KDP Select Free Days Part 2: Or My Sloppy Attempt To Make Sense Of It All

Ok so here it is... After weeks of intense research, hours of reading  blog posts until my reading glasses fogged over, laboring over charts and graphs worthy of CSI, I am happy to announce I have found the magic formula for success using the KDP "free" promo!! Ok, I exaggerate a bit. Not to say that a "magic" formula doesn't exist out there somewhere, but much like the Road to El Dorado, remains somewhat elusive. If I am to be truthful, there is one thing that emerged  from my "research" above all else,and it's how varied the experiences have been thus far.  This post is my meager attempt to make sense of it all, sort through others' experiences and try to find the answers to some questions I have as my next 3 day "free" promotion of JUDGMENT TRAMP approaches (2/21-2/23 in case you were wondering :)
So in my attempt to gather all the various threads of thought on the KDP Select's free book promo, there were certain questions I wanted answered. I'll try to go through them one at a time and summarize what I've learned, citing other authors and blogs along the way. Many good folks have reported on their experiences and far more coherently than I , so I encourage you to check them out.
1) Obviously the number one question: Was it a positive or a negative experience for most people? I can say for certain,with few exceptions, that among the writers who have posted about their experiences, most were happy that that they participated, some ecstatic even. Results range from barely lukewarm (see Red Mojo Mama(Kathy Lyn Hall) to approaching "KDP saved my book" and "beyond wildest dreams" territory. (See John Betcher, Rob Blackwell, Ellis Vidler, David Kazzie, David Wisehart). Positives far outweigh the negatives in reports by participating authors. Of course, I suppose there is that possibility that only those with success stories to share are sharing, but from reports it would appear that KDP Select has been a boon for many. The immediate results have made a lot of people happy, but still there is a long term, wider impact that is still unknown, and for some the jury is definitely still out. (See Derek Haines and R. S. Guthrie's post/discussions)
2) How many days should a promotion run in order to gain the most, and which days are the best? Most seem to agree that a promotion needs to run a minimum of 2 days for the book to gain momentum.  One exception was Colette whose letter was posted on Ashley Barron's blog. She felt grouping the free days together  was "a waste" and felt it more beneficial to spread them out for advertising and exposure of your book.  In general though, one day just doesn't give enough time to gain the downloads needed to propel a book into the bestseller lists. As Katie M. John says in her excellent post, "It would seem (from very early analysis) that it is better to block the promo days together. Allowing more time for the book to travel up the freebie charts gets it far more visual coverage on the Amazon sites" 
 As for what days seem the best? No clear consensus, however Pixel of Ink warns against the first of the month as there is a glut of free books offered on those days. What seems to make the most sense to me is to offer your book for free during the week. People who get lots of sales report most of them happen over the weekend. Therefore, wouldn't the best strategy possibly be to offer the book for free during lower sales days and watch it soar into the best seller ranks, where it will be ready to attract sales on the weekend when more people are looking to buy books? (Hint: I am going with this strategy this week, will let you know)
3) Does having more than one book published make a difference? As I mentioned in my post, My Results With KDP Select's Free Days Part 1  one of the reasons I elected to try the KDP Select program was because I had just published my first book on Amazon and felt I had nothing to lose. Worst case scenario, I figured, my book would gain some exposure, maybe pick up a few readers, and of course, those all important reviews. I still think it was a good decision for me. Obviously, if you have more than one book, and you are published elsewhere, other factors  need to be considered. In terms of gaining the most success possible, and by that I mean the whole shebang-exposure, readers, ranking,sales,reviews- it is infinitely better to have published more than one or two books.  In general, it seems that writers who had an expectation that their other non-promotional books  would see increased sales were not disappointed. Katie M. John reported, "Around 40% of the giveaway copies translated into #2 sales."  This was especially true with books in a series. Pushing one book up the ranks gives more opportunity for readers to find you and your other books. Makes perfect sense. However, once again, this theory is challenged by exceptions. as David Kazzie and Rob Blackwell have both demonstrated. Both have only one book published on Amazon and enjoyed incredible success with the promotion.
4) How were sales after the free promotion ended? This is a little bit of a mixed bag. Initially sales improved for most, while some saw sales plummet. Some like Cheryl Tardif have continued to see an increase in a book's sales. "My thriller THE RIVER is selling more per day than it was per month. My daily average has slowly been INcreasing, not decreasing as I thought it would, even weeks after my free promo ended."  Diane Rapp (http://www.quicksilvernovels.com) just reported today on a World Literary Café Chat forum that before her free days she was "lucky to get one sale a day and now I'm averaging 40 plus some Borrows."  Again, no hard and fast rules here. Genre matters, reviews matter, luck matters... but, in general, the free days affected post-sales in a positive way,  even if slightly. However, if you were like me, and had 1 review, no platform, no exposure on Amazon, and were essentially clueless at the time of your promotion, then it was less likely your sales would continue to improve after the promotion ended. I feel less clueless this time around, time will tell if I actually am.
5) And what about those borrows? I have to admit to being utterly mystified by this. One of the surprising things to me is the number of borrows that are made by Amazon Prime members  of the lower-priced books. Don't get me wrong this is great news  for indie authors participating in the KDP Select program. After all, with every borrow, you get a slice of the Prime pie. I believe for Feb. the royalty for each borrowed book is $1.60. Maybe it's me, but I never expected my $2.99 book to get borrowed. It would be nice (none to date), but I expected Prime members would use their once-a-month free "borrow" on the higher priced e-books. I mean if you have only one free borrow a month... If anyone understands this, I'd love to hear the explanation, but the fact remains many writers have seen borrows increase along with sales. 
6) One of the biggest questions as a newbie to the whole internet self-marketing thing was, what kind of advertising should I do? How do i promote my book during the free days? I am confessing here and now, I feel  as if i was an infant to the whole social media, twitter, facebook thing in December, and I only feel like a  toddler a couple months later. I am slowly getting my feet wet. I think I'm catching on to expanding my network with Twitter(and finding it kind of fun). I'm branching out into other places with a friend who is much more savvy in these things than I. I know that the more i'm out there promoting my book, building my community, and gaining exposure, the better, but it is slow going for me. This is another blog post because I am in total awe of those of you who seem to have your toe in everything and STILL write. The short of it is, I feel I am in a better spot this promotion than last, but recognize I have a long way to go. I will keep plugging away and learning from the more experienced Indie writers out there! For today, I'll share a few resources I've found. I know this is a very short list. Feel free to add on in the comments! 
 Karen Baney has a very good post with some tips to follow and Jeff Bennington is about to release his ebook The Indie Author's Guide To the Universe in which he reveals his successful methods for indie authors. He has blogged to great extent as well. I do plan on investing in this book when it's released later this month. 

