Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
I do know how to convert quite easily. The issue isn't so much the conversion, it's paying Amazon for eBooks which is something I don't and won't do. I don't believe in a exclusivity and I won't pay for an eBook I can get at Amazon but no place else.
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Here, here !
Not to mention that it is a marketing program which relies on aspiring, desperate indies signing up so Amazon can say we offer more exclusive content than everybody eles...99 bazzillion exclusive titles available to read for free, (
99% of it is rubbish.) Seriously, download 10 at random and see if you can get past the first 2 chapters. There might be gold in them there mountains, but barely enough to buy a good lunch, and you will probably have starved to death before you find it.
Good paid for books, self marketed or published, are what drives the industry. "Select" is a tool to promote the Fire, and Amazon's maketing boasts. IF you don't know how to market, or don't have a reputation, by all means give it try. You might move from page 999 of the search list to 99, but you won't appear above what sells for money, or even along side it.
Titles are declined or moved to back catalogue for a reason. If you are looking for fame and money, buy a lottery ticket. You'll only have to wait a week at most to be disappointed.
Example - Fairly common, by all accounts.
A good friend, self-published, not untalented, sells 1000-ish a month at 99c, 300 when it was 1.99. Jumped onto select, lost 400-ish "SALES" from B&N, Kobo, and Sony. Got 3000+ FREE downloads in one single day's free promostion, and is now SELLING 10-15 a week, exclusive to Amazon. Yeah, everyone is reading the book, but nobody is buying it, and the "alleged" 1.60 per lend? Hmmmm, didn't quite work out at that way on paper, and his new title doesn't link to the previious, except by "also by this author". He now has another (doing math.....) 60-ish days before he goes to all the hassle of re-submitting to the other retailers in an attempt to get back to where he started.
Kindle Select is designed, and is, for Amazon'e benefit, not the indie author's.
Note: How many of the "Kindle Millionaires" have their latest titles on "Select". It's one of the oldest tricks in the book..."Look at all this free stuff, isn't it brilliant? But if you decide you might want something decent, well, you'll have to pay for that, but come to us, because we've got that too, and you've already committed to our firmware before you discovered you need to pay for good stuff, sorry."
Cynical, but true. (Very occassional ecceptions to the rule notwithstanding.)
Edit-That was a bit ranty on re-read, but let's roll with it anyhow...