# New Amazon Category KINDLE SHORT READS -- CONSOLIDATED thread



## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

I apologize if someone already made a thread, but I checked the first three pages. Anyway, I just happened to notice a couple of my short stories were on the top 100 of this new category:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store-Short-Reads/zgbs/digital-text/8584457011/ref=zg_bs_unv_kstore_2_8584459011_1

and I see HM Ward topping the overall category, so good on her!

Any thoughts? If there's already a thread. stab me in the eardrum with a pencil and link me to it!

EDIT:

All right, weird... one of my stories is supposed to be #28 on "30 minutes (12-21 pages)" list, but it's nowhere to be found. This particular story is perma-free, and this list looks like all $.99+, so maybe they haven't implemented the free side of the list yet.

Same with another short story (the one from the Konrath challenge haha). It is supposed to be #68 in the scifi "30 Minutes (12-21 pages)" section, but they are all paid, and this story is perma-free as well.


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

Huh! What are your keywords?


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

MeiLinMiranda said:


> Huh! What are your keywords?


Typical for categories. For the crime one, it's in the crime / organized crime / kidnapping / murder / noir subcats. For the scifi one, short stories / scifi / alien / humor / etc. I've not messed with keywords in a while on either of these books.

I'm thinking this is a new bot trawling all of the ebooks and using the 'estimated number of pages' or the 'paperback # of pages' as a way to automatically assign it a slot:

15 minutes (1-11 pages)
30 minutes (12-21 pages)
45 minutes (22-32 pages)
One hour (33-43 pages)
90 minutes (44-64 pages)
Two hours or more (65-100 pages)


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## Alex Owens (Mar 24, 2011)

I've got a freebie showing this new catagory drill down tonight too. First thing I did was come here to see if there was any buzz about the new Cat 



#8 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Gay & Lesbian
#29 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Gay & Lesbian > Fiction > Lesbian


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

have you checked the actual list to see if it shows up? Mine are both freebs and both are listed in the top 100 of their cats, but neither shows up as all the books seem to be paid-only.


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## Alex Owens (Mar 24, 2011)

Same here. When I follow the linku that should show the book at the listed rank, it's nowhere to be seen- prob because it's free right now? Idk. Must be some kinks in the new bots or something. 

Still, if it get running right it could be good for all the shorter works out there. Unless they want to segregate them eventually :-(


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

I doubt they'll segregate. I think (hope) it's more of a way to give exposure to the short stories / novellas. I still show up on the same lists as full-length novels, and I'd rather not see that disappear at all. 

I'll probably get creamed for saying it by a few people, but this is another case of Amazon doing what they do best, which is experimenting to see if they make something better. 

Unlike B&N, who had two blank covers for my books for almost a month until I finally emailed them and asked them to fix it. 

Their reply: go here, do this, do that, blah blah blah. 

My reply: You are getting your asses kicked by Amazon because of shit like this. Fix the damn covers yourselves, it's your responsibility since I distribute through Smashwords. Apple has my cover. Sony (had) my cover. Every place that Smashwords distributes to has my cover except you, yet you have all my other Smashwords titles with proper covers. FIX IT. 

(yes, my email actually was very rude and very close to the above)

My wife cringed, and yelled at me. 

Yet less than eight hours later, both books had covers.


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

As above, woke up to see two of my freebies in new categories, though nothing in the lists.
I think they're still working out the kinks with the lists, the cats might be gone in a few hours or the freebies might actually have their own lists.

I was wondering why it hadn't given me an increase in sales yet, but the freebies not having their own list yet would be the problem, yeah...



Kpfowler said:


> Still, if it get running right it could be good for all the shorter works out there. Unless they want to segregate them eventually :-(


Well, one of mu freebies is still in their regular top 100 category on top of being in these short story lists. So it seems to be okay at the moment.

Magical Roads:
#22 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Teen & Young Adult
#59 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy
#60 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery

Black Sheep: Letting go of the Past:
#8 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > Two hours or more (65-100 pages) > Gay & Lesbian
#16 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > Two hours or more (65-100 pages) > Teen & Young Adult


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

I just noticed this too. It put my books at the top of a few categories, while still leaving them on their regular charts, so I've got no complaints. I'll check tomorrow to see if it has an impact on my sales.


