any opinions on the effectiveness of KDP Select?

Gregg Bell · 04-24-2013, 03:14 PM

I've got three novels I'm just about done with and I'm debating whether KDP Select is a good way to go with them. Depending on who you listen to, the 5 free giveaway days are either the only way to really get your books noticed or they are a complete waste of time (eg. people who might have bought your book now have it for free and when your book goes back on sale they've, of course, no reason to buy it). And then there's the whole you've committed to Amazon for three months deal. I'm leaning toward avoiding KDP Select and just going with like a 99 cent price on all the distributors. Any feedback for me? Thanks a lot.

teh603 · 04-24-2013, 05:23 PM

I'm not convinced its that effective, but most of the evidence for either side is anecdotal.

VydorScope · 04-24-2013, 06:48 PM

So I have no data to back this statement, but I have been hanging out on the Kindle forums and based on reading the posts of the people that are there, it does not seem all that great. It sounds like when it first hit, people did well but not so much anymore.

I do not know that as a fact, and could be way wrong but I sure do not see any one posting that it made them rich.

If you are in the position to try it for one 3 month run, I would love to hear how it goes.

BeccaPrice · 04-24-2013, 07:39 PM

When I get my collection of children's short stories pulled together, I'll probably do KDP select - for a 3 month experiment, it seems worth while to me.

Gregg Bell · 04-25-2013, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teh603

I'm not convinced its that effective, but most of the evidence for either side is anecdotal.

Thanks teh, Yeah, I'm not that convinced either. Still debating. Thanks for the feedback.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

So I have no data to back this statement, but I have been hanging out on the Kindle forums and based on reading the posts of the people that are there, it does not seem all that great. It sounds like when it first hit, people did well but not so much anymore.

I do not know that as a fact, and could be way wrong but I sure do not see any one posting that it made them rich.

If you are in the position to try it for one 3 month run, I would love to hear how it goes.

Thanks Vincent. Yeah, there's a great debate raging over at KDP forums. And my take on it is exactly yours. KDP Select worked great at first and now not so much. I don't know though. I haven't done hardly anything to promote but I have tried to do some SEO stuff with a couple of short stories I have on Amazon and so far have gotten just about zilch in response to my effort. I think the free giveaways would at least have to be better than zilch. Yeah, if I do it, I'll let you know how it goes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

When I get my collection of children's short stories pulled together, I'll probably do KDP select - for a 3 month experiment, it seems worth while to me.

Thanks Becca. I think that's it--you gotta experiment. You do however hear some horror stories about KDP Select too. But, as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained. Three months isn't an eternity. Thanks for the feedback.

JSWolf · 04-25-2013, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

When I get my collection of children's short stories pulled together, I'll probably do KDP select - for a 3 month experiment, it seems worth while to me.

Bad idea. It just pisses off all the non-Kindle owners who want the ePub version.

JSWolf · 04-25-2013, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

I've got three novels I'm just about done with and I'm debating whether KDP Select is a good way to go with them. Depending on who you listen to, the 5 free giveaway days are either the only way to really get your books noticed or they are a complete waste of time (eg. people who might have bought your book now have it for free and when your book goes back on sale they've, of course, no reason to buy it). And then there's the whole you've committed to Amazon for three months deal. I'm leaning toward avoiding KDP Select and just going with like a 99 cent price on all the distributors. Any feedback for me? Thanks a lot.

If any of your novels are of interest to me and you go KDP, there's no way I would buy any of them. Going KDP is telling me that because I read in ePub, I don't matter.

AnemicOak · 04-25-2013, 04:47 PM

My thoughts as a reader, not an author.

Freebies were a bigger deal earlier on when there were a lot fewer of them. Also the author they'll benefit most at this point are the ones re-publishing their backlist and have a bunch of other books for people to buy.

Also if you do want your book to be free on Amazon this can be accomplished without KDP Select. Make it free elsewhere and Amazon will often price match the $0.00 price on their site (either through their pricing bot or through people reporting the lower price).

gmw · 04-25-2013, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

[...]Also if you do want your book to be free on Amazon this can be accomplished without KDP Select. Make it free elsewhere and Amazon will often price match the $0.00 price on their site (either through their pricing bot or through people reporting the lower price).

That's okay if you want to make your book free over a long period, it's not so great for short "hey everyone, look at me, I'm on special" attention getters. There is a (potential) psychological difference between: "oh, this book is always free, if I think about it I'll come back later and have another look," vs "free today, I'd better download before the price goes back up". Exactly how much difference there is in whether your book actually gets read, I have no idea, but the latter at least gets it onto people's ereaders.

VydorScope · 04-25-2013, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

That's okay if you want to make your book free over a long period, it's not so great for short "hey everyone, look at me, I'm on special" attention getters. There is a (potential) psychological difference between: "oh, this book is always free, if I think about it I'll come back later and have another look," vs "free today, I'd better download before the price goes back up". Exactly how much difference there is in whether your book actually gets read, I have no idea, but the latter at least gets it onto people's ereaders.

My guess is it is less likely to get read if its it flash free sale. People are more likely to say "Oh, I better get that no while i still can in case I want to read that some day."