This was taken from  Kindleboards Sites  to consider notifying in advance of your promotion: Pixel of Ink - they have an onsite form specifically for freebie notices Ereader News Today - use the admin addie on their Contact page Kindle on the Cheap - email form onsite Free Kindle Books and Tips - email Michael: kindle at gagler dot com. (You can also post on the facebook wall for free) You can also announce the freebie at Authors on the Cheap on Facebook on the days it's free in addition to sending the notice to Kindle on the Cheap. There are many more sites like this popping up, but, aside from Pixel of ink,  i'm not sure how many  of these have made a difference.  Well, as I wrap this up, my thriller, JUDGMENT TRAMP, is poised begin a 3 day free promotion in the Kindle Store. This time I have some reviews, I've sort of figured the twitter thing out and have the promotion listed on several FB sites, threw a little Pixie dust around my computer, and I'm good to go...  It's free 2/21-2/23 by the way..if you're so inclined..  *Update Wow, as I got further along writing this, I realized what a wealth of information has been shared by other authors out there. I couldn't possibly include everyone and I know i missed many of you. Instead of listing everyone's blogs here, i've decide to add a page. I'll start putting that up in a day or two. I think everyone's thoughts on KDP Select gathered in one place would be very helpful. Feel free to add your post or one you found helpful to the comments anytime!  **Please go to my "Gathering of KDP Select Experiences" page for additional reports and updates by authors who have enrolled in KDP Select. ** By the way, my book has been free for approximately 19 hours as of this writing, and I've doubled my average hourly download from last time, and will most likely go beyond my 2 day total for my first KDP promotion in Dec. by the end of the day.  I am currently ranked #89 in Mysteries & Thrillers! (Insert fist bump,here.). I never broke into a top 100 last time so, so far, so good for this old toddler. Stay tuned! 8^D

"Buying Indie Month"-I'm In!

While working on making some sense of KDP Select free book promo results, I decided to take a break to post links to these 2 blogposts by Benjamin X Wretlind and Michael K Rose, in support of "Buying Indie Month", an idea spawned by Benjamin Wretlind. I am a firm believer in "paying it forward" and, especially in regard to Indie authors, I believe that supporting each other's success is the key to the future of indie publishing. When we, as a community of indie writers support each other, we become stronger, and hopefully success will breed success within our community. After all, as Zig Ziglar says, "You will get everything in life that you want, if you help enough other people get what they want." So, having waxed philosophical, the bottom line is, I will be buying an ebook per day from an indie author throughout the month of Feb. (I promise to read every one eventually, but they will go in the Kindle "queue". I have quite a few both paid and free from last month to get read yet.) I'm actually looking forward to it! There are a few on my TBR list already, so they go first. I'll update my Buy Indie Month page each day. Let the fun begin! Who else is in?

