Att: Authors & Publishers Feedback on Amazon'z KDP Select

[wannabee]

Authors and publishers were recently offered a new way of distributing ebooks on Amazon. KDP Select
I am interested in hearing from anyone that signed their books to be lent rather than purchased and if it effected their bottom line.

For anyone that wants to know what KDP Select is:
You sign up with Amazon exclusively for 90 days which allows Prime Members to borrow your book for free.

Meanwhile they put $750,000 in the kitty and divide the lot by the amount of download they get. The more your books get borrwed, the bigger slice of the pie you get.

As you browse Amazon these days there's a lot of $0.00 to Prime Member tags now. So a lot are signing up.

[Giggleton]

It is definitely interesting, there's a few threads about this topic already, but I'm not sure if the data from the first month is in. I would say that we'd need a year of data before any meaningful judgements could be drawn...

Unfortunately Amazon is not known for being transparent with their data. So we will probably be relying on the contributions of individual participants in the program, which will result in a spotty data set.

[JJArgus]

I think you get what you pay for. I work hard on bringing a certain level of quality to my books and I deserve to be paid for that. I'm not giving my work away, and I highly doubt the rewards offered by KDP Select will be more than chump change, if that.

[CWatkinsNash]

Mark, have you asked around on Goodreads? There's a thread here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/760122 with some authors' experiences, and there's another I saw in another group but now I can't find it. I think there's a link to it in that thread, though.

[MrsJoseph]

*sigh*

I will continue to resist. I will not be assimilated.

And I am hating KDP with every fiber of my being. I do have a kindle app but I don't own a kindle! So I am effectively cut off from buying new books by any authors participating in this program. And this makes me sad.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

*sigh*

I will continue to resist. I will not be assimilated.

And I am hating KDP with every fiber of my being. I do have a kindle app but I don't own a kindle! So I am effectively cut off from buying new books by any authors participating in this program. And this makes me sad.

(Apparently that's the closet we have to a hug around here. )

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Mark, have you asked around on Goodreads? There's a thread here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/760122 with some authors' experiences, and there's another I saw in another group but now I can't find it. I think there's a link to it in that thread, though.

As a reader and a writer, I am so frightened by how many authors in that discussion are saying, essentially, sure, I'm helping move Amazon to an indie publishing monopoly, but Amazon is super nice to me and why should that change?

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to make life crappy for the rest of us, I swear.

I think I'm going to have to strengthen my "only at B&N" buying stance.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

*sigh*

I will continue to resist. I will not be assimilated.

And I am hating KDP with every fiber of my being. I do have a kindle app but I don't own a kindle! So I am effectively cut off from buying new books by any authors participating in this program. And this makes me sad.

You can't purchase books in KDP through your Kindle app? Copyright makes me sad too.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

*sigh*

I will continue to resist. I will not be assimilated.

And I am hating KDP with every fiber of my being. I do have a kindle app but I don't own a kindle! So I am effectively cut off from buying new books by any authors participating in this program. And this makes me sad.

The way I look at it is if I know of an author who jumps ship and goes to Amazon exclusively, I won't buy his/her books again or ever. So if they jump ship and then decide to come back home, I still won't buy. I feel this is a bad idea and if any author doesn't want to make books available in the format I use, then they really don't want my money.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

You can't purchase books in KDP through your Kindle app? Copyright makes me sad too.

But you can go to Amazon via the web browser and purchase. Then use the app to download.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

You can't purchase books in KDP through your Kindle app? Copyright makes me sad too.

Once an author signs up with KDP they have to remove all of their books for sale in other places.

Also, KDP authors are only availble for "free" if you own an actual kindle, not a kindle app.

Of course, I could buy a book from Amazon...but why would I pay for a book being offered for free? Plus I don't own a kindle - and I don't want a kindle.

And I can't buy it anywhere else.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

Once an author signs up with KDP they have to remove all of their books for sale in other places.

Also, KDP authors are only availble for "free" if you own an actual kindle, not a kindle app.

Of course, I could buy a book from Amazon...but why would I pay for a book being offered for free? Plus I don't own a kindle - and I don't want a kindle.

And I can't buy it anywhere else.

Only the free Prime lending requires a device. The "5 days of free" KDP freebies (like all those featured in the bargains forum) work like any other Kindle book and can be sent to an app instead of a Kindle.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Only the free Prime lending requires a device. The "5 days of free" KDP freebies (like all those featured in the bargains forum) work like any other Kindle book and can be sent to an app instead of a Kindle.

If you catch it.

Otherwise I'm looking at the different prices - which instead of motivating me to buy a kindle - pisses me off sooooo much. So much. Soooooo very much.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

(Apparently that's the closet we have to a hug around here. )

Thanks. Maybe one day I'll live in a world where I can buy a book without having to sell my soul.


Maybe.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

Once an author signs up with KDP they have to remove all of their books for sale in other places.

Also, KDP authors are only availble for "free" if you own an actual kindle, not a kindle app.

Of course, I could buy a book from Amazon...but why would I pay for a book being offered for free? Plus I don't own a kindle - and I don't want a kindle.

And I can't buy it anywhere else.

It is really annoying when I finally find an eBook I want to buy and then find out the only way I can buy it is via Amazon since it's been pulled from every other place it used to be sold. This just really doesn't ingratiate the author at all. In fact, it makes me never want to ever buy from that author and if anyone recommends that author, I will do everything I can to say otherwise.