Go wide, young man…oh wait, that’s Go West, Young man, But not today.
Today I am talking about why I chose not to go wide, a term used by authors and publishers to describe distributing their books with Apple, Kobo, B&N and other non-Amazon sites. The alternative, my choice, is to publish only on Amazon.
KDP Select – or how Amazon Ropes you In
A great deal has been written about choosing between Wide distribution and Kindle Direct Publishing Select (KDP Select), and my choice isn’t for everyone – not even close! If I were creating print books, as I might somewhere in the future, I wouldn’t necessarily use only Amazon, but I write only eBooks and for me, Amazon and Kindle Unlimited readers represent over 98% of my readers.
What exactly are we talking about?
KDP Select is a program which makes each enrolled book exclusive to Kindle Unlimited for 90 days. And I mean exclusive. An author can’t post or distribute more than 10% of their book anywhere else, not even on your own website. In exchange for this exclusivity, Amazon’s enrolls the writer in their very popular Kindle Unlimited reading subscription program and pays them additional royalties for page reads and not solely eBook downloads.
There are other advantages, too. As a KDP Select member an author has access to up to five Amazon free days or countdown deal days to gain visibility and new readers. It’s like free advertising. But is the price too high?
The Wide v Select Fight: In this Corner…
So much depends on where in the publishing process an author is when then make this decision. Are they releasing their first book or the tenth in a highly popular series? It matters to their decision.
So does the medium choices an author makes. eBooks alone, like me, or print and audio, translations, interactive books, movie rights? Once the purview of established publishing houses only, these avenues to profits are now popular with Indie Authors, too. And Kindle Select doesn’t affect any of these options.
These options are usually not available – yet – to a new, broke, indie author. They might choose Kindle Select for their eBooks and skip these other options until they build a following, and fatten their coffers. But for an established author these might be options outside of Amazon, with the option to do their eBooks wide or exclusive.
In the Opposing Corner
Some people hate Amazon. It conflicts with their values and they won’t shop there. Can a new author afford to lose those readers? In my case, the answer is a resounding yes! Surprised?
I write only eBooks and for me, Amazon and Kindle Unlimited readers represent over 98% of my readers. Yep, I tried wide more than once and in every case less than two percent of my eBooks were purchased on non-Amazon distribution sites.
I hate to lose even one reader, but the benefits of Kindle Select have to outweigh the cost of one percent of my audience. Just this past weekend I ran a free weekend and introduced over 6000 new readers to the Beguiling Bachelors series. An astounding 6027 readers downloaded Bedazzled, book one in the series. And because I publish with Kindle Select, I can keep the momentum going with countdown deals for Beholden, Bedeviled and Besotted, books two through four.
Amazon Exclusivity is Easier, too
“I completely understand why others have simplified by only having their ebooks and possibly audiobooks on one retailer. Honestly, what not everyone admits is how much admin work this job takes, and that multiplies significantly when you are wide. And then when you factor in the marketing work…”
So says USA Today bestselling author Monica Leonell. Best known for her young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance series, Waters Dark and Deep, Monica teaches writing, publishing, business, and marketing at TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com.
But Monica makes another good point, you sell where you do the work, and much of the advice for eBook authors is skewed toward selling on Amazon. Do your homework. For example, audiobooks are making a killing, although less so in the romance space. Amazon is not necessarily king in Audio. Look at all your options before locking into select.
It’s only Ninety Days
Another thing to consider when deciding about KDP Select. It’s only a ninety-day decision. You can change from wide to exclusive, back to wide, and so on, as much as you like. Watch out for that auto-renew button!
I have seen authors start wide during pre-orders, to catch those Amazon-averse readers, then go Select for ninety days to capitalize on KU and other features when they launch a new book. I tried this myself, but my pre-orders were anemic and I haven’t tried it again. But I have pulled books from KDP long enough to run promotions outside of Amazon, like Goodreads giveaways and other contests. I am also thinking of using KDP Select for a year and then going wide. There is a great deal of flexibility.
Are KU Readers Different?
I hang on every word spoken by Kirsten Oliphant of Create If Writing. So, believe me, I gave a lot of thought to exclusivity when I heard this on her blog.
“This might sound odd, but there are certain cultures of readers. This is a massive sweeping generalization. But often, the KU readers are voracious and hungry, but they may not commit as much to being a superfan of one author. They want to read, and they want to read NOW! They burn through books quickly and can be a little undiscerning. (I’m a KU reader, by the way, so I’m cool pointing this out, even though it’s also not necessarily true for me.)
I’ve found personally that a lot of KU readers (of mine) are older or are on fixed incomes. They won’t dip toes outside of KU. They only read what’s in there.
Authors often talk about the wide readers being more discerning, more willing to stick with one author and even pay higher price points because they LOVE that author and their books. Snag a wide fan, and you can snag a fan for life who will stick with YOU and read YOU because they love YOU, and not just because you are a faceless entity on KU.”
I think Kirsten has a valid point here. My readers are voracious, just read the two-star review I received for Bewildered, not because the reader didn’t like the book. She loved it, but hated that the next book in the series was unavailable! As a KU reader myself, I understand this phenomenon, especially with romance readers.
And in Celebration of Independence…
Joanna Penn, bestselling author, guru on TheCreativePenn.com and one of the first and best resources I follow, has an entire blog post on wide vs Select that outlines all of these issues beautifully. Her choice is not to go Amazon exclusive—the opposite choice from me. She makes her case well, especially on this issue of independence.
“I’m an independent author by choice. Self-publishing was never the second choice for me. I’m a creative entrepreneur and running my own publishing company makes great business sense. I’m an empowered creative in charge of my own writing career.
The definition of independence includes “free from outside control; not subject to another’s authority; not depending on another for livelihood or subsistence.”
If all you have are ebooks in KU, you are not independent because you are not in control, you are subject to another’s authority, and you depend on Amazon for your livelihood.”
She’s not wrong, but for me, this is not my overarching consideration, which is why it’s not my choice.
Why I Selected Select
1/ Money – okay, why lie. I love to write but I need to get paid. I reach tons of readers who are KU junkies, and that means more money in my pocket. Almost half, sometimes more than half, of my income comes from KU readers.
2/ Loyalty – I am a KU reader myself, so how can I in good conscience dis these people? I can’t.
3/ Simplicity—price changes, promotions, all of these are easier with KU. And administering changes in one place is easier too.
4/ Respect for romance readers—romance readers love Kindle Unlimited and I love romance readers. Nuf said!
Does this mean I will never consider going wide in the distribution of my books again? Of course not. I plan to review the situation every ninety days. But I can tell you this, I plan to have at least some books available to KU readers all the time. I owe them that, independent or not
If you missed my reasons for being an indie author, find my six reasons on this blog post
For a really deep dive into the pros and cons of Kindle Select v Wide read Dave Chesson’s post: KDP Select or Not: Is Kindle Unlimited Worth It?