Go to my BUY INDIE MONTH for a complete day by day listing and links to my chosen selections.

Please check these other related blog posts out for more information:

Buying Indie Month, Revisited by Benjamin X. Wretlind

5 Ways To Help Authors Without Spending a Dime by Michael K. Rose


The Power of Social Media-Paying It Forward by Paul Dorset


#BuyIndieMonth-My List By Clive S. Johnson

By the way, if you try to comment and are not able to, could you shoot me a quick email at leikec@yahoo.com or message me on Twitter @jdcurriewriter? I've had a few people tell me they tried to post but couldn't, so I'm trying to solve this problem.

My Results With KDP Select's Free Days Part 1

I've spent the last week perusing blogs to see what other self published authors have reported on their results from the KDP Select program. As I wrote back in December, right after I'd published my debut novel, Judgment Tramp, on Amazon, I decided to give it a try and enroll Judgment Tramp in the program. I'd heard about KDP Select as my hand was literally poised to upload to Smashwords. Although I understood the reluctance of some to give over exclusivity to Amazon, I decided to hold off putting the book on any other sites to give this a try. My reasoning was that a) I am essentially a total novice to the ePub world. Although I self published Judgment Tramp and sold print copies of the book, I am essentially a brand new indie author with little or no following, b) I could take advantage of the 5 days for "selling" my book for free. With the program, you can schedule the days you want the promotion to run and they can be used any way you like.  I felt I could use those days to gain exposure and jumpstart getting my book out there, and c) I basically had nothing to lose. 

So today I will share with you my results and in Part 2 of this post I'll summarize what I've learned from my experience and what I've gleaned from taking a look at other people's results.  However, before I give you my results, I think it's important to point out a few things.  First, I had published my book a mere week prior to enrolling. Second, I had done very little marketing of the book prior to publishing. I realize this is not the way to do it, but I am a confessed social media neophyte. At that point I had only been on Twitter for a short time and rarely visited my Facebook page.( ok, ok. No need to make that face). My blog had been up and running only 2 months. Obviously on the far,far newbie end of the self marketing curve... I did Tweet quite a bit about the promotion the day before and throughout the 2 days I held the promotion as well as posted on my FB page, but in retrospect I should have done much, much more of this.

I decided to run a 2 day promotion on Dec. 26, and Dec. 27 ( a Monday and Tuesday) hoping that right after Christmas all those new Kindle owners would be trolling for free books. I had absolutely no idea what would happen. I kept my expectations low. I needed exposure and was hoping I would at least get some reviews out of it. The minute it became free I started to get downloads. I averaged about 10 per hour and that was pretty steady throughout the promotion. In the end I had 400 US DLs, 64 UK, and 4 Germany. As soon as the promotion ended, DLs promptly stopped. I had no borrows, but would have been surprised if I had. Now I realize these numbers are nothing compared to many of the writers whose blogs I have been reading, but considering I had marketed very little right before( something I will absolutely increase next time), and had been on Amazon a few short weeks, I was pleased.  468 people who now have Judgment Tramp somewhere in their Kindle queue. Surely a percentage of those will actually read the book, and at least a few of them will post reviews. This remains to be seen, but that's my hope. I have had one new glowing review since the promotion but I have no way of knowing if this came from a "freebie" reader. 

Unfortunately, since the promotion ended I have sold only a handful of books. But again, although I would be doing cartwheels ( a sight to behold , let me tell you) if I had suddenly starting selling hundreds of copies of my book after the promotion, I hadn't really expected that, and my primary goal as a new author in the Kindle Store was to gain some exposure and,hopefully, reviews. I still have 3 promotion days left. Later this week I'll summarize what I think I've learned since I did the first promotion and what I've gleaned from the experiences of others.
In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you. Have you tried KDP select? What are your thoughts? Results? Anybody else out there who is as new to this adventure as me and has experimented with KDP Select? I haven't read very many reports from novice indie writers like myself and this would be interesting to me.

Be Different! Or The Value of Finding the Unique Angle

I'm a published writer.

I'm writing this post for the beginning writers out there--this one is for you. Maybe you have been trying to secure an agent, or perhaps you've been submitting articles, essays or short stories to magazines. I wish you luck, and I have tremendous respect for you and your tenacity. Believe me...I know what you're going through. It isn't easy to break through and get that first publishing credit.

