. And no doubt that was true for the people we talked to.

The bottom line, I believe, is that one author's experience is one author's experience. One cannot generalize or reach a meaningful consensus. What works for you or me, works for you or me, and basically has no wider applicability.

Owen wrote: "Annie wrote: "Hmm. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all formula...

There are a ton of factors to consider. Genre being a big one. Romance seems to do well on KDP but I've talked to a SciFi au..."

So far, in all of the time I've been self-publishing, I've sold only two sci-fi books on iBooks, and both were my first novel. My second novel and short-story collections haven't sold there at all. I'm gradually switching over to KDP Select, with two of four books already exclusive to Amazon.

I can't speak to iBooks at all. I'd never heard of it until now. I do use Amazon and I did agree to KDP Select, which did produce some royalties from pages read in KU. I'm happy with it so far.

I don't think the exposure is any better on Amazon than anywhere else. There are so many ebooks available for readers to choose from, it seems like finding mine are akin to a needle in a haystack. I rest that problem solely on my own shoulders, but just saying.

Doemar wrote: "I can't speak to iBooks at all. I'd never heard of it until now. I do use Amazon and I did agree to KDP Select, which did produce some royalties from pages read in KU. I'm happy with it so far...."

The Amazon search algorithm rewards success: the more you sell, the higher you usually show up in search results.

However, it's also possible, at least in some genres, to get noticed just by careful optimization of your keywords, title, and blurb. Most of the other vendors ignore keywords if you go through a distributor like D2D or Smashwords, and Google Play doesn't even have a keyword field.

If you think exposure on Amazon is bad, wait till you try the others :)

I have tried them, left Smashwords for D2D, and now I'm gradually bringing the books back to KDP. The other vendors really need to find a way to spotlight new books the way Amazon does. Lulu succeeds at this in a microscopic way. Your new book is listed as new for a day or so, depending on how soon other authors upload theirs after yours.

I'm a new author so have no datum point but have decided to stick with KDP after my current enrollment expires as I am happy with the way it allows me to promote. I signed up for the free giveaway but next time it will be discounted books, I can then compare the two to see which is most effective.

Ken wrote: "The other vendors really need to find a way to spotlight new books the way Amazon does..."

Agreed. My books were basically invisible at first until I did some marketing and sent people directly to them. After a while, they were listed in "also boughts" but it's still a far cry from the exposure you can get on Amazon.