I'm trying my first Kindle Countdown promotion. Empire of Chains will be $0.99 through 7/24. We'll see how it goes. My sales and KU reads have been steady but unspectacular so far. I'm hoping to get a bit of a boost and some more visibility.
I'm wary of going the free route with the book. I can't count the number of free books I've downloaded and never gotten around to reading. It's a balancing act, I guess. You'll get more downloads, but how many of them will actually buy the next book in the series?
Ryan, how do the KU reads work for the author?
Thank you very much, Ryan. I'm sorry it took so long to reply. I actually "lost" this thread, which is why I didn't reply before.
It finally dawned on me a few minutes ago I could click on your name and look under your threads to find the post. I don't know where my mind has been.
It was a real "duh" moment for me.
Does the amount they pay depend on the amount you charge for the book? Are you happy with your results so far, not just with KU, but with publishing with Amazon in general?
Nice cover! Are you still on track to release it next month? I was looking at your release schedule on your web site. Very ambitious--kudos to you for a strong start.
Man, your cover is awesome. Love it.
How do I turn a cover that I've commissioned into a print ready cover for Createspace or Lulu or any POD service? For my covers, I've used GIMP open source photo editor to make a pixel-perfect file for my cover. Do I pay the artist for the entire file?
Also, how easily can I commission the reverse side of my book? I've used that space for a blurb, a logo, a bar code, secondary blurbs and the like. Wouldn't it be ideal for the design to include all these elements?
For my self made cover, I spent a long time on the effects for the front and back of the book. I kept it open in GIMP and tweaked all the layers for days. AND IT STILL LOOKS QUITE AMATEUR. It's easy to spot that my book is self published.
How do I turn a cover that I've commissioned into a print ready cover for Createspace or Lulu or any POD service?
Do first day sales make a difference? Obviously you would want the launch to go well, but if you have more sales the first day vs. another day, will it boost your book's rank on Amazon?