Amazon KDP Select: Promo Tools and More Earnings for Authors
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E-book stores such as the Kindle store have made it possible for more independent publishers to bring their works online and start making a decent living out of their writing efforts. Amazon’s KDP service lets authors self-publish their work to Amazon.com. KDP Select takes it a step further. Those publishers who make their books exclusive to the Kindle Store for at least 90 days will get a chance to have their works included in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and get their piece of a $6M pie in return.
By choosing KDP Select, independent authors and publishers have an opportunity to make money in a whole new way and reach the growing audience of Amazon Prime members … A short 90-day commitment allows authors and publishers to experiment at very low risk. In addition, free promotions are a new tool for KDP Select authors, and we hope to add more such tools over time.
said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. KDP Select is available for titles participating in both the 70% and 35% royalty programs. It provides authors with more promotional tools to get the word out about their works (e.g. the option to promote books for free for up to five days every 90 days). Amazon has set aside 6M for this program in 2012. Authors are paid based on the number of times their e-books are borrowed. For instance, if an author’s book gets 1% of all the KDP Select borrows in a month, that author gets an additional $5K from Amazon.
Since this program involves book exclusivity on Amazon, we do have some concerns on it. At the same time, it could help many independent authors take their game to the next level. It is something well worth experimenting for authors.
