A Symphony of Cicadas is FREE for Kindle owners – but only till April 3rd. So hurry and download yours for free!  http://amzn.to/ZwhBLZ
So in efforts to get my unknown name out there amongst the massive amounts of books at Amazon, I have taken advantage of a program called KDP Select. This is an exclusive program Amazon offers indie authors, allowing them a few more avenues to get their book out there. The bad news – I had to take A Symphony of Cicadas off of Barnes & Noble’s eBook while I’m on contract. Contracts are for a 3 month duration. If I decide not to renew the contract, I can place it back for sale at B&N in June. But while I’m on contract, I’m not allowed to sell my eBook on any other site except for Amazon.
But here’s the good news – KDP Select allows me to offer my book for FREE for up to 5 days during each contracted time! I know what you’re wondering – why in the world would I want to put my book out there for FREE? Don’t I want to make money on this book? Did I just write this book to give it away?
Yes, and no.
Thing is, I am an unknown author. My ranking in physical books is #356,399. That means there are 356,398 paperback books that are more popular than mine. This is my very first book, and no one knows if it’s any good or not.
Hence, a little incentive to get the ball rolling.
Today was the first of three days the book was free. As of this very moment, I have now given out 82 books. Just today! Last month, it took two weeks to get to 21 books sold – and my book is only $2.99. I mean, people buy cups of coffee for more expensive than that!
And there’s more. A portion of those 82 people are going to read my book. And a portion of those who read the book will give a review. So not only will I get bumped up the ranks for people buying the book, reviews on the book will also help to gather a bit of interest.
It’s the snowball effect.
Do I hope more than 82 people get the book for free? Absolutely. The typical number of downloads during a free period can add up to well over 1,000. But first things first. This is the most downloads I’ve received ever, and that’s pretty cool. There are 82 more people with my book on their Kindle. That’s even cooler. And while, yes, money is nice, the fact that people are reading my book is the coolest of all.
At any rate, GO DOWNLOAD MY BOOK FOR FREE! I mean, it’s FREE! And, if you really want to pay me back somehow, share your find with your friends so they can download it too. And, if you’re really, really feeling generous, read my book and then leave me a review on Amazon. 🙂
I’ll keep you posted on how day two turns out. Wish me luck!
Can’t wait to hear about your progress. I’m planning on enrolling in KDP Select as soon as my book comes off retailers routed through smashwords. I’ve heard different authors experiencing varying degrees of success so I’m curious to see if I get lucky!
It’s definitely a luck game! I’ve got 100 downloads so far, still waiting for that bite. Been promoting like crazy, and even tweaked the genre (which is still pending). It’s going, just slowly. I can’t wait to hear how yours goes too! I’ll follow you to keep up to date. 🙂