And howdy to everyone!
This weeks question:is:
Before I started into the publishing game, I spent quite some time on authors’ loops on Yahoo, and this question came up—a lot. And I thought about it when I was ready to release my first book and gave it a try. As a new author, I hoped to get some traction from Amazon’s Kindle program,
Well, it didn’t work. I released Wolves’ Pawn in January, and in May (after a quick edit for some typos my early readers caught) I put it up on Nook, Kobo, and iTunes. First day I had it on Nook, someone bought a copy. That cemented in my mind that I would never be exclusive again.
Then the Amazon Kindle program happened. And I was tempted. Very tempted. But other authors were having mixed results so I held off. I held off for several months. Then I put the book on sale over the Christmas holidays, and thought why not. So I pulled it off the other platforms and enrolled it in the lending program. I figured I couldn’t lose.
When I saw the first borrow, I got excited. That didn’t last very long.The book got borrowed 3 times the first month, and 2 times the second and third months. The good part is I earned more from the borrows than I did from the actual book sales per unit. The bad part? I have no idea how many sales I might have made on other platforms that same period if the book had been available elsewhere.
So my second and third books, The Oak Grove Mysteries, haven’t been Amazon-only releases. I won’t say never, but I have no plans to ever make them exclusive on Amazon. I may only sell a few on other sites, but to me every reader counts.Besides, I’m an old hippie, and I don’t believe in monopolies!
Oh, if you want direct links to any of my books, see the “My Books” page of this blog.
So while I think the concept of Amazon’s borrow program is interesting, it didn’t work for me, although I do get most of my sales from there. But to find out if it worked for Stephany Tullis, head over to her blog and get her take on the question. Stephany Tullis You can find her Amazon author page at Stephany Amazon.
I hope you’ll come back next week for our next question!
Like you, I have mixed feelings too. I have at the moment two books on Amazon only, and two everywhere else. I am waiting to see the difference.
Thanks for sharing your experience PJ! I'm just starting to branch out to the other platforms. The points you make regarding business monopolies and more importantly, the goal of making our books available to every reader have convinced me that I'm moving in the right direction!