# Leaving Select



## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

Has anyone else opted out of Select? How have things been going for you?

I opted out to do a book promotion, and I was afraid that it was going to tank my sales. But I'm actually selling better now, than I was before. And I've started getting B&N sales. Since I opted out, I've sold 428 copies on Amazon and 2 on B&N. Tillie's now #400 in the overall paid rankings. I'm not sure how long this will continue though (I did a free day before opting out). But I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Has anyone else opted out? How has it affected your sales?


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

I've often wondered if not having that strange "$0.00 for Prime Members" blob on the page isn't a detriment to sales.

For people who aren't Prime members, I wonder if they think they're getting ripped off.


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## Richardcrasta (Jul 29, 2010)

Pardon me for being honest. [Edited: just personal opinion here, self-expression; no facts, stats, analysis, just gut feeling, and already aware of the counterarguments.] I joined KDP Select in a limited fashion enrolling just 2 experimental books, but am leaving because not only did the sales of these books not increase post-free, but on the days that I went free, the sales for all my other books stopped, and I also get a feeling my sales for other books are not being properly recorded, and this has had something to do with Select and all the confusion and restructuring and outages, which affected some but not all. Of course I only get the standard boilerplate replies from Customer Service, so it's no use--if the sales are gone, they are gone. And there was no bonanza of sales later either.

I feel that KDP Select has been a spectacular bonanza for a few who were quick and sharp, but to the detriment of the larger group of writers and their long-term interests. I give Amazon high marks in almost every other department, for their marvelous web interface, wealth of information, speed, democratic values (free expression, equal access for all, no prejudice against independents), and for their enabling of tens of thousands of independent writers to do what was not previously possible--and thus start a revolution in book publishing. But on the KDP Select matter, I respectfully disagree. My sales have just kept declining since December, for no reason that I can comprehend (I have more titles now). Right now, it feels like a jungle out there. 
[Added: yes, the 0 price for prime members when viewed by non-prime members might leave them feeling left out, discriminated against, resentful--again a pure hunch, don't know how true it is.]


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## skyrunner (Dec 28, 2010)

yes the 0.00 does look odd. better if it said *Free* for 2 days or whatever. Bigger incentive to grab the book I would think.


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## Marie S (May 20, 2011)

I'm leaving too. It hasn't worked for me and it's really messed up my sales.


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

I expected my sales to tank when I left Select. But Tillie's just climbed to #353 in Amazon's overall store and she's selling like crazy. I'm just totally stoked that leaving Select didn't put me back down to square one.

I haven't gone up on Smashwords or Apple yet, because honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to opt-out (period) or opt-out (temporarily). I'm still not sure. But I'm psyched about the numbers.

I've always wondered about borrows -- if borrows weren't cannibalizing sales. And I have to say, comparing my after-promotion numbers, so far it looks like they were. With borrow not being an option, more people are buying the book. So it seems like borrow does work better for the lower-priced book, since it pays more than royalties, but for the higher-priced books, it cuts into revenue.

This is definitely turning out to be an interesting experiment. I'm glad I did it. I may not be glad a week from now, but for now, it's doing okay.


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

For people who didn't do well in Select, when you did your free promo days, did you break the top 100?

I'm just curious, because that seems to be the magic key. Or did you break the top 100 and still not see a bump?


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

I got to #35 on the free list on March 6th, but it hasn't translated to anything at all for the book.  I had 4 sales today, which is in line with what I was getting before the promo.

I guess maybe my luck with this one ran out!  Previous promos were much better.


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## Marie S (May 20, 2011)

Sophrosyne said:


> For people who didn't do well in Select, when you did your free promo days, did you break the top 100?
> 
> I'm just curious, because that seems to be the magic key. Or did you break the top 100 and still not see a bump?


I got into the top 100 but after promo ended my book just sank. Had a few sales after that, but nothing major. I sold more before I opted in. I guess it just doesn't work for everyone. I also had more success when I went free before KDP Select.


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## portiadacosta (Feb 28, 2011)

Sophrosyne said:


> For people who didn't do well in Select, when you did your free promo days, did you break the top 100?
> 
> I'm just curious, because that seems to be the magic key. Or did you break the top 100 and still not see a bump?


Never broke into any top 100. Never saw a sales bump. No extra sales on Select title after end of free. No boost to other, non Select titles.

The whole thing has been a dead loss for me. My sales were starting to decline towards the end of last year [algorithm change? whatever?] but once Select started, it was like opening a trapdoor to oblivion for all my titles, and even enrolling something couldn't prevent the inevitable plummet into darkness.

edited to say: only about half a dozen borrows too, so no help there either


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## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

Glad to know you've left Select, as I now WILL read the ebooks you put there, (although my TBR pile has grown tremendously with the"Read an EBook Week"). If I like them, I'll most probably review them on my blog (and tell you about it). A shame Smashwords doesn't allow "not bought here" reviews though.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I'm pulling my tester books as soon as they expire.  Select has shown no benefit to me and I'd rather have the income streams from being free to put my books up on many sites.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Pulling out, too. I got what I wanted (pages of also-bots on these books), and some sales, but I have to time to do all the promoting. I'd rather write.


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## Matt Bracken (Feb 17, 2012)

I have only put my first novel, and the first in a trilogy, into Select. I just finished a five day free run, with good results (33,500 freeloads) but I don't plan to do it again for a long, long time. The $0.00 for Prime on the Kindle page does not help encourage paid sales, I think. OTOH, the "borrows" for Prime might encourage readers to buy my other novels. (I put the first chapter of the 2nd novel at the end of the first that is in Select.) After my 90 days is up, I might opt out.

Thanks for starting this thread. Many minds pondering this question are much better than one.


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## E.W. Saloka (Aug 21, 2011)

Well I'm glad I saw this thread because we were planning to go with KDP Select for our new children's book.  I'm now having second thoughts.


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

I'm torn. I've got readers begging for Nook copies, but I'm making a lot of money on borrows. Would those borrows become sales? Will my ranking drop? Will the Nook/iPad sales be enough to make up for the loss?

I just don't know.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

It helped with one of my books (I think I wound up with about six hundred paid sales, which was very good for that particular book), but was a flop with two others. I'm not keeping them in Select because after the first free period, the books don't seem to get much of a bump in paid sales once they come off a free promotion.  Also, I haven't had many borrows. If I were having a ton of borrows like some people, I'd probably feel a lot more positive about keeping them there. I do intend to launch new books via Select, though.

Like so many things, it seems to vary from person to person, but for me, it's been so-so at best.