Harper Kingsley · 04-26-2013, 12:00 AM

I've got a story on KDP and it's not doing so hot. The problem is that since it's in KDP I've gotta wait 3 months to switch it over. And somehow I missed the date and it re-upped itself so I've got months yet before I can open it up to other distribution

Amazon gives me my best sales, but you're better off spreading your stories around far and wide. Like they say, people have to see something at least 10 times before they really notice it. So if you're locked into one venue, you're missing out on an opportunity to get your name into peoples' heads.

Gregg Bell · 04-26-2013, 10:34 PM

I'm no huge fan of KDP. Why they're hanging onto the MOBI when everybody else is EPUB is pretty mindless. And they are trying to strangle the market. Like Google and Microsoft. I've known people that are all for internet freedom selling out to Amazon and then rationalizing it away. That's not my inclination. Like I said in the original post, I'm leaning toward going with a 99 cent price and going with a lot of different distributors. But then again, KDP does make it pretty easy to go with them. (Think Apple.) I don't know. I guess I just gotta jump in there and see what happens.

teh603 · 04-27-2013, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

I'm no huge fan of KDP. Why they're hanging onto the MOBI when everybody else is EPUB is pretty mindless. And they are trying to strangle the market.

If you'd seen the specs for epub3, you'd be sticking to MOBI too.

Turtle91 · 04-28-2013, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teh603

If you'd seen the specs for epub3, you'd be sticking to MOBI too.

Heck no!

That's like saying "I don't like the steak sauce, so I'm going to stick with dog food!"

morriss003 · 04-28-2013, 12:50 PM

Didn't do a thing for me. It's pretty clear that most of my sales come from people who have just finished my free book.

04-24-2013, 03:14 PM	#1
Gregg Bell Gregg Bell Posts: 2,264 Karma: 3917588 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Itasca, Illinois Device: Kindle Touch 7, Sony PRS300, Fire HD8 Tablet	any opinions on the effectiveness of KDP Select? I've got three novels I'm just about done with and I'm debating whether KDP Select is a good way to go with them. Depending on who you listen to, the 5 free giveaway days are either the only way to really get your books noticed or they are a complete waste of time (eg. people who might have bought your book now have it for free and when your book goes back on sale they've, of course, no reason to buy it). And then there's the whole you've committed to Amazon for three months deal. I'm leaning toward avoiding KDP Select and just going with like a 99 cent price on all the distributors. Any feedback for me? Thanks a lot.

04-26-2013, 10:34 PM	#12
Gregg Bell Gregg Bell Posts: 2,264 Karma: 3917588 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Itasca, Illinois Device: Kindle Touch 7, Sony PRS300, Fire HD8 Tablet	oi vey I'm no huge fan of KDP. Why they're hanging onto the MOBI when everybody else is EPUB is pretty mindless. And they are trying to strangle the market. Like Google and Microsoft. I've known people that are all for internet freedom selling out to Amazon and then rationalizing it away. That's not my inclination. Like I said in the original post, I'm leaning toward going with a 99 cent price and going with a lot of different distributors. But then again, KDP does make it pretty easy to go with them. (Think Apple.) I don't know. I guess I just gotta jump in there and see what happens.

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04-24-2013, 05:23 PM	#2
teh603 Autism Spectrum Disorder Posts: 1,212 Karma: 6244877 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Coastal Texas Device: Android Phone	I'm not convinced its that effective, but most of the evidence for either side is anecdotal.

04-24-2013, 06:48 PM	#3
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	So I have no data to back this statement, but I have been hanging out on the Kindle forums and based on reading the posts of the people that are there, it does not seem all that great. It sounds like when it first hit, people did well but not so much anymore. I do not know that as a fact, and could be way wrong but I sure do not see any one posting that it made them rich. If you are in the position to try it for one 3 month run, I would love to hear how it goes.

04-24-2013, 07:39 PM	#4
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,145 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	When I get my collection of children's short stories pulled together, I'll probably do KDP select - for a 3 month experiment, it seems worth while to me.

04-25-2013, 04:47 PM	#8
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	My thoughts as a reader, not an author. Freebies were a bigger deal earlier on when there were a lot fewer of them. Also the author they'll benefit most at this point are the ones re-publishing their backlist and have a bunch of other books for people to buy. Also if you do want your book to be free on Amazon this can be accomplished without KDP Select. Make it free elsewhere and Amazon will often price match the $0.00 price on their site (either through their pricing bot or through people reporting the lower price).

04-26-2013, 12:00 AM	#11
Harper Kingsley Clone Trooper Posts: 212 Karma: 4566103 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington Device: kindle	I've got a story on KDP and it's not doing so hot. The problem is that since it's in KDP I've gotta wait 3 months to switch it over. And somehow I missed the date and it re-upped itself so I've got months yet before I can open it up to other distribution Amazon gives me my best sales, but you're better off spreading your stories around far and wide. Like they say, people have to see something at least 10 times before they really notice it. So if you're locked into one venue, you're missing out on an opportunity to get your name into peoples' heads.

04-28-2013, 12:50 PM	#15
morriss003 Evangelist Posts: 438 Karma: 3409790 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Maui Device: kindle	Didn't do a thing for me. It's pretty clear that most of my sales come from people who have just finished my free book.

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