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## K. D. (Jun 6, 2013)

Ah, this seems to be the result.  
I don't have a Kindle but read on the app for Android and noticed like two updates ago it started to show "x hours xx minutes left for this book". Show Kindles this too? Seems Amazon grabbed data how long it takes people to read a book and now have enough for these new additional categories.  
Just curious if they do it with their whole catalogue ... 

Gesendet mit Galaxy S3 durch Tapatalk


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

CeeDee said:


> Ah, this seems to be the result.
> I don't have a Kindle but read on the app for Android and noticed like two updates ago it started to show "x hours xx minutes left for this book". Show Kindles this too? Seems Amazon grabbed data how long it takes people to read a book and now have enough for these new additional categories.
> Just curious if they do it with their whole catalogue ...


They've had that on the kindles for a while, at least since the touch (so, 2012??), and is dependent on your reading speed.
I think they'll only implement this for the short works as this will give people a better idea how long the shorter works are.


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## Sonya Bateman (Feb 3, 2013)

Hey, I actually made one of these lists! RED is here:

#70,338 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#49 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mythology & Folk Tales > Fairy Tales
#63 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy

This is the first time I've ever been "in" on something new. Yay, I can sit at the cool kids' table for a few minutes!


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## GaryCecil (Jan 5, 2014)

I'm pretty sure this is new, unless I just haven't seen it before!

Curiously, my short story, BESTSELLER, is ranked #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

*The only problem is... I can't seem to find it on the TOP 100 list that it's saying I'm ranked in. *

Scroll down to my rank to see what I'm talking about - http://www.amazon.com/Bestseller-Short-Story-Gary-Cecil-ebook/dp/B00IQT3RBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396000231&sr=8-1&keywords=gary+cecil

NOTE: It must be by page number only, because I can assure you, I do NOT have any keywords for this category.


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Congrats to everyone who made the list  . But doesn't help with anthologies of short stories


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## My_Txxxx_a$$_Left_Too (Feb 13, 2014)

Content removed due to TOS Change of 2018. I do not agree to the terms.


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## AithneJarretta (Jul 13, 2011)

AngryGames said:


> I'm thinking this is a new bot trawling all of the ebooks and using the 'estimated number of pages' or the 'paperback # of pages' as a way to automatically assign it a slot:
> 
> 15 minutes (1-11 pages)
> 30 minutes (12-21 pages)
> ...


Thanks for the info. Nice way to wake up this morning.


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

Woo-hoo, finally made a list 

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,322 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#83 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Gay & Lesbian


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## The 13th Doctor (May 31, 2012)

Ooh, I'm on a Short Reads list, too!

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,055 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#19 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Time Travel
#63 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy


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## Redacted1111 (Oct 26, 2013)

Revenge of the serials.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Yay, I finally started a thread where no one blocks me or PM's a mod to ban me! 

Still no free list, but that's okay. Like Kia says, could be a free list within hours / a day, or they could scrap the whole thing and two hours from now it's all a smoky, hazy dream and we all wake up in an opium den and it's 1912 San Francisco. 

I'm always happy to be on another list (a good list anyway... it isn't fun being on an 'arrest on sight' list).


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

I've been having problems with Amazon only wanting to display the category that I'm highest in, stripping out other top 100 categories.  (I'm not that awesome--I have some very noncompetitive categories.)  It did it again when they introduced this, ditching my Paranormal > Vampire rank.  *sobs*


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

Before, my Paranormal > Vampire rank was usurping my Fantasy > Urban rank.    (I'm currently too high for that now, though.)  If I messed with the keywords, I could get up to three 100 Bestsellers appearing, but within 10 minutes, I'm back to just one again--without my rank updating.  Very frustrating.

At least I'm still visible to browsers.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

vmblack said:


> Before, my Paranormal > Vampire rank was usurping my Fantasy > Urban rank.  (I'm currently too high for that now, though.) If I messed with the keywords, I could get up to three 100 Bestsellers appearing, but within 10 minutes, I'm back to just one again--without my rank updating. Very frustrating.
> 
> At least I'm still visible to browsers.


You should still be in the top 100 list in other categories. One of mine shows me the top 3 cats it is in (#9/#10/#13) on the product page, but when I check the other three categories it is also in, it shows up there as well (again, just not on the product page). It's nice to know I'm #9/#10/#13/#26/#35/#58, though I suppose I'd like see all six (or however many) of those categories show up so I can gloat to myself.


