I TOOK
THE PLUNGE
By Karen Magill
I must admit that I was suspicious of the
KDP-Select program at first. I balked at the idea of making my eBook exclusive
to Amazon and this program. This went against all I had been taught – the way to
get better sales was to make the book available in as many places as possible.
Then I started to hear about the success of others – success I wasn’t having. I
decided to try the program with one of my books.
Let Us Play, A Rock ‘n Roll Love Story is set in
the uncertain future where all forms of rock ‘n roll music have been banned.
There are a group of rebels fighting to bring it back and a woman with the gift
of second sight leads them. Supernatural occurrences happen throughout the book
and it is quite an exciting story. It is
a good story, the cover is attractive and the price is $3.99 per
eBook.
I scheduled a free event for three days. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are listed as the
best sales days so I planned my first free days for April 10, 11, and 12 –the
three days before the weekend. I notified everyone I could think of plus sites
that feature free eBook listings. I tweeted and got others involved in
retweeting my tweets. The main objective was to get the word out and get people
interested.
When the promotion started, I was ecstatic to
see the numbers climbing. People were actually downloading my book! That was
great but there were a few problems.
I was having difficulty moving up in the
rankings because of an error with Amazon. My genres (categories) weren’t set right. I did try
to set them just before the promo but unfortunately, that was the Easter
weekend. After waiting a few days and not seeing any changes, I contacted Amazon
and discovered that the categories I had chosen were no longer valid. In order
to fix it the book would have had to be taken down for twelve hours and I didn’t
want that in the middle of a promotion. I also didn’t get listed on some of
the major free Kindle sites. I hadn’t given them enough time to list my book. I
also was a bit mixed up while doing the pre promotional work on whom I had
contacted and whom I hadn’t. The lesson
there is not to leave things to the last minute and to be better organized. My
promo would have gone a lot better if I had gotten those things done
correctly.
However, I did have 3500 downloads between the
US and UK sites. When I asked other authors about their experiences, I
discovered that those numbers were good. Some people have had a lot more while
others less. The promotion didn’t translate into a lot of sales however that is
my lack of planning I think. After the promo was finished, I didn’t keep
tweeting about my books and keep the interest going. Something I will do the
next time.
My book is now getting a total makeover. The title
is changing to Mystique Rising and there is a new cover. It is also being
proofread – again – and on June 9 and 10, I am running another free promo. This time
I will not check the numbers obsessively and I am doing things earlier. I am
presently writing blurbs to put on Craigslist, e-mails, Twitter and Facebook. I
will amend them and keep posting once the promotion ends.
That is my experience with KDP-Select. I hope it
helps you.
~ Karen Magill is the author of The Bond, A Paranormal Love Story and Let Us Play, A
Rock 'n Roll Love Story, also known as Mystique Rising in eBook. All are available
on Amazon. She says, "Journey around Vancouver with me as the Vancouver Vagabond at my blog http://www.karen-magill.blogspot.com.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second ediction of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:
I wish you luck and hope you have a better run. Unless you make it on the top ten in free ebooks, I don't see it working the way most of us indies had hoped. Amazon has made some changes and don't let me go on about KDP. They are next to impossible to deal with. I think there is backlash about KDP select and wonder if it really is as great a tool as it was in the beginning. Even Martin Crosbie says that Amazon has made some changes. Maybe if they updated it more frequently. Good luck! I love the new cover!
ReplyDeleteMadison, I think that new networks, ideas, bookstores, etc. often do better at first than after they get old. Maybe it is a change in policy. Or maybe it's more competition. The thing with KDP is that it isn't permanent. After 90 days, one can always take their book and spread it around to any online bookstore one wants. (-:
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by!
What are the changes? Hmmm. Worrisome. I like the 3 month period thingy. Point is to promote yourself like crazy on social media during the three month period, then take a rest???? I think without continual social media updates daily about your book...etc., it becomes harder then...but what do I know.
ReplyDeleteI had AMAZING results with KDP and am excited and thrilled for my next "freebie". My book is still experiencing wonderful sales and reviews and my others are also benefitting from my April giveaway. I am very pleased with the program so far. :-D
ReplyDeleteGoldensylph, it's always best to check guidelines, especially with a company like Amazon that's always changing their policy! For sure! And yes, the name of the game is promotion. Don't forget media releases, too. Maybe local newspapers would be interested! Maybe USA today is just researching an article on e-books and needs a quote. Who knows what could come of it!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your experience with KDP was spectacular,Raeanne. Even when we're giving something away, it's still all about building a writing career! (-:
ReplyDelete