Yesterday I found myself embroiled in a debate (not heated or even remotely flaming) about the benefits of Kindle Scout. It happened within a Facebook group of indie authors. I’d posted my most recent Kindle Scout Update and one particular user decided to chime in to say how they couldn’t see how Kindle Scout benefited the indie author. My responses were many (and, as always, polite and professional). Let me share with you my side of the debate.
Post, the first:
Every one I know who’s received a contract not only received the advance, but also saw a very nice increase in sales of their other books AND the sales of their kindle scout book were very good. 50% of very good is far better than 70% of meh.
I know of one lady who paid out her advance in three weeks. That’s a LOT of sales.
I also know that some authors who’ve won have also been asked to submit directly to the Amazon imprints. That, in and of itself, is a MASSIVE selling point.
Post, the second:
This should be a no-brainer for every indie author. Even if you don’t win, you learn so much about what it takes to successfully promote your work.
Post, the third:
One more thing…Amazon Studios. They’re now in the business of TV and film. The fact that an arm of Amazon is actually reading these entries…well…that’s a two and two we should all be able to put together.
Also, I won’t water it down…this is effing hard. It’s an exhausting 30 days and most don’t win a contract. But it’s worth it.
Post, the fourth:
So you’re not okay with handing Amazon an extra 20% royalty when, in return, you’re getting:
-An advance (that probably equals or betters what a vast majority of indie authors earn in a year from book sales)*
-Promotion you cannot get otherwise
-The possibility of getting invited to their imprints
-Readership you wouldn’t otherwise have
Every author I know who’s won a contract has the numbers to prove this is a win-win. But, hey, that’s one of the bonuses of being an indie artist, you can go whatever route you want!
* There are, of course exceptions to this. To put it into numbers, at a $2.00 average royalty, you’d have to sell 750 books to equal the advance that Amazon gives you for Kindle Scout. The AVERAGE indie author is averaging far less than that a YEAR (notice I say AVERAGE…as in there are plenty of us selling far more than that).
For me, it’s another audience I may not be able to reach, plus it’s learning more and more about promotion. This is a career, not a temporary gig, so submitting one book to this program should be automatic. Plus, if they don’t accept it, you can publish it yourself…and everyone that nominated the book will get an email when it’s published (so they can then purchase it).
Other numbers…because of my promotional efforts with KS, my Facebook reach has more than doubled. I’ve gone from averaging about 1k post reach a week to between 5-10K. That’s going to eventually lead to new fans.
That didn’t end the discussion. Said author made one final post to say there was no value from his position. And that’s fine (I honestly don’t know his position) and I certainly respect his opinion. But from my perspective, every indie author should submit their work to Kindle Scout…even if only for the massive experience you gain in promoting.
Kindle Scout is an amazing program for indie authors. We don’t have other publishers coming to us with open arms saying “Let us help you!” On top of that, Amazon is that proverbial hand that feeds us. Why bite it?
Numbers
The numbers continue to rise, although little by little during this most challenging week. Here they are:
Ten days left! Starting tomorrow I’ll be in single digits.
Color me giddy.
Here’s something I’ve yet to share. I call it my Kindle Scout EQ:
That is the daily total of hours Suicide Station has been in Hot & Trending. Seems like it’s way heavy on the bass and the mid-range is EQ’d down a bit. For music, I do prefer my mid-range toned down. For Kindle Scout, I’d like to see it all cranked to the max!
Now you have a visual representation of the pain and suffering that is Week 3. 😉
Get out and vote!
It is an election season after all. But at the moment, I’m talking about voting for your favorite candidate on the platform of Love…Suicide Station. If you already have nominated Suicide Station, thank you so very, very much. If not…what are you waiting for?
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