PJ Pahygiannis
Contributor
How Scalable Is Kindle Publishing? Thoughts? Is it possible to get in the fast lane with the platform?
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Free registration at the forum removes this block.Why, other markets are infinite?Is it possible in KDP Select? No.
KDP Select has a cap of around 4mil a month that is divided among thousands and thousands of people. Even if you could scale, you won't get more than what they offer.
Why, other markets are infinite?
Your math is correct. But I disagree with your conclusion. In any market you won't get more of what customers want to spend. Only difference is, you know that cap in this case.I'm not quite sure what you're asking.
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I guess what I'm saying is that if your plan is to get rich on borrows, then there's a flaw in your plan.
By raking in the borrows. Like with sales. I don't get where you see a difference. There is no difference except you know how big the pie is.I guess I'm brain dead on this one, or maybe it's just too early in the morning, but I don't see how you're going to make $100,000 a month on borrows, when the cap is $4 million being distributed over thousands of people.
Because it's not divided evenly. Think of it like a pie. Not everyone is getting the same size piece. Yes there is a limit to how much pie there is, but if I take more in my slice (more people borrow my books) then you get less pie in your slice.I guess I'm brain dead on this one, or maybe it's just too early in the morning, but I don't see how you're going to make $100,000 a month on borrows, when the cap is $4 million being distributed over thousands of people.
Exactly. And there is always a pie. The amount of money people will spend in one market is never infinite.Because it's not divided evenly. Think of it like a pie. Not everyone is getting the same size piece. Yes there is a limit to how much pie there is, but if I take more in my slice (more people borrow my books) then you get less pie in your slice.
Just because you're in KU doesn't automatically grant you a magical set amount. Yes, the payout per borrow is the same, but the amount of borrows you have is different.Actually, it is divided evenly.
Everyone in KU earns the same amount per borrow.
Amazon sets the global fund amount, not the customer.
You can earn more borrows, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to earn more money.
What happens when a whole bunch of people earn a whole bunch of borrows in a single month.
What happens when that amount blows the lid off of the cap?
Amazon doesn't have to raise their fund just to give you money for those borrows.
You agree to the KDP Select terms of service when you use their program.
If you get 20 million borrows and the cap is 4 million, do you think Amazon is going to give you all of the money?
And since you had the most borrows, does that mean everyone else gets nothing?
So, no there is not always more pie.
There is a certain amount of pie, set by Amazon, that you have no control over.
Sales on the other hand are a different matter completely.
But if you're trying to earn more sales, why wouldn't you opt out of KDP Select and publish on all major retailers.
Customers aren't stupid. They're quickly catching on to the poor quality of works in KU.
If the quality doesn't improve, then customers will go elsewhere.
Which is inconsequential. Also, the customers number that use KU sets the fund, albeit indirectly.Actually, it is divided evenly.
Everyone in KU earns the same amount per borrow.
Amazon sets the global fund amount, not the customer.
What happens when any market gets saturated? The same thing. But, see below.You can earn more borrows, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to earn more money.
What happens when a whole bunch of people earn a whole bunch of borrows in a single month.
What happens when that amount blows the lid off of the cap?
The fund is determined by the customers number. They already adjusted the fund to reach a decent borrow payout. The moment they don't, everybody that is worth a shit will get out of the program and it's gonna be the end of borrowing books.Amazon doesn't have to raise their fund just to give you money for those borrows.
You agree to the KDP Select terms of service when you use their program.
So a singularity happens and borrows explode in one month for reasons unknown? Yeah, ok.If you get 20 million borrows and the cap is 4 million, do you think Amazon is going to give you all of the money?
And since you had the most borrows, does that mean everyone else gets nothing?
Which is amusingly something you are saying happens outside of KU.So, no there is not always more pie.
Are you insane? There is always a pie, even if you don't know how big it is. Or you seriously think any business can sell infinite product? Like customers are going to be generated from dark matter just to buy your stuff?There is a certain amount of pie, set by Amazon, that you have no control over.
