To KDP Select Or Not - That Is The Question (for authorpreneurs)

[Roli]

I am just about to do the soft launch of my book and I'll be mainly e-publishing it. I have looked at the pros and cons of joining the KDP Select program but I still can't work out if I should do it or not.

I understand about getting access to the extra features, countdowns, discounts and promotions, etc. However, I'm wondering if the 90-day exclusivity will come back to haunt me. That feels like a long time to not be able to sell my book on my own website or anywhere else for that matter. But on the other hand, I can just set and forget as I work on my next book.

So, as the title says, I want to know if other authorpreneurs have gone this route with their first, or indeed any of their books and what they feel about the whole shebang.

 

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[Shrimpfriedrice]

I am just about to do the soft launch of my book and I'll be mainly e-publishing it. I have looked at the pros and cons of joining the KDP Select program but I still can't work out if I should do it or not.

I understand about getting access to the extra features, countdowns, discounts and promotions, etc. However, I'm wondering if the 90-day exclusivity will come back to haunt me. That feels like a long time to not be able to sell my book on my own website or anywhere else for that matter. But on the other hand, I can just set and forget as I work on my next book.

So, as the title says, I want to know if other authorpreneurs have gone this route with their first, or indeed any of their books and what they feel about the whole shebang.

Authorpreneur here.

Amazon sells 95% of all books. The exclusivity is worth it unless you start selling your eBooks in bulk quantities elsewhere. I sell ebooks on Draft2Digital (one of the biggest eBook consolidators) and Ingram Spark, and they sell 1-2 books a month compared to the 30-50 books sold per month (Ebook only) on Amazon.

The reason I don't do KDP select anymore was because online retailers outside of Amazon wanted to sell my book. They have a lot of specialized traffic in my niche, so I figured it try it. For me, it's been a wash. I'd start with Kdp select, and only if the numbers justify it, take it off.

If other authorpreneurs have had different experiences I'd love to know.

 

[Roli]

Authorpreneur here.

Amazon sells 95% of all books. The exclusivity is worth it unless you start selling your eBooks in bulk quantities elsewhere. I sell ebooks on Draft2Digital (one of the biggest eBook consolidators) and Ingram Spark, and they sell 1-2 books a month compared to the 30-50 books sold per month (Ebook only) on Amazon.

The reason I don't do KDP select anymore was because online retailers outside of Amazon wanted to sell my book. They have a lot of specialized traffic in my niche, so I figured it try it. For me, it's been a wash. I'd start with Kdp select, and only if the numbers justify it, take it off.

If other authorpreneurs have had different experiences I'd love to know.

Thanks, that's some really solid advice there. I had thought it would be like this but wasn't sure. That's amazing to hear about your selling ratios; I guess KDP it is then!

Are you fiction, non-fiction, or both?