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## The 13th Doctor (May 31, 2012)

I assume this will be rolled out to the other Amazon sites. So far it only seems to be .com.


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

AngryGames said:


> You should still be in the top 100 list in other categories. One of mine shows me the top 3 cats it is in (#9/#10/#13) on the product page, but when I check the other three categories it is also in, it shows up there as well (again, just not on the product page). It's nice to know I'm #9/#10/#13/#26/#35/#58, though I suppose I'd like see all six (or however many) of those categories show up so I can gloat to myself.


No, this has been an ongoing problem with this book from before this rollout.

This rollout means that the category that I've been camped in no matter how far I've fallen isn't showing up anymore on the book page. I can actually turn to the bestseller pages and find a picture and link to my book, thank goodness, but it's not showing up on the profile page.


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

Yay! I'm all for any way to spotlight shorter fiction! Now if only my short was ranked better so I could see it in a list. 



Annabelle Fogerty said:


> Revenge of the serials.


I know, right? lol!


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

Annabelle Fogerty said:


> Revenge of the serials.


Lol yup


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## Joseph J Bailey (Jun 28, 2013)

Fantastic news (and visibility)!


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2014)

Hey! I'm "officially" an Amazon bestseller now! #26 

Kindle Short Reads-->45 minutes-->Science fiction & fantasy


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## A.W.Hartoin (Dec 27, 2011)

I'm #3 on my lists, but the book's not there either. What gives?


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## Error404 (Sep 6, 2012)

Me likey 

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)

    #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Romance
    #7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Werewolves & Shifters
    #13 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Romantic Comedy


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## Sonya Bateman (Feb 3, 2013)

Welp, my fifteen minutes of fame are up. I'm already off the list. Back to the loser table with me! 

Thanks for starting this thread, AngryGames (and I'm glad no one threatened to ban you! )


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## WhoAmI? (Mar 14, 2014)

I do not accept nor do I consent to KBoards/VerticalScope's Terms of Service which were implemented without proper notification.


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

As of this morning it hasn't hand much of an impact here. The ranking of my second book is up, marginally, by sales are typical for a Thursday. I did have a dream that I woke up and my book was in the top 100 of the paid store. That count?


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## Sonya Bateman (Feb 3, 2013)

violarivard said:


> As of this morning it hasn't hand much of an impact here. The ranking of my second book is up, marginally, by sales are typical for a Thursday. I did have a dream that I woke up and my book was in the top 100 of the paid store. That count?


OMG. It's not really Thursday, is it? I could've sworn it was Friday...

I bet you have the same fun trying to remember which day of the week it is that I do. Which is why I panicked just a little about that, because while I *think* it's Friday, I am never really *sure*


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

Oh, you're right! Time moves differently when you sit around your house playing videos games all day.


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## ElleChambers (Nov 5, 2013)

I really wish the freebies would show up already - _Dark Tales: eVolume One_ is #36 in the 45 minute Short Reads category for Sci-fi/Fantasy.


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## NicWilson (Apr 16, 2011)

That was my thought, too, Jan. I package my shorts in 12-15 story collections. Each individual story is probably 5-20 minutes of reading, but the entirety of the work is a bit longer than that, due to the quantity. It's still a cool idea. Hope my new novella pops up in there next.


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## Randy M. (Aug 8, 2011)

Amazon shows my perma-free short story as being ranked, but it doesn't show on the page. I'm assuming they'll get around to the free stories soon. Anyhow, love the new category.

#14 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
#94 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Literature & Fiction


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## Ros_Jackson (Jan 11, 2014)

The only thing missing from this is corresponding lists to highlight longer and mid-length fiction. I'm a fan of anything that helps readers narrow down exactly what they're looking for.

If this sticks, Mark Coker is going to have to pull something out of the bag. Discoverability by length is one of the things Smashwords does well, and so far it's the only retailer (I think) that allows you to filter books in this way across their whole catalogue.


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## Carina Wilder (Nov 12, 2013)

I like it. Suddenly my shortest book seems more relevant by being in a category that describes what it is: a short romance.

Always nice to sit on lists. Much nicer than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

This'll probably improve reviews in the long run, as people who purchase the shorter books will be more aware of what they're buying.


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

violarivard said:


> Oh, you're right! Time moves differently when you sit around your house playing videos games all day.