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

Hugh Howey said:


> I'm torn. I've got readers begging for Nook copies, but I'm making a lot of money on borrows. Would those borrows become sales? Will my ranking drop? Will the Nook/iPad sales be enough to make up for the loss?
> 
> I just don't know.


I was wondering the same thing. Here are my stats (so far)

Last month's promo in Select:
1/31/12: Got as high as #12 overall
2/3/12: By the 3rd day, I had sold 265 books, had 114 borrows and was #409 on the rankings (stats by end of day)

This month's promo leaving Select:
3/6/12: Got as high as #11 overall
3/9/12: Sold 496 books, got 21 borrows before Select expired. Got as high as #337 overall on the rankings (stats by start of day)

B&N Sales: I've been having readers request Nook copies, but I've only sold 2 so far.

Apple: Still trying to get approved.

Smashwords: Holding off to make a final decision

So, that's where I'm at right now.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

I'm beginning to think that unless you have a book in a series, of a very popular genre, and have set up a game plan for your promotion, you are probably better off simply setting your Smashwords book for free and letting Amazon match your price. Although you have less control of when your book goes free, it gives you flexibility in other ways.

I probably will not enroll again. I think readers are getting far too accustomed to getting their books for free.

For some tips on making Kindle Select work for you, I came away with some ideas:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,105400.msg1609391.html#msg1609391


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

Richardcrasta said:


> Pardon me for being honest. [Edited: just personal opinion here, self-expression; no facts, stats, analysis, just gut feeling, and already aware of the counterarguments.] I joined KDP Select in a limited fashion enrolling just 2 experimental books, but am leaving because not only did the sales of these books not increase post-free, but on the days that I went free, the sales for all my other books stopped, and I also get a feeling my sales for other books are not being properly recorded, and this has had something to do with Select and all the confusion and restructuring and outages, which affected some but not all. Of course I only get the standard boilerplate replies from Customer Service, so it's no use--if the sales are gone, they are gone. And there was no bonanza of sales later either.
> 
> I feel that KDP Select has been a spectacular bonanza for a few who were quick and sharp, but to the detriment of the larger group of writers and their long-term interests. I give Amazon high marks in almost every other department, for their marvelous web interface, wealth of information, speed, democratic values (free expression, equal access for all, no prejudice against independents), and for their enabling of tens of thousands of independent writers to do what was not previously possible--and thus start a revolution in book publishing. But on the KDP Select matter, I respectfully disagree. My sales have just kept declining since December, for no reason that I can comprehend (I have more titles now). Right now, it feels like a jungle out there.
> [Added: yes, the 0 price for prime members when viewed by non-prime members might leave them feeling left out, discriminated against, resentful--again a pure hunch, don't know how true it is.]


And I thought it was just me.
On days when I have books up for free, lots of free copies fly out the door, but sales on all my other books stop. When it comes off free, sales plummet and I have to work hard to get them back up again.

But I'm still hopeful. I've got a new book coming out at the end of this month and it will be KDP Select, so we'll see how well that does.

I do worry that there is simply a glut of freebies now. At any particular time, if someone wants to read a certain category, there are tons of free books all jockeying for their attention. But I still hope/believe that if a reader finds you and falls in love with your voice, he or she may possibly buy other books from you, even if they are not free.

Guess we shall see how it all works out in the long run. In the meantime, I plan to keep on writing and hope for the best.


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2012)

Select is a micro-version of Groupon.  Most of the people who take advantage of the borrows/freebies would never have bought the book to begin with but are "deal junkies" who snatch up anything if they think they are getting a steal.  Most Groupon clients have yet to see their coupon deals translate into new repeat customers.  The system works for a handful of clients, but most end up losing money (this situation came to light when Groupon was preparing for its IPO.)  Select is the same thing.  It is a program that is great for bargain hunters but in most cases won't translate to new customers for the content provider because the bargain hunters just jump to the next bargain.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

Hugh, I'm in the same boat.  I have some Nook readers and I hate to leave them out, but I'm doing well with borrows.

Julie, the difference is with Groupon, you dont get a bunch of customers who never would have noticed you but suddenly come into your restaurant and pay full price after all the coupons are redeemed.  Or in more plain English, it does translate to new customers for the content providers.  My sales jumped 2000% in the two weeks after my free run.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

I will most definitely be opting out of Select. Literally to the day that Select went live, my sales dropped. Things have improved a little this last week, but only time will tell if that will be an ongoing trend. Meanwhile, my sales at B&N and Smashwords have plummeted. I was never selling in huge numbers through those sites, but I was doing all right. Overall, I have to say Select has hurt my sales. I'll be glad to say goodbye to it. Kudos to those who made it work for them.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I am out of Select. I am SO GLAD because one of the companion books to a Select title wound up in the top 50 of children's new releases at BN for 60 days straight, and I could have been selling the companion one over there too! Gah!

Now my sales run at BN is over (not a new release anymore), but at least I can move the Select title over there. Maybe I'll get a new run with that one. (We can hope!) My sales in Amazon did not change a bit.

I still plan to use Select as a launch pad for new titles. I wish we weren't stuck for 90 days after, but since that's the situation, I'll do it. I know no better way to start a new book that Select. If I did, I'd do THAT instead.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm giving it 90 days more, if things don't improve, I'll pull out then. I'm hoping Amazon will work out the glitches in the next ninety days and make it worth staying in. If not, I'll pull it and upload my series everywhere. 
My three new books, I won't be enrolling.


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## Joyce DeBacco (Apr 24, 2010)

Since my new book is nearly ready to launch, that's what I'm planning to do. I'll put it in Select for 90 days and see how it flies. Then I'll decide what to do.

Joyce


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## Coral Moore (Nov 29, 2009)

kayakruthie said:


> I'm beginning to think that unless you have a book in a series, of a very popular genre, and have set up a game plan for your promotion, you are probably better off simply setting your Smashwords book for free and letting Amazon match your price. Although you have less control of when your book goes free, it gives you flexibility in other ways.


I've had much more luck with my price matched free short than the one I put in Select. Since the price matched one went free it's had a pretty static rank and a steady number of downloads every day. I have sold a *few* of the Select title during my non free periods, but not many and that wasn't really my goal. I wanted to use the shorts as teasers for the book and for that price matching is much more effective, I think.


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2012)

Adam Pepper said:


> Hugh, I'm in the same boat. I have some Nook readers and I hate to leave them out, but I'm doing well with borrows.
> 
> *****, the difference is with Groupon, you dont get a bunch of customers who never would have noticed you but suddenly come into your restaurant and pay full price after all the coupons are redeemed. Or in more plain English, it does translate to new customers for the content providers. My sales jumped 2000% in the two weeks after my free run.


