There is chatter out there (and on this blog) about Kindle Select vs. “Going Wide.” Kindle Select gives Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) exclusive eBook rights for 90 days. There are rewards for enrolling a book in Kindle Select. Kindle Select doesn’t care if you sell print copies through other vendors. In fact, they make the print version available to Barns & Noble and other booksellers.
“Going Wide” means that you offer your eBook to other vendors such as Apple or KOBO.
One of the big advantages to Kindle Select is Kindle Unlimited, the KDP version of checking a book out of the library. For $10 a month, anyone with a Kindle Unlimited account can choose any book listed in Kindle Unlimited and read it for “free.” Authors are paid about half a cent per page read. It makes no difference if 200 readers read one page, or one reader reads 200 pages, the royalty is the same—and you will never know.
For Members of the Cast, I found Kindle Unlimited pages being read most days. I wasn’t getting rich, but it was nice to know somone was reading my book. Between actual book sales and Kindle Unlimited, it was rare to have a day when no one purchased or read pages from Members of the Cast.
When the 90 days of Kindle Select were over, I removed Members of the Cast from Kindle Select, and therefore Kindle Unlimited. This is when I “went wide.” Members of the Cast became available from Apple, Nook, KOBO, etc., on June 1, 2021.
KDP has about 70% of the eBook business. Let’s face it, KDP sells a zillion books, whether eBooks or print. It makes sense because Amazon began as an eBook seller long before you could order shampoo.
In the 14 days since “Going Wide,” Members of the Cast has sold two copies from “Other Vendors.” In 14 days, that might not seem like a complete flop until I mention that I bought those two books.
This was not total vanity; I wanted to see what the Barnes & Noble print book looked like, and I wanted to see the Apple version on “Books,” the Apple reader.
In the same 14 days, I must admit there were days I did not sell a book on KDP. Today I have sold three, which is nice, but I cannot help but wonder, “How many pages would have been read on Kindle Unlimited?” (KENP Read, in the image below)
So, is Kindle Select worth it? Granted, Members of the Cast is not selling as it did during my book launch. If Members of the Cast had been available “wide,” would my first customers have purchased elsewhere? I mentioned in an earlier blog that I know of one customer who would have appreciated an Apple version and one who refused to purchase any book from Amazon. That second person did get a paperback copy through an independent book store.
I may leave my next book in Kindle Select. Over half of the copies sold are print copies, and Kindle Select does not preclude print copies being offered elsewhere. Decisions, decisions.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t read Members of the Cast, get your copy a day. Hey, if you are an Apple user or Canadian, maybe you can up my “going wide” sales by a third! While you are at it, get a copy for Mom or your daughter.
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