Sounds like the life. Sadly, my PS3 died 
Now I can only play League.


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

von19 said:


> Sounds like the life. Sadly, my PS3 died
> Now I can only play League.


As in, League of Legends?


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

violarivard said:


> As in, League of Legends?


Of course 

I havent played in a while, I was grinding pretty heavily for Ahri. But, at this point, I might just buy her. Takes waay longer than I anticipated.


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## Carina Wilder (Nov 12, 2013)

Now I've gone and looked the game up. I may curse you both for it once I'm hooked.


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

TheRo said:


> Now I've gone and looked the game up. I may curse you both for it once I'm hooked.


If you want to remain a productive member of society, stay away lol.


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

Getting back to the topic at hand, I think that this will allow us to more strategically plan our releases for higher placement in our respective categories. I wish I could pad upcoming release to 65 pages, but I just don't have anything extra to add at this point. Blarg.


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## Joyce DeBacco (Apr 24, 2010)

Where are you all finding the free short reads? I can only find the paid ones.

Joyce


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## David Adams (Jan 2, 2012)

Yay! Magnet: Scarecrow is at #9 in sci-fi. Neat!


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

Joyce DeBacco said:


> Where are you all finding the free short reads? I can only find the paid ones.
> 
> Joyce


just on our own rankings. There aren't lists for it yet.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

This is a great idea! Well don, Zon. I hope they get the Free list happening soon because apparently my recently released freebie is 

#6 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
#29 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Literature & Fiction


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

This could be great for readers, not to mention us short-but-sweet author types.  I haven't seen a huge uptick in sales (was only selling 1/day, maybe I've had 2/day for the last 2 or 3 days?) but I did just notice that my first _DEAD(ish) Allsorts_ short story made the Hot New Releases for Kindle Short Reads -> 30 minutes -> Literature & Fiction. W00t! I feel all validated! :-D


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## Anthea Sharp (Feb 4, 2014)

Oh, this is fun.  Love how Amazon is always trying things. My freebie novella. We'll see if it gets anywhere when they incorporate the freebies~

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,503 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)

#27 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > Two hours or more (65-100 pages) > Teen & Young Adult
#64 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Anthologies & Short Stories

Looks like they're really drilling down into the categories, too. Here's one of my paid shorts:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,483 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

#29 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Computers & Technology
#93 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy

ETA - Ooh, some romance traction as well. 

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > One hour (33-43 pages) > Romance


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Nice! I really hope this takes off with readers. As long as the short story lovers know about the 'Kindle Short Reads' category (classification?) and can find it easily, I can't see why it wouldn't take off.


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## NicoleSwan (Oct 2, 2011)

Should be interesting to see how this goes... will be nice.


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## lynnfromthesouth (Jun 21, 2012)

I have a rank in several short reads categories for Viral Legacy, but it's a free story and not paid. I have been trying to figure out where it shows up.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Yeah, I saw that, too.

I'm #1 on the SF/F list.

Uhm. W00t?


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Just looked at 5:23AM MST and I'm still on plenty of free lists, but there's still no 'free' list for these categories (and of course, still not showing up within the paid lists). 

I'm all right with this. After all, Amazon is going to push their non-free books first. It's generating good buzz with authors, but I don't go to Goodreads so I have no idea if any actual readers are talking about it.


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## Shaun4 (Jun 29, 2012)

Cool! And my permafree got ranked:

#12 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Assassinations
#24 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Short Stories
#73 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Good job, Zon.


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## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Yesterday, there were two threads about a new Kindle feature - Kindle Short Reads. I can't find them today. What happened?

Anyway, it's a bit of a predicament for me since my book, #Berlin45, is now featured in the top 100 of two short reads categories (Two hours or more, 66-100 pages) since it has 97 pages. That's a good thing, right? Or not? 

Until this new feature, I had planned to add more pages to the book to get it over the 100 pages Bookbub requires for non-fiction. I can do this easily since the only detailed criticism the book has had so far is that it could do with having maps included. That reviewer was right.

So what to do?  If I add those pages, the book will drop out of the short reads categories. I guess it comes down to what benefit if any is to be had by being in those short reads categories. What do you think? Do those short reads categories have any benefit?

Philip


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

TWO THREADS ENTER!

ONE THREAD LEAVES!

Welcome to Authortown, outlanders!


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