Note that I said "_in most cases_." Of COURSE a handful of people do well. Just like a handful of people do well at 99 cents and a handful of people do well with anything. Some people stay in Select because they make more on a borrow than they do on a sale. But their actual sales ranks have not moved. Many people lost momentum because while they were 'free' because their paid ranking dropped.

Besides, what does "2000%" even mean? And can you actually attribute it to Select, or was it driven by your own marketing promotions? Or was it merely a matter of redirecting customers who would have bought elsewhere to Amazon, thus increasing your sales at Amazon while getting no sales anywhere else? Did you actually increase your sales volume, or concentrate it in one location? And can you say that that increase happened in a vacuum and therefore was driven by Select?


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Besides, what does "2000%" even mean? And can you actually attribute it to Select, or was it driven by your own marketing promotions? Or was it merely a matter of redirecting customers who would have bought elsewhere to Amazon, thus increasing your sales at Amazon while getting no sales anywhere else? Did you actually increase your sales volume, or concentrate it in one location? And can you say that that increase happened in a vacuum and therefore was driven by Select?


I wish I knew these things. It stinks to make guesses about something that dictates your livelihood.

Here's the crux of my problem: I'm making thousands of dollars a month on borrows. Would I make that on sales if I got rid of the free-for-Prime-Members deal? Probably. Would I make that up in Nook sales? I don't know. Back when I was on the Nook, I wasn't selling as well on Amazon, but I was selling almost nothing on the Nook.

iPad owners can still read my stuff through an app. If it weren't for that, I would probably bolt KDP. If I knew more people with Nooks, I might bolt.

I have until April 10th to decide for my bestselling series. The others are locked in for another 90 days until June.

It's all so complicated.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I'm quite sure I'm better off over the long-term being in all the retailers. But for a book launch, especially launching a new series, I think Select is an excellent avenue. Then get out. I think I agree I don't like that 0.00 on my page. It's confusing to people who don't know what Select is all about.


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## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

You who are thinking of renewing Select, an idea that you could use if you have a following, is to interrupt your Select campaign with a 10 days everywhere one, so that your faithfull followers who don't want to buy Amazon CAN !

Hugh, I would like to get your ebooks, but since I won't (by choice) buy Amazon, I _can't_. 
Cheers to you all leaving Select, and giving Amazon some much needed (my opinion) pressure.


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## David Kazzie (Sep 16, 2010)

Hugh Howey said:


> Would I make that up in Nook sales? I don't know. Back when I was on the Nook, I wasn't selling as well on Amazon, but I was selling almost nothing on the Nook.
> 
> iPad owners can still read my stuff through an app. If it weren't for that, I would probably bolt KDP. If I knew more people with Nooks, I might bolt.
> 
> ...


Hugh, I think your comment -- if you knew more people with Nooks -- is the telling detail. I find it hard to believe you would make up the difference you'd lose from your great borrow rate through Nook owners. If your borrows were low, that would be one thing.

I'm doing well with borrows, not as well as you, and I find it hard to believe that I will do enough sales damage on Nook to make up for the loss of the income stream, especially if the lend rate holds at about $2 a pop.

Now granted, the borrow rate could change suddenly and terribly. Or maybe the Nook continues to eat into the Kindle's market share.

All I know is that for all the success I've had in the last 6 weeks, i've had less than half a dozen people ask about its availability on the Nook. I wish it were more, as that would make me more confident that the book was a real success, and not just a happy Amazon accident.


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2012)

Hugh Howey said:


> I wish I knew these things. It stinks to make guesses about something that dictates your livelihood.
> 
> Here's the crux of my problem: I'm making thousands of dollars a month on borrows.


That is a problem. But if this is your primary source of income, it becomes even more important to get control of it. Right now, you don't have control of your income because you are at the mercy of Amazon.

Look, this isn't my primary source of income. I have a day job, and that gives me a lot of freedom with my publishing. I can afford to take a chance on a project that might not be commercially successful, but is still going to be fun to do. If Amazon ticks me off enough, I can afford to walk away (and I have walked away from other outlets in the past). If Amazon decided to change it's royalty rates or make undue demands on indies next week, I can afford to walk away. If Amazon decided it was going to start charging fees or imposing restrictions on what I could publish, I can afford to walk away.Because while I'm not selling thousands of copies a month, I am selling to a loyal demographic that will follow me where I go. So long as I have the formats they want, they will shop wherever. I would be terrified to be in a position where one vendor controlled my money.

We learned this the hard way at my day job. For years, our plant catered to only TWO large clients. Nobody saw a point in soliciting business from smaller clients because we put all of our resources into those two clients. Then both of them shipped the bulk of their business elsewhere (one to a competitor who underbid us and later went bankrupt and another who decided to bring the packaging in house). That fast the business was gone. You can believe everyone suddenly realized the importance of not depending on a single business partner. The company adapted and survived (eventually buying out the bankrupt company that underbid us in the first place). But the company was financially strong enough to be able to adapt.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

The coming of Select and all of the free books correlated with about a 60% drop in my sales. I enrolled at the start since my non-Amazon sales were about 1%, so I felt I had little to lose.

I dropped out and put my book back up at B&N. So far, zero sales there, while sales at Amazon are clawing their way back up.

I have a promo running in my new comic book series starting March 21, for four months, so I'm hanging in with B&N through that, but if I don't get some decent sales I'll go back to Select for the borrows.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Note that I said "_in most cases_.Besides, what does "2000%" even mean? And can you actually attribute it to Select,


2000% means for every 10 books I was selling on average the two weeks prior to going free, I sold 200 the two weeks after. Can I attribute it to select? Yes. I can.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

Sophrosyne said:


> I expected my sales to tank when I left Select. But Tillie's just climbed to #353 in Amazon's overall store and she's selling like crazy. I'm just totally stoked that leaving Select didn't put me back down to square one...
> This is definitely turning out to be an interesting experiment. I'm glad I did it. I may not be glad a week from now, but for now, it's doing okay.


This isn't yet a fair evaluation since you pulled your book while it's riding on the after-glow of the Select free promo. Of COURSE your sales aren't going to dry up overnight. The trend is about 3 weeks. Come back then and let us know where your book stands in all the venues. If you're lucky, it might well stick in the Top 500, Select or not. Some books do do well on their own and don't need no stinkin' Select; others pulse well with it .


