Support for Indie Authors discussion
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Amazon Prime Eligible Books - How do we get our books in the list?
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I'm like you, I thought enrolling in KDP was the path to enrolling in the Amazon Prime feature. Looking forward to hearing the right answer to this question.
Amazon has to contact you and offer it. If I understand correctly, they run your book in Prime for 90 days and you receive a flat royalty. I only know of two authors who have done this and from what I've seen of Prime offerings,they don't run very many books at all, let alone indie.
Okay Christina, so it is by invitation! I had a hunch. The exposure must not be to every KS person, otherwise, when you select the button in the advanced search for e-books “prime eligible” there would be hundreds to thousands of books listed, not 2 to 16. ;)Maybe Amazon looks at performance factors in their KU folks and determines who to feature quarterly. I have no idea but it would be cool to make the list, for exposure alone.
Thanks guys!
Christina, I don't think Amazon contacts anyone with the offer (maybe reminders in the Kindle newsletter). It is right there on your dashboard selection. Once enrolled in KS the book remains until you cancel. You may be confusing with the Count Down Deal which is a promotion. You discount your book for a limited time - 30 days - while you cannot change the price of the book. After that you can put the price up again.Enrolling in Kindle Select means you give the exclusivity to Amazon. You cannot then go to say Smashwords and publish your book there too. And Amazon has algorithms which quickly find it.
I had helped a friend to publish on Smashwords and then published her book on Kindle and enrolled it in Select. Three weeks later I got a notice that the book had been removed from Select for infringement of the exclusivity clause.
Hope this help
When you search for prime eligible there is this at the top of the first page:[1-16 of over 10,000,000 results for Prime Eligible : "prime eligible books"]
Not just a few books but thousands. To be listed on the first few pages you have to do a promotion/advertising or be an Amazon bestseller.
I'm an Amazon Prime member and the only books I've ever seen that can be read for free are what Amazon sends in a newsletter. I can't go to any Kindle Unlimited book and read it for free. So I think it's a misconception that Prime members can read any KU books.
Prime members cannot read KU books. They can read Amazon Prime books, but to be honest, I never actually read anything from that. Choice is very limited and usually not anything I would read. I was a little sad when I realized that being prime member would not give me access to KU :(I just saw Genevieve's post...maybe I should check again.
Genevieve wrote: "Christina, I don't think Amazon contacts anyone with the offer (maybe reminders in the Kindle newsletter). It is right there on your dashboard selection. Once enrolled in KS the book remains until ..."The only Indie I know who has/had a book in Prime is Missy Sheldrake and they contacted her.
Do not mistake KU and Prime. They don't offer the same books.
Genevieve wrote: "Christina, I don't think Amazon contacts anyone with the offer (maybe reminders in the Kindle newsletter). It is right there on your dashboard selection. Once enrolled in KS the book remains until ..."Kindle Unlimited is not Prime Reading. Back before KU existed, Prime members could borrow one book a month and anyone whose books were enrolled in KDP Select were eligible. Since the creation of KU, Amazon changed from the Kindle Owner's Lending Library (KOLL) to Prime Reading.
As for the criteria, the two books I've seen have been first in series, but that was the only factor they had in common.
Nice! I like that criteria as my book is first in a saga. Alrighty. Thanks again, ladies, for bringing some insight to this ScoobyDoo mystery. :)
Prime and KU are two separate subscriptions. They do not overlap.From Kindle FAQs: What are Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library?
Kindle Unlimited is a subscription program for readers that allows them to read as many books as they want. The Kindle Owners' Lending Library is a collection of books that Amazon Prime members who own a Kindle can choose one book from each month with no due dates. When you enroll in KDP Select, your books are automatically included in both programs. Your books will still be available for anyone to buy in the Kindle Store, and you'll continue to earn royalties from those sales like you do today. For more information about Kindle Unlimited, click here and for more information about Kindle Owners' Lending Library, click here.
Thank you, Genevieve. So Prime readers can borrow from the KOLL, but only if they have a Kindle. That must be why I never see the option to read for free. I use the Kindle app on my devices instead of owning an actual Kindle reader.
Marie Silk wrote: "Thank you, Genevieve. So Prime readers can borrow from the KOLL, but only if they have a Kindle. That must be why I never see the option to read for free. I use the Kindle app on my devices instead..."I don't think they still offer this, but if they do, it's paid it in page reads just like KU. The Prime Reading deal is a flat payment for 90 days and you do not get any data on how many readers borrowed your book, however, there is a separate ranking that you'll see.
