Amazon's KDP Select: The Verdict from a Newbie Skeptic

by A.M. Khalifa, thriller writer, Google+

I've been dragging my feet and avoiding test driving Amazon's optional KDP Select program that gives writers a set of preferential marketing tools in return for a 90-day period exclusivity to the Kindle Store. Even while hearing writers I respect and admire like L.J. Sellers and Jodie Renner singing its praises. 

I chose to go the indie route to be the master of my writing career. So understandably, the mere mention of someone else exercising exclusivity over my work triggers an allergic reaction. I want my ebooks to be available to readers through all outlets like Kobo, Nook, Sony and Apple, and not just Amazon.

Having said that, I've always been attracted to KDP Select's free book promotion tool. Until quite recently, the high ranking attained on Amazon's bestseller lists during the free promotional period could be converted to paid sales after the promotion ends. But in their excellent resource for indie publishing, Write. Publish. Repeat, Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright explain how in 2013 Amazon shuffled the rules of the free book promotion, which effectively broke this ability to convert high ranking to sales.

Despite that, I finally bit the bullet. I was curious enough to give KDP Select a shot with a recent novella I published, The Jewish Neighbor. I figured the only way to find out how Select really works is to try it. And since this piece had been lingering on my blog collecting digital dust for many months with little feedback, I had nothing to lose.

To cut a long story short, the results were outstanding. The book was downloaded thousands of times across all of Amazon's territories, but no where more than Amazon UK. It's about a Syrian woman who accepts an arranged marriage to an exile in London to escape the horrors of the civil war ravaging her country, only to find herself in an equally grim situation, with the only tenderness coming from the least expected person - her Jewish neighbor. So it made sense there would be keen interest from Britain. But I also broke ground in places like Amazon Germany, Canada, India and France, which was a first for me. 

Things got even more interesting after the free promotion ended. The Jewish Neighbor started climbing up the ranks in Amazon's paid bestseller categories in both the US and the UK. It hit number 500 of all of Amazon UK's paid kindle content, and then lodged itself as the number 1 bestseller in the inspirational romance category for at least a week. And also locked in second slot on Jewish-themed literature for a few days.

All in all, I sold more copies of that piece than my entire one year writing-career, across all of my titles. At one point I was selling thirty copies of The Jewish Neighbor every hour.

But it didn't stop there. This unexpected performance started funneling customers to my other titles. My overall sales spiked, including my flagship content, my debut novel, Terminal Rage. The daily sales average of that quadrupled compared to how it usually performs on any given day, no doubt as a result of the increased exposure.

So what's the verdict, from a new writer and a former skeptic like me? 

KDP Select is an incredibly powerful marketing tool for indie writers. But it's not for everyone and not for all your content. I don't think it makes strategic sense for a first time writer just wetting their feet to put their debut offering on KDP Select, denying themselves the opportunity to explore the overall landscape. The program seems better suited for writers with a larger body of work who can afford to make certain works exclusive to Amazon, without alienating users of other platforms.

In my case, hot on the heels of The Jewish Neighbor's success, I enrolled many of my other similar titles in the program, leaving out for now my full-length novel, Terminal Rage. I still like the unlimited free promotions you can do on Kobo, as opposed to Select's limitation to a maximum of five days free promotion every 90-day enrollment period. And I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Kobo and the openness of their platform. Unlike my perception of Nook, I don't want to discount them for dead just yet. Being the smallest of the three main players, they also try harder. At the Frankfurt Bookfair last October they were serving free crab cakes, chardonnay and awesome teal-colored tote bags that make me a huge hit with supermarket cashiers in Rome.  

Then again, I may wake up one day and realize that five days of KDP Select every 90 days are far more valuable than 365 on Kobo. I will keep you posted.

The way I see it, Kobo, Nook, Apple, Sony and Smashwords all have their niche segments of the market. But you can't be an indie writer today and fail to notice that Amazon is increasingly where it's at.

Writers, what have your experiences been with KDP Select, and if you've been on the fence like me, have I managed to sway you to at least try it once? And readers, have you discovered literary gems through free downloads?

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A.M. Khalifa's critically acclaimed debut novel, Terminal Rage, was recently described by Publishers Weekly as "dizzying, intricate, and entertaining."  He lives in Rome, Los Angeles, and Sydney, sometimes at the same time.

The ebook version of Terminal Rage is now on sale for $0.99 on Amazon.

With Decisive Intent

by Peg Brantley


Now that we can be fairly certain the world isn't coming to an end any time soon, we need to get some work done. Decisive Intent are my "creative" words for Strategic Planning, which sounds blah and reminds me of my former life.

It's important to think ahead, and to do that we have to understand where we've been, where we are now, and where we want to be in a year. This list is focused strictly on writing. Whether you're indie published, traditionally published, both, or wanting to be published, I think you'll find some value in exercising Decisive Intent for your career.

1. Have you clearly defined your goal as an author? Is it the same this year as it was last year?

2. What decisions have you made in 2012 that propelled you to your goal? What decisions have you made that didn't? This includes work habits, so don't pretend it doesn't.

3. What collaborations or groups have worked well for you? Which ones haven't? Are there some potential partnerships you'd like to explore?

4. How many books did you produce this year? Does that production schedule suit you or do you want to adjust it for 2013? If you want to increase your productivity, what has to happen to make that possible?

5. If you're writing a series, should it continue or should you begin a new one? If you aren't writing a series, should you?

6. Are your current business partnerships working well for you? This includes cover designers, editors, formatters, beta readers—as well as agents and publishers—anyone who is a member of your production team.

7. Did you invest in your continuing education last year? Did it pay off? What do you want to have happen in 2013 that will benefit your work?

8. Take a good look at your sales and expenses. I recently invested in QuickBooks and am able to see when a book becomes profitable. This also allows me to see more clearly what works and what doesn't. This is probably one of the best business tools you can give yourself as a writer.

9. What Kudos/Awards/Recognition/Milestones did you achieve in 2012? What do you want to achieve in 2013?

10. What social media options are really working for you? Which aren't? Is there something else that will allow you to reach your readers?

11. Do you need to expand or contract your publishing platforms?

12. Is your price point philosophy still sound?

13. Has your target audience changed?

14. Are you happy where you are right now? Are you writing in the genre you want? The amount you want? Are you happy being indie? Are you happy with your publisher? Is it all working for you and enhancing your life?

What else would you add?


My thanks to D.D.Scott  and The Writer's Guide to E-Publishing for providing much of the content for this post.