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Besides, what does "2000%" even mean? And can you actually attribute it to Select, or was it driven by your own marketing promotions? Or was it merely a matter of redirecting customers who would have bought elsewhere to Amazon, thus increasing your sales at Amazon while getting no sales anywhere else? Did you actually increase your sales volume, or concentrate it in one location? And can you say that that increase happened in a vacuum and therefore was driven by Select?


Why, yes, Julie. I can actually point to what success the books I've been managing have had as being directly impacted by the Select tools I've used to drive the sales and borrows they've gotten. I can PREDICT sales bumps and ranks in direct correlation to Select promos from 36 hours after the promo ends through to Day 5, and often beyond. Can you do the same with your promotions?


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## B. Justin Shier (Apr 1, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Select is a micro-version of Groupon. Most of the people who take advantage of the borrows/freebies would never have bought the book to begin with but are "deal junkies" who snatch up anything if they think they are getting a steal. Most Groupon clients have yet to see their coupon deals translate into new repeat customers. The system works for a handful of clients, but most end up losing money (this situation came to light when Groupon was preparing for its IPO.) Select is the same thing. It is a program that is great for bargain hunters but in most cases won't translate to new customers for the content provider because the bargain hunters just jump to the next bargain.


Insightful. This might also explain why the also-boughts of many select books go all screwy after a free run. The freeloads could be getting picked up by a different target market (namely me and my hommies over on eReaderIQ).

B.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

TheSFReader said:


> You who are thinking of renewing Select, an idea that you could use if you have a following, is to interrupt your Select campaign with a 10 days everywhere one, so that your faithfull followers who don't want to buy Amazon CAN !


I am thinking seriously about doing something like this. Probably not 10 days. More like a month or two.


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## Lexi Revellian (May 31, 2010)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> For years, our plant catered to only TWO large clients. Nobody saw a point in soliciting business from smaller clients because we put all of our resources into those two clients. Then both of them shipped the bulk of their business elsewhere (one to a competitor who underbid us and later went bankrupt and another who decided to bring the packaging in house). That fast the business was gone. You can believe everyone suddenly realized the importance of not depending on a single business partner. The company adapted and survived (eventually buying out the bankrupt company that underbid us in the first place). But the company was financially strong enough to be able to adapt.


What I see in your example is a business that flourished working with only two partners, and made enough money from them to adapt to changing circumstances when the time came.

One advantage of being indie is the ability to be fast and flexible and respond to change as necessary.

Lexi


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## Rykymus (Dec 3, 2011)

I don't have any experience not being in select, or in publishing through other vendors. Both of my books (a series) have been in Select since day 1. My original plan was to stay in Select with all titles released through 2012. Starting in 2013, I expect to start publishing through other vendors, hence Select will no longer be an option.

I honestly have no idea if Select has done anything for me that I couldn't have accomplished by other means. (ie: price matching) But since in only my third month of self-publishing I'm already making 6 times what I make fixing computers (which I used to enjoy but have come to loathe) I'm not going to rock the boat at this time.  To be honest, I doubt that it has done enough to warrant the exclusivity required. But as Hugh said, I wish I had more information.

If I can continue my momentum and survive to the point of being able to afford the risk of losing some sales by experimentation and possible diversification, then I will certainly do so as it only makes good business sense. But I have to wait until my business is strong enough to do so without cutting my own throat.  And with all the craziness going on both at Amazon and with the entire marketplace, I'm really afraid of making a stupid move. (Something I generally specialize in.)

One other thing. I do have to wonder how much of the drop in sales that some are experiencing is actually due to their book(s) being enrolled in Select, or because there are so many books enrolled in Select. If it's the later, I don't understand how quitting Select will resolve that issue. (Other than increasing sales through other venues.)


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

Phoenix Sullivan said:


> This isn't yet a fair evaluation since you pulled your book while it's riding on the after-glow of the Select free promo. Of COURSE your sales aren't going to dry up overnight. The trend is about 3 weeks. Come back then and let us know where your book stands in all the venues. If you're lucky, it might well stick in the Top 500, Select or not. Some books do do well on their own and don't need no stinkin' Select; others pulse well with it .


I'll probably give you a week-by-week comparison. 

Right now, just comparing the two free runs and the days immediately following, what appears to be true for my book is that the borrows have turned into sales. I always suspected it, because I've heard enough people say they were thrilled to borrow it or download it for free, since it was already on their to-buy list.

So, I don't agree that the borrows would never have been buys.

I was worried about leaving Select, because my book has done fabulously on Select. But I'm inclined to agree with Deanna. I think Select is a great way to intro a new book, get the sales up, get the name recognition up, but then open it up to other distributers once the initial period is over.


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## SunHi Mistwalker (Feb 28, 2012)

Lexi Revellian said:


> What I see in your example is a business that flourished working with only two partners, and made enough money from them to adapt to changing circumstances when the time came.
> 
> One advantage of being indie is the ability to be fast and flexible and respond to change as necessary.
> 
> Lexi


I agree with you Lexi. I've been working for six years as a freelance writer and did very well focusing my energy on a few very good clients. But I do see the other perspective. Putting all of our eggs in one basket (Amazon Select) might not be a good idea. I placed my book in Select at the end of February; but I can't really say if it has made much of a difference. I haven't done any promotion yet and I haven't used any of my free days. However, I really think that it's necessary to have a full marketing plan if you want to see any type of lasting results from Select. I also agree that the big red $0.00 might be a sales killer for people who aren't part of the prime program. My guess is that Amazon Select might work for people who 1) have a very strong marketing plan, 2) have a series and 3) want to use it to launch a new release.

Maybe it's possible to stagger releases? For example, the first three months limited to Amazon as a soft launch and then roll out the book to other distributors in the fourth month. I really don't know, I'm just brainstorming this idea as I'm writing.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

This is all very interesting. Maybe why I've been in a slump since the first month of Select....


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

> Right now, just comparing the two free runs and the days immediately following, what appears to be true for my book is that the borrows have turned into sales. I always suspected it, because I've heard enough people say they were thrilled to borrow it or download it for free, since it was already on their to-buy list.
> 
> So, I don't agree that the borrows would never have been buys.


I'm tending to think this myself. As a Prime member, I first read _The Hunger Games_ trilogy as my borrows, and then in March I went hunting for a book. The process was cumbersome (and I never ran into my own book), which left me thinking that people are finding the book first and the "borrow" option second. In other words, they find a book they want and then discover that they can borrow it, which would mean that borrows are cannibalizing sales rather than adding them.