Now this is interesting info that I never thought much about before. I'll have to check into just exactly what my books that are Amazon exclusive are included in. Makes wonder if going wider than Amazon shouldn't take more of my efforts. And, like always, things are changing that we need to keep up on.Thanks.
Prime members can still borrow any KU book once a month through their Kindle. I do it every month. Prime Reading is the newer deal, a smaller selection of books prime members can read any time on any device (I think...correct me if I'm wrong).
Wow I've misunderstood the KOLL all this time ha. "Kindle Owners" as in, you own a Kindle reading device. I thought it meant if you owned the Kindle version of the book, you could loan it out. Because there is a function like that but I'm not sure what it's called. I thought it was KOLL. I'm confused :D.
Easy to get confused! Amazon is always improving/changing things. In 2015, if I remember correctly, they started paying a royalty to authors on the number of pages read where before it was per download of borrowed books. There was lots of abuse - authors getting their fan's list to subscribe, download and then they would cancel the subscription. With royalty only on the number of pages read it's more difficult to cheat.
One other thing that I know confused me (I've been checking my books on Amazon) is that print versions of my books have the "Prime" logo by them but not the ebooks. What the heck does that mean? Free shipping for the print version?
The Prime logo means free express (2-day) shipping for Prime members.
It sure is nice to be surrounded by knowledgeable people who are willing to answer questions about the labyrinth of publishing and marketing! I thought I had things figured out, but still scratch my head at times because both the realities and answers morph like a shape-shifter sometimes! :) Thanks to all for helpful information.
Marie Silk wrote: "The Prime logo means free express (2-day) shipping for Prime members."Thanks. That's what I thought.
Mod
Yes, Amazon will contact you with a Prime offer. I did it for 90 days last summer and it was a pleasant experience :)
Mod
Kindle Owners' Lending Library:
Available for Amazon Prime members—paid Amazon Prime, paid Prime Student, 30-day free trial, and customers receiving a free month of Prime benefits with a Fire tablet—who own a Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet, or Fire phone, and features hundreds of thousands of titles. Books borrowed from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library have no due dates and can be downloaded from the Cloud on other Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, and Fire phones registered to the same Amazon account.
Prime Reading?
You can use a Kindle E-reader or Fire tablet, or download the Kindle app for use on your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet.
What kind of choices are available? Options abound. The frequently updated selection includes recent and popular fiction and nonfiction titles, literary classics, children's books, comic books, magazines and Kindle Singles.
What if I download a book and change my mind — or if I finish a book and want to select a new one? No problem. You can continue choosing new books and magazines until you have downloaded 10 titles. If you want more titles, you will be prompted to return one title to download a new choice.
What about when I need hands-free reading? Dozens of Prime Reading books are available with Audible narration — so you can listen while you are busy cooking, gardening or commuting. With Whispersync technology, you can pick up right where you left off, switching seamlessly between reading and listening.
What is Amazon First Reads? This is another Prime benefit that gives members a sneak peek at certain books before they are released to the general public. Amazon First Reads allows Prime members to download one free book each month from a selection of six editors' picks. New titles are announced at the start of each month and publicized in the weekly Prime newsletter.
What is Kindle Unlimited? If Prime Reading whets your appetite, sign up for a free 30-day trial of Kindle Unlimited, Amazon's premium reading program. For $9.99 a month, your reading choices will expand to more than 1 million titles, including thousands of audiobooks and current magazines.
KDP Select: Kindle Unlimited & KOLL
Enrolling your books in our optional KDP Select program gives you the opportunity to reach more readers and earn more money. You can enroll a single book, your whole catalog or anything in between. Enrolling in KDP Select makes your book eligible for 70% royalty earnings on sales to customers in Brazil, Japan, India, and Mexico. If you’re ready to enroll, select "Enroll in KDP Select" from the Book Actions menu next to your book on your Bookshelf. For more information about KDP Select Enrollment, visit our Help page.
If you make your book exclusive to the Kindle Store, which is a requirement during your book's enrollment in KDP Select, the book will also be included in Kindle Unlimited (KU) and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL). You can earn a share of the KDP Select Global Fund based on how many pages KU or KOLL customers read of your book (learn how payments are calculated).
Enrolling in KDP Select also grants you access to a new set of promotional tools. You can schedule a Kindle Countdown Deal (limited time promotional discounting for your book) for books available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, or a Free Book Promotion (readers worldwide can get your book free for a limited time).
Mod
I know some people have had struggles with their customer service, but I've pretty much always had decent representatives via chat and email.
We are here to discuss and share experiences, but sometimes it's best to go straight to the source to find the answers you seek.
*hugs to all*
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Any thoughts? :)