KDP Select

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I apologize if there's already a thread for this somewhere. However, if someone could help me out, that would be greatly appreciated.

When publishing through KDP Select, is it just 90 days for the exclusivity or is it forever?
 

ironmikezero

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Gillhoughly

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This is to do with the old "Select" program when you had to specifically opt out or it is automatically renewed, like it or not.

I used them ONCE in the early days and lost money during that 90 day period. I went from 100+ monthly income on a title to 3.00 for three months.

Also, the website was sneaky, automatically enrolling a book into the exclusivity deal. You had to check a box to not be enrolled! I only twigged to that the third time I read things through.

They did not allow a "do over" then, either. Once in, you were stuck with them for the duration.

Things may have changed by now, but the damage is done, I do not trust them.

In ANY contract, the wording is not going to be slanted in favor of the writer, so read carefully and make sure you thoroughly understand the terms. If not, then AW is here to clarify. :)

Some are okay to deal just with Kindle, but I prefer having my works in multiple digital venues like Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, etc. Your book can be in ONE store or several. It just makes more sense to choose the latter.
 
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cool pop

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Yes, you are only exclusive for 90 days and then they auto renew you so make sure you uncheck that box. You can also email to get out of it sooner.

I am NOT in Select. I can't stand KU and the idea of being exclusive to one store. If you want to build a long term career I suggest to consider trying to get an audience on all platforms it is more difficult because on other stores people are buying your work opposed to getting it free in KU. You won't be able to build a sustainable brand in KU because of this. It is much more difficult to build a loyal fanbase (readers who actually love your books and not just the genre you write) when you are giving books away. KU has been known to also cannibalizes sales so the bulk of your income if not all will be based on how many page reads you got that month.

Can KU work? Sure if you write to trend (meaning writing whatever is popular at the moment or popular in KU). If you write stuff the KU masses don't read you won't find much luck. You'll need to advertise on Amazon to get visibility in KU. Some authors spend thousands on AMS ads. Most though are making peanuts in the program and the pot Amazon pays you from never grows, just bounces back and forth between the same tiny range. They claim it's based on a pool but it's BS if you ask me. That pot has never grown since 2014 which proves to me Amazon is just throwing a number they know authors won't complain about too loudly.

KU might work for the short term but it's so crowded eventually you will get pushed out if you can't afford ads or can't stay on the hamster wheel and release a book a month. KU celebrates new releases so after about 3 weeks the book will sink unless it's doing very well in borrows most likely coming from spending advertising money. Not to mention scammers have completely taken over KU making it harder for legit authors to make money AND many of the so-called bestsellers on there are content mills farting out 3 books a week using ghostwriters.

It's not some magic bullet folks think it is. KU has a lot of downsides. Best to know before jumping in.
 
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Sonya Heaney

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It is much more difficult to build a loyal fanbase (readers who actually love your books and not just the genre you write) when you are giving books away.

I'm not up to date on KDP, but I'd just like to thank you for putting into words something that has been bugging me for ages but I couldn't quite figure out in my head.
 

veinglory

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I am not sure I see a direct connection from fanbase to free, in either direction. But FWIW KDP select is not free, it is subscription-based.