I'm not keen on the free book promo. I would rather be the tortoise who slowly builds his audience than the hare who leaps ahead and then falls behind. (Yes, building a business strategy by means of folk tales...) I'm one of those people concerned that readers will just wait for my book to "go free" rather than buy, so for the moment I'm taking a "no-free days" stance. I did a free day over the Christmas holiday and I'm not sure that it helped; hard to say.


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## ToniD (May 3, 2011)

Sophrosyne, I'm glad to hear your success is continuing after leaving Select.

There are some good points made on this thread about the wisdom of staying/leaving. I agree, it's a YMMV issue.

For now, I'm staying. Not just staying--I just pulled Badwater from other outlets and enrolled it and plan on a freebie promo next week. I had two successful runs with Volcano Watch--meaning lots of freeloads and associated sales of Badwater--and nice post-free sales. As is the norm, it seems, the post-free sales bump lasted about a week or two. Also, I picked up eleven new reviews, several of them mentioning that they got the book as a freebie (and went on to buy the first in the series).

The primary thing that's making me stay is that my sales for both books have settled at a level far higher than they were before I enrolled VW and did the promos. 

Still, if the Badwater promo tanks, I'll likely rethink the whole thing.


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

TattooedWriter said:


> This is where we have to take chances and gamble on our own destiny. Exciting ain't it?


I wish there was a "like" button for posts! Yup, this is exactly where I've been coming from during this entire e-pub experience!


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

ToniD said:


> Sophrosyne, I'm glad to hear your success is continuing after leaving Select.


Thanks, Toni!

Honestly, I was surprised that the book is continuing to do well. If it starts to tank, I may put it back in Select. But for now, I'm going to leave it out and see how it does.

Mainly, I'm going to see how it continues to do on Amazon, because I seriously doubt B&N, Apple and Smashwords sales are going to come anywhere close to Amazon sales. But if I can keep it selling while being diversified, I'm all for that.

If it all goes downhill, there's always the option to go back into the Select fold.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

I re-enrolled the first book I put in Select, because sales have increased (if only modestly). Before I was in Select it was selling poorly on Amazon and not at all in other outlets (B&N, All Romance Ebooks). The second book has done very well and has also seen a good bump-up in sales, a bump that's continuing even 10 days after the free promo ended. I'm going to be watching the second book very carefully, because if sales continue at their current pace without any more free days, then that tells me it doesn't need to be in Select to keep selling; the visibility its gotten is now doing the work for me. 

However, I am planning to put my future books in Select for their launches, and then I'll roll them out into other outlets after the 90 days are up. If they don't do well there, I can always re-enroll in Select.


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## Jorja Tabu (Feb 6, 2012)

Sophrosyne said:


> So it seems like borrow does work better for the lower-priced book, since it pays more than royalties, but for the higher-priced books, it cuts into revenue.


I suspect this to be true, too--I'm keeping my short story on Select, but I'm opting out otherwise. I was honestly gratified to read someone else say it!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

My sales were very strong in December and January.  Flagged a bit in February.  Now that I am past that 90 day mark, I am back up at Barnes & Nobel and on Smashwords - but we'll see what happens.  It has not been the financial boon I had dreamed it might be.


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

TheSFReader said:


> You who are thinking of renewing Select, an idea that you could use if you have a following, is to interrupt your Select campaign with a 10 days everywhere one, so that your faithfull followers who don't want to buy Amazon CAN !


Uh . . . that's a damn BRILLIANT idea! It only seems obvious in hindsight, but with the right promotion beforehand, it could lead to some great sales on other outlets.



TheSFReader said:


> Hugh, I would like to get your ebooks, but since I won't (by choice) buy Amazon, I _can't_.


I'll cut you a sweet deal on a signed physical copy, then.



TheSFReader said:


> Cheers to you all leaving Select, and giving Amazon some much needed (my opinion) pressure.


What I wish is that e-books were as interoperable as regular books. You should be able to buy them anywhere and use them on anything. No DRM, unlimited "lends," etc. Just like a real book. Then you can get the device with the features you need, support the vendor you like, etc. My personal vote would be for the epub format. My favorite vendor is Amazon. Their discoverability and review system are top-notch.


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

I have to say, I wish I could take DRM off of my book. But I clicked it back when I didn't know what it was, and when I found out, Amazon wouldn't let me change it. Once you click, you're stuck.


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## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

TheSFReader said:


> You who are thinking of renewing Select, an idea that you could use if you have a following, is to interrupt your Select campaign with a 10 days everywhere one, so that your faithfull followers who don't want to buy Amazon CAN !
> 
> Hugh, I would like to get your ebooks, but since I won't (by choice) buy Amazon, I _can't_.
> Cheers to you all leaving Select, and giving Amazon some much needed (my opinion) pressure.


Select is 90 days, so there is no 10 day break within the program.

I have to say I am curious why someone who refuses to buy Amazon is on an Amazon-affiliated message board that promotes/discusses/advertises Kindles and Amazon content.


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## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

Sophrosyne said:


> I have to say, I wish I could take DRM off of Tillie. But I clicked it back when I didn't know what it was, and when I found out, Amazon wouldn't let me change it. Once you click, you're stuck.


I think you can re-upload the file or even unpublish it. That makes it 'process' again and you can uncheck this box. I think.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

> I think you can re-upload the file or even unpublish it. That makes it 'process' again and you can uncheck this box. I think.


You can't remove DRM by re-uploading. And if you unpublish, you lose your ranking and, I believe, your reviews.


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

Sophrosyne said:


> For people who didn't do well in Select, when you did your free promo days, did you break the top 100?
> 
> I'm just curious, because that seems to be the magic key. Or did you break the top 100 and still not see a bump?


My "best" Select performing title (*Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons*) broke the top 100 and reached the low 30's, and made over 14,600 free downloads. It sold a few copies a day for about a week afterwards (5 being a good number for me, which I know is negligible for many of you who sell hundreds a day). But then, around February when everything stopped selling, so did this book.

So right now, after all the fun and trouble, my best selling title is still *Mansfield Park and Mummies*, which was never in Select to begin with. It faithfully sells about a copy a day.

Having said all this, I am removing the bulk of my titles from Select but keeping two of them in Select for a second run, hoping to coincide with the massive KND promo (Gold Sponsorship) upcoming in July for the first, and a new release of a related title for the second.

This time will do the free ride with much better timing and pre-announcements, now that I've had a lot of experience with it.


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

E.W. Saloka said:


> Well I'm glad I saw this thread because we were planning to go with KDP Select for our new children's book. I'm now having second thoughts.


Oh, I plan to always go with Select for a single shot with all my new titles, simply to populate the Also-Boughts pages. It's just that I don't plan to keep them in after 90-days, since it doesn't seem to do a whole lot for me in other ways.