Sales on the other hand are a different matter completely.
I'm sorry, but I don't know what this means.But if you're trying to earn more sales, why wouldn't you opt out of KDP Select and publish on all major retailers.
What? This doesn't even make any sense. What are you talking about? You realize it's not a different marketplace, yes?Customers aren't stupid. They're quickly catching on to the poor quality of works in KU.
If the quality doesn't improve, then customers will go elsewhere.
How much do you want to be able to earn to call it "big money"? What kind of business will make you that?I agree with you about quality determining the slice of the fund you get, but I still don't agree that KU is Fastlane. Especially not on borrows.
I agree that you can make money with KU. You can even have a full-time job. I don't agree that it's a long-term strategy for making big money.
He means not going exclusively with Amazon. Going on Smashwords, iTunes, Google Play Store, Kobo, Nook, Scribed, etc.I'm sorry, but I don't know what this means.
No, I know what he said. I don't know what it means. Where it came from as it wasn't connected logically with the rest of his sentences.He means not going exclusively with Amazon. Going on Smashwords, iTunes, Google Play Store, Kobo, Nook, Scribed, etc.
I agree with this 100%. Sometimes, my friends will say, "Oh come on, can you REALLY keep churning out these books forever?" I explain to them that this is beside the point. My plan is to earn enough money in the short-term to make sure that I don't ever have to go slowlane again. The idea is to make lots of money now, while the sun is shining, and have that money "make babies," whether in real estate or whatever. It's kind of a two-tier plan.However, to me, a business that can get you 100k a month is something that makes you rich. Then you send that money to make babies.
You're right, I got heated. I'm a passionate man. And, well, an a**hole.There are lots of interesting points back and forth here. (I do hope, however, we can keep the debate civil. Some of the above comments seem a bit borderline to me, but I digress...)
Don't know about that. I think they will make adjustments if it makes sense financially - aka if people start dropping out because of this.About KU, I agree that the quality of works is iffy. Lots of dreck is being thrown up there in obvious money-grabs. I do think that Amazon will have to address issue this one way or another, if only by introducing a sliding scale based on length of work. Right now, shorter works are paid more "pie" per word, regardless of quality. For those who write longer stuff, it's a big disadvantage.
Funny thing, people are dubious on whether you can write forever, but have no problem slaving away their whole lives. Ah!I agree with this 100%. Sometimes, my friends will say, "Oh come on, can you REALLY keep churning out these books forever?" I explain to them that this is beside the point. My plan is to earn enough money in the short-term to make sure that I don't ever have to go slowlane again. The idea is to make lots of money now, while the sun is shining, and have that money "make babies," whether in real estate or whatever. It's kind of a two-tier plan.
I think they will make adjustments if it makes sense financially - aka if people start dropping out because of this.
That is actually a very interesting point of view. I hadn't thought of it that way.Aside from this, the reason I think Amazon may adjust their payout scale is because an ever-growing number of KU authors are publishing books that are consumed in too short of a timeframe. (Note, I'm not talking about the time it takes an author to write something, but rather the time it takes for the customer to consume.)
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That's the way I believe it works.Because it's not divided evenly. Think of it like a pie. Not everyone is getting the same size piece. Yes there is a limit to how much pie there is, but if I take more in my slice (more people borrow my books) then you get less pie in your slice.
That is actually a very interesting point of view. I hadn't thought of it that way.
I think this is something that could happen, but you can only make stories so short. Authors can drive the length of stories down, but there is a limit to that. I don't think we can easily go under 5k words, and that's valid only for some genres (good luck selling 5k to fantasy readers).
So the death spiral must end somewhere, if nothing else because you can't go under a handful of thousand words and still be read. How will the balance lie when that limit is reached, I can't say, but I think we're already there on the length.
Besides, it remains to be seen if a sliding scale would restore a balance anyway. I think it's pretty hard.
If the difference in payout is small, the large number of short books will still give advantage to short writers.
If the difference is big, writers of short stuff will just pump out more bundles and still take most of the pie.
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