So, by all means, at least give it a try.


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## BarbraAnnino (Jan 27, 2011)

EllenFisher said:


> You can't remove DRM by re-uploading. And if you unpublish, you lose your ranking and, I believe, your reviews.


Thanks. I swear I was able to change it early on, but I don't recall how.


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## The world would be prettier with more zebra strip (Apr 20, 2011)

Vera Nazarian said:


> Oh, I plan to always go with Select for a single shot with all my new titles, simply to populate the Also-Boughts pages. It's just that I don't plan to keep them in after 90-days, since it doesn't seem to do a whole lot for me in other ways.
> 
> So, by all means, at least give it a try.


If you plan on using KDP select, take it from me? Get some good reviews first. Because when the only review you have is from freebie loaders that hit you with one or two 1stars? Yeah, it affects sales.


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

BarbraAnnino said:


> Select is 90 days, so there is no 10 day break within the program.


Exactly. I was wondering what the original poster meant, since you are stuck with exclusivity for 90 days and there is no way to "interrupt" anything...


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

BarbraAnnino said:


> Thanks. I swear I was able to change it early on, but I don't recall how.


Maybe it was before they took away the option to change it?

I was thinking about unpublishing and republishing, but I have way too many reviews to risk losing them. So I'm going drm-free when I publish to other sites, but for Amazon, I think I'm stuck with DRM.


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

Dam_Good said:


> If you plan on using KDP select, take it from me? Get some good reviews first. Because when the only review you have is from freebie loaders that hit you with one or two 1stars? Yeah, it affects sales.


You are absolutely right.

And that's why my sneaky plan is to go free in the *last few days* of the 90-day period, and use the first portion of the select period to build up reviews and other goodies. 

Then, I do the free run, wait a week for the post-free sales bump, and as soon as they tank (cause you know they will), immediately take the book out of Select, and debut it at B&N, Smashwords et al.

Besides, the book is going to be available in paper print first, and ARCs will be sent out in advance.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

It makes sense for reviews and ranking to disappear if one republishes. If Amazon's systems work like most others, it uses the ASIN to manage everything. Title becomes just another field associated with the ASIN. When a book is published again, it gets a new ASIN. There is no linkage between the new ASIN and the reviews linked to the old ASIN.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

Vera Nazarian said:


> Exactly. I was wondering what the original poster meant, since you are stuck with exclusivity for 90 days and there is no way to "interrupt" anything...


I believe the idea is once your initial 90 days are up dont immediately reenroll. Publish on the other sites and give your loyal readers a chance to get the book. Then take it down from the other sites and go back to select.


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

Adam Pepper said:


> I believe the idea is once your initial 90 days are up dont immediately reenroll. Publish on the other sites and give your loyal readers a chance to get the book. Then take it down from the other sites and go back to select.


He mentioned a 10-day break, so not sure this was what he was talking about.

What you are describing is simply re-enrolling in Select, which is of course always an option, even with the hassle of unpublishing dozens of books everywhere else, each darn time you want to go back in....


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Dam_Good said:


> If you plan on using KDP select, take it from me? Get some good reviews first. Because when the only review you have is from freebie loaders that hit you with one or two 1stars? Yeah, it affects sales.


I find it fascinating that so many people report that effect. I'm not saying you're totally wrong about why you got them. but I simply haven't seen that in my own novels and I gave away one heck of a lot of them.

In fact as far as I can tell I didn't get a single review out of the giveaways, even _Freedom's Sword_ for which I gave away about 20,000 copies.

Maybe it was that all of the novels already had reviews? I'm not sure, but not EVERYONE gets bad reviews out of giveaways. Just to balance the discussion with both sides.


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## nigel p bird (Feb 4, 2011)

I read a good piece the other day about the pros and cons.  It pointed out a pattern in sales following free download periods, suggesting that there was a 5 day glut after the deal was over, then a drying up to little of nothing.

I agree that it's not perfect, but it's lovely to see a new book getting 1000 downloads (and hopefully maybe a couple of hundred readers from those) and it's also nice to catch a few sales afterwards.

The first book I had with Select has just come out of it after the 90 days and I'll be interested to see what difference there is now.  I have one more still in there and several which I've decided to keep out.

Early days.


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## Dallas Haley (Oct 18, 2011)

My sales were about 1 a day per title on both Amazon and B&N until select. To be honest, I never got around to having sales on Smashwords because I kept going back and forth with some little formatting detail before they would publish it. On Amazon, I got up to #25 in my category I think on free and maybe #63 or so in paid? Can't remember...but I can completely predict a rise in sales after a free period, and I've been able to see when during the month that putting up free promotions will result in better borrows. 

Select has been great, I love getting paid $2 per freebie giveaway. (That's a borrow). I remember lurking here for quite some time about how people wanted to get Amazon to price match their book so they could "make it free!!!" and gain an audience. Now you can get paid for giving your book away. At least for me, that's a positive, not a negative. 

It doesn't work for everyone I guess, but it does for me. (my standing room audience may be a bit different)


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

After leaving Select and getting The Usurper back on Smashwords and B&N, I've had more regular sales in two days on those two sites than I've had in two or three weeks on Amazon.


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## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

Adam Pepper said:


> I believe the idea is once your initial 90 days are up dont immediately reenroll. Publish on the other sites and give your loyal readers a chance to get the book. Then take it down from the other sites and go back to select.


That is indeed my idea. But I can see how difficult it can be, especially if going thorough Smashwords to some channels (with the delays it entails)...

Complicated, but it allows you to maintain at least a partial presence outside of Amazon, while still having the Borrows, and (if you want it) the 5 Free days.


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2012)

JRTomlin said:


> I find it fascinating that so many people report that effect. I'm not saying you're totally wrong about why you got them. but I simply haven't seen that in my own novels and I gave away one heck of a lot of them.
> 
> In fact as far as I can tell I didn't get a single review out of the giveaways, even _Freedom's Sword_ for which I gave away about 20,000 copies.


I think it depends on how well you have already positioned your book. If there is ambiguity regarding the actual genre or content, you will get a lot of 1-star "this was not what I expected." If someone thinks they are downloading a horror novel and end up with a paranormal romance (or vice versa) for example. You do a good job of positioning your books. I don't think the casual reader would confuse what you are selling with something else. But I've seen tons of indies who aren't very good at positioning their books. The book cover says "Chick lit" the blurb says "police procedural" and the actual content turns out to be YA.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Some of this category confusion cannot be our fault, though, really. I have a non-Select book where I have firmly had the category as Literary Fiction and Women's Fiction from the start. 

I was on the page today and all the also-boughts were nice and tidy--all very similar books.

But when I went to the tags--what? It was all fantasy and sci fi with 70+ users agreeing with the tags.

Obviously a glitch in Amazon's system. No telling how long it will stay. And no telling how often this happens to categories, or any of the fields Amazon populates. If you get unlucky on your free day, you get stuck someplace weird because of the inappropropriate also-boughts of all the other free books that day. And then it sticks for a while.

Big sites like Amazon, especially during changes, are going to have mega-glitches. It's sucks to be a casualty, collateral damage in the move toward a better site, but it happens.


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## Robert Bidinotto (Mar 3, 2011)

I strongly suspect that the reason Select and "going free" hasn't worked out well for many here, is the same reason that 99-cent pricing and tweets no longer boost sales as well as they once did for John Locke, and that social media no longer boost sales as well as they did for Amanda Hocking:

*Everybody is doing it.*

A key way to succeed in marketing is to distinguish what you're doing from everyone else, and to distinguish your product from everything else. That way, you stand out, gaining visibility and "discoverability" in an overcrowded marketplace.

By contrast, a sure way to fail in marketing is to adopt the same strategy that everybody else is using, so that you stay lost in the crowd.

All that the "free for five days" indie stampede has accomplished is to glut the Kindle Store with a bazillion new free titles. And Amazon customers, having gorged on all these freebies, now hold ereaders loaded with unread ebooks. Is it surprising, therefore, that when those same ebooks go back on sale, they don't sell as well as they did during the first few weeks of the Select program, when "free" ebooks were novelties?

Don't blame Select. If there is anything to be blamed, it's a policy of copying what everyone else is doing and expecting to get any significant or lasting sales boost from it. Imitation is not the way to stand out in the marketplace.

I pursued a different path. I joined Select on the first day it was available, and I'm staying in the program. However, when I signed on, I didn't do so with the thought of going "free" periodically and generating short-term sales spikes. I did so solely to gain access to the large number of Amazon Prime members. And that approach has worked for me: to date, over 4,800 paid "borrows," a figure about 20% as big as my actual sales volume during the same period. In fact, those Prime borrows dwarf the total number of _sales_ I had seen garnered through all non-Amazon outlets combined.

I've never used my "free" days and probably won't -- not until my next book is about ready to go live, and perhaps not even then. But if I do, I'll likely devote a few freebie days to boosting the first book, in order to build name-recognition and the audience for the release of #2 in the series. That seems to be a more promising approach.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

nigel p bird said:


> I read a good piece the other day about the pros and cons. It pointed out a pattern in sales following free download periods, suggesting that there was a 5 day glut after the deal was over, then a drying up to little of nothing.
> 
> I agree that it's not perfect, but it's lovely to see a new book getting 1000 downloads (and hopefully maybe a couple of hundred readers from those) and it's also nice to catch a few sales afterwards.
> 
> ...


It isn't necessarily "drying up to little or nothing after 5 days" although that might involve what you consider little or nothing. Freedom's Sword has never gone back to the 30k ranking it had pre-select and it took two months for A Kingdom's Cost to go back to the 25k ranking it had pre-select.

As for the theory I see espoused by some that free days just no longer work, that is not my experience.

They don't ALWAYS work. But they didn't ever ALWAYS work.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

TexasGirl said:


> I was on the page today and all the also-boughts were nice and tidy--all very similar books.
> 
> But when I went to the tags--what? It was all fantasy and sci fi with 70+ users agreeing with the tags.


These aren't your category tags, though, and have little to do with folk finding your book when it's free . Can you explain a bit more?



Robert Bidinotto said:


> I pursued a different path. I joined Select on the first day it was available, and I'm staying in the program. However, when I signed on, I didn't do so with the thought of going "free" periodically and generating short-term sales spikes. I did so solely to gain access to the large number of Amazon Prime members. And that approach has worked for me: to date, over 4,800 paid "borrows," a figure about 20% as big as my actual sales volume during the same period. In fact, those Prime borrows dwarf the total number of _sales_ I had seen garnered through all non-Amazon outlets combined.
> 
> I've never used my "free" days and probably won't ...


Most folk here don't have the sticky ranking you do, Robert. They have to get on the first pages of the KLL in order for readers to discover the book to borrow it. The way to do that is to go free and hit the Top 100.

I am more than happy for my book to be downloaded for free 30,000 times and for it to languish on 29,998 Kindles and only ever be read twice. Yes, it would be nice if more folk who got it for free actually read it, but free is a tool to get paid sales. Free gets the books I'm managing in front of the market segment that buys (or borrows). Better yet, free gets me in front of MORE buyers than any of my own promo methods can. And THOSE buyers (or borrowers) are the ones who read the books. *They * are my target audience.


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## Robert Bidinotto (Mar 3, 2011)

Phoenix, I read your blog post about your strategy for doing this, and it seems very sound and well thought out. And I won't argue with your results. 

But you have formulated a meticulously planned, carefully timed method for utilizing Select for your books, which I think explains why it's working out so well for you. That alone is distinctive: Most others just seem to be slapping the "free" label on their books, willy-nilly, then wondering why they aren't getting similar results. I don't doubt that the quality of your books also plays a huge role in your success.
I applaud you for what you're doing, because you're approaching all of this thoughtfully and professionally.


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

Robert Bidinotto said:


> I don't doubt that the quality of your books also plays a huge role in your success.
> I applaud you for what you're doing, because you're approaching all of this thoughtfully and professionally.


Thank you, Robert. I AM lucky to be working with some very talented authors, which does make it easier to manage our books to some success, though that "success" pales to what others have been able to accomplish here. There truly are many paths to sales, and each book needs to be looked at individually and nurtured differently. Luck and the occasional lightning strike from Amazon can accomplish much as well -- if you have a solid product to begin with.

Speaking of which, did any interesting developments come from your lightning strike?You seemed to disappear there for a bit. Or were just enjoying a Tahitian cruise?


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## Robert Bidinotto (Mar 3, 2011)

Hahaha! Not Tahiti. The Wife and I take time off after Christmas, and usually a Holland America cruise. That chewed up a bit of January. Now I'm working on the next Dylan Hunter thriller. There have been nibbles of interest concerning various spin-off opportunities, but I suspect that I'll have to demonstrate, via strong sequels, that my debut novel wasn't just a one-time fluke before anything materializes.


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## AnitaBartholomew (Jun 27, 2011)

Robert Bidinotto said:


> Hahaha! Not Tahiti. The Wife and I take time off after Christmas, and usually a Holland America cruise. That chewed up a bit of January. Now I'm working on the next Dylan Hunter thriller. There have been nibbles of interest concerning various spin-off opportunities, but I suspect that I'll have to demonstrate, via strong sequels, that my debut novel wasn't just a one-time fluke before anything materializes.


Totally off-topic, but I checked out your book and bio, and see that you wrote for _Reader's Digest_, too. I was a contributing editor for the _Digest_ from 2001-2008, got dropped from the masthead when Peggy Northrop took over as EIC, and now I'm back writing for the magazine again. Small world. Looks like you might have stopped writing for RD before I started (in 1995). I wonder if we know any of the same people.

Anita


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## ToniD (May 3, 2011)

Robert Bidinotto said:


> Most others just seem to be slapping the "free" label on their books, willy-nilly, then wondering why they aren't getting similar results.


Well, some of us try to go a tad beyond willy-nilly.


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## B.A. Spangler (Jan 25, 2012)

I wish I knew the answer - stay or leave. 

I've only had my novel out there going on 6 weeks and can say the best pushes have been after free days.

That being said, I get sales from the ads I've posted here and there. I don't get anything like I do the week following a free give away.

In my opinion – it is only the free days that can vault your book onto the lists to give you the needed visibility that get sales. Once your book falls back, the visibility thins to nothing and finally sales die off. It is all about getting high up on the lists, even if it is only a day or so.


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## Jorja Tabu (Feb 6, 2012)

ToniD said:


> Well, some of us try to go a tad beyond willy-nilly.


I'm trying for Milli Vanilli, for example


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

Robert Bidinotto said:


> Hahaha! Not Tahiti. The Wife and I take time off after Christmas, and usually a Holland America cruise. That chewed up a bit of January. Now I'm working on the next Dylan Hunter thriller. There have been nibbles of interest concerning various spin-off opportunities, but I suspect that I'll have to demonstrate, via strong sequels, that my debut novel wasn't just a one-time fluke before anything materializes.


Ha, you WERE cruising! Grrr. Seems indies have to double-prove themselves. Best of luck!


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Phoenix Sullivan said:


> These aren't your category tags, though, and have little to do with folk finding your book when it's free . Can you explain a bit more?


My point wasn't about categories or tags or being free, but just that Amazon is glitchy, and all your marketing efforts can quickly be for nothing if you end up in a place where no one can find you. Just ask the people who worked hard to promote their free days, and then Amazon didn't make them free.

For example, right now on my Baby Dust page (when *I* view it), I have no customer tags at all. That section is missing. It's been gone for days. I used to have customer tags. Lots of them. But now, none. There's no way to even retag it. That section is gone.

Where the tags section should be is "Suggested tags from similar products." And all THESE tags are sci fi and fantasy. That makes no sense. I have no sci fi also boughts. My book isn't sci fi. There is no reason Amazon should be populating any part of my page with sci fi.

There is no telling why the Baby Dust page is populated incorrectly. I will watch it another week, then email Amazon about it via Author Central, which seems to be a speedy way to get things corrected. Baby Dust has never been in Select or free, so it's not about that. It's just that we live by the quality of Amazon's servers, and often, we can't predict in any reliable way what will derail our efforts or accidentally boost them.

I have an "Artisan Bread" thread on this board where we are reporting very fishy stuff--several of us are seeing things in our "recently viewed items" that we never viewed, and they are the SAME ITEMS. The Artisan Bread book, a garnet necklace. Amazon is large, and clunky, and there is much room for error. I am *quite* sure those errors have resulted in booming sales for that book and that necklace. And the people who are selling them probably think their marketing is doing it, but it's Amazon's errors.


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## 41352 (Apr 4, 2011)

Aaah the mystery of the artisan bread emails is solved!   

Honestly, I've been receiving them for at least a year if not more. I never said I was interested in Artisan bread but Amazon is sure I am...


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## EpubWorld (Dec 30, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I think it depends on how well you have already positioned your book. If there is ambiguity regarding the actual genre or content, you will get a lot of 1-star "this was not what I expected." If someone thinks they are downloading a horror novel and end up with a paranormal romance (or vice versa) for example. You do a good job of positioning your books. I don't think the casual reader would confuse what you are selling with something else. But I've seen tons of indies who aren't very good at positioning their books. The book cover says "Chick lit" the blurb says "police procedural" and the actual content turns out to be YA.


Hum... That is true, but not always the rule. We had a horror short story, which said in the amazon page AND inside the kindle file that the story contains graphic violence. Still, we got a 2-star because it was too much horror.


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## dal (Mar 8, 2012)

Funny isn't it (for want of a better word), my first book reached no1 on .co.uk's humour section when on a free promo, but its only listed at £1, amazing the difference a freebie makes from a mere £1 and i could sit back and think "what a load of freeloaders," but hey i also search for freebies, what a hypocrite!

I guess everyone is out for a bargin, esp these days! I'm considering opting out of select, I've not had enough borrows to make it worthwhile, so an intersting thread is this.

I now have made  short book which will be free, perhaps that will drive people to pay a little for the others, any experience on this avenue?

cheers, Darren Worrow
www.darrenworrow.webs.com


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## PhoenixS (Apr 5, 2011)

TexasGirl said:


> For example, right now on my Baby Dust page (when *I* view it), I have no customer tags at all. That section is missing. It's been gone for days. I used to have customer tags. Lots of them. But now, none. There's no way to even retag it. That section is gone.
> 
> Where the tags section should be is "Suggested tags from similar products." And all THESE tags are sci fi and fantasy. That makes no sense. I have no sci fi also boughts. My book isn't sci fi. There is no reason Amazon should be populating any part of my page with sci fi.
> 
> There is no telling why the Baby Dust page is populated incorrectly.


Check your tags now. I just added 4 that appeared related to your book: loss, miscarriage, pregnancy, stillbirth. It looks like no one ever tagged it to begin with so Amazon added a placeholder there. All it took was someone to add relevant tags 

I don't know why they went missing to begin with. Do you participate in tag exchanges? Perhaps Amazon is cracking down on books with too many tags? Speculation. I don't know.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I used to have about 15 tags with from five to ten "agrees" on each tag. Because that book is part of a network of Baby Loss Moms, many of them had gone in and tagged the book for me. It's sad to lose all those tags, but clearly the also-boughts are what matter, as the book has increased each month in sales despite the tag issue.

I'm glad you were ABLE to tag it. When I went in, there was no place to leave a tag, as if that section was just GONE.


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