But it is possible. I know it is, because I'm a published writer--and you can do it if I can. I'm not upset if you are thinking the same thing after reading my blog--in fact I'm hoping you realize that I'm not blessed with any special talent as a writer. I didn't get my first publishing credit because I was a great writer--it came because I came up with a good idea that caught the editor's eye.

My essay (the second essay I'd ever written) was published in the May, 2006 issue of Traverse  magazine, a regional travel magazine covering Northern Michigan. I submitted it to the editor on a Friday, and they bought it the following Monday. Later, I found out that they had rejected over five-hundred essays before choosing mine for publication. Most of the rejected essays were written well, a few of the rejected essays ended up going back into the slush pile for future consideration, but most of them were rejected outright.

Most of those rejected essays did a great job of describing the region--they described the sugar-sand beaches of the Lake Michigan shore, the sun dappled, azure blue water, the fiery glow of a Northern Michigan sunset, or the beauty of the fall foliage, as seen from a log cabin on a hillside overlooking the bay. All of those subjects were covered--multiple times, with every descriptive adjective known to man dressing up the writing. The only problem was that the editorial staff had read it all before--many, many times, and none of those essays stood out because the editors get five hundred of them every month.

My essay was about an abandoned railroad bridge. There was no sugar sand beach, no sun dappled shoreline, no azure blue water in sight anywhere. In fact, the bridge itself was gone, and only the stone abutments marked the spot in the forest where it had stood. I told the story of that bridge. My essay about a lost bridge on an abandoned railroad stood out because it was different--but it also stood out because it told something about the region and the people who once lived there, and the editors were starving for something besides the usual, "My trip to Michigan" essays they received every month.

That's what it took--I didn't know anything about the publishing business at the time, but I'd stumbled onto a basic truth of the writing market. Editors and Agents see the same thing constantly--and your travel essay might be well written, but it doesn't matter if it's the same old thing. The fiction book market is no different. I can only imagine how many vampire novels are pitched to agents every month, and it makes sense that most of them are D.O.A. unless the vampires are different in some way from the rest of the bloodsuckers in the agent's slush pile.

Maybe I should think about writing another novel--one where the handsome vampire (I think I'll call him Edward) lives under an old railroad bridge...near a sugar-sand beach and sun dappled, azure blue water. There's this girl he likes (I'm thinking Bella is a good name for her), and she lives in a log cabin on a hillside near the water, and she goes to the bridge late one afternoon to watch the fiery red sunset....

What If...

I've been seeing a lot of James Patterson on TV. He's been promoting his new book, Kill Alex Cross by appearing in a commercial for the new Nook tablet. His previous books have been promoted on TV quite a bit--more than any other writer I can think of.

Other writers works occasionally pop up on TV, and there are always movies and TV shows based on books (or based on a character from a novel). It hasn't happened to me yet, and...it may be a while.

But what if it did happen? I've often imagined winning the lottery and doing a national ad campaign (including making a TV commercial) to promote Judgment Tramp. I wonder what would happen--would I vault to the top of the New York Times best seller list? Would a certain Mr. George Clooney play Eb Maclean in the movie?

I'm not holding my breath, partly because Eb Maclean has more of a Daniel Craig face in my imagination...that sort of ugly-but-good-looking persona--and Daniel Craig may even be too much of a stretch. Maybe I need to approach Larry the Cable Guy once I'm counting my millions.

The big question is whether the advertising would work or not, and more to the point, would the book be good enough? Am I that undiscovered gem waiting to be unearthed? Or am I the writing equivalent of "genuine cubic zirconium"...or even worse, am I destined to be stuck in the middle with you? (No offense intended...and by the way, I love that song!--but wouldn't life be easy if we were all either great or horrible at everything we tried? It would be so easy to make decisions.)

All of this "what if" stuff leads me to two different conclusions: 

a. I am perfectly willing to be a guinea pig for an elaborate marketing study. Don't get me wrong--I'm not cheap...but I can be had....
I don't drink, so the mini-bar in the hotel room will be safe when I'm on my all-expenses-paid, 48 state book tour. Just promise me you will pick out the red M&M's before delivering the candy to my suite and we will get along famously...and remember that I don't take a lot of ice in my diet Sierra Mist. I need the diet soda because I just finished stuffing my face with M&M's. Thank you.

b. It is much more likely that I will have to market my writing on the cheap. I'll have to write a blog, and be on Facebook and Twitter. I'll have to attend craft fairs and distribute handbills. I'll need to sell books at my music gigs. I will be forced to talk my writing up at every opportunity...it's tiring just to think about it! I may even have to release my books as e-books and distribute them on Amazon. (Judgment Tramp--Available Now In Kindle Format--only $2.99!)

Option b. is very sad, because it sounds like a lot of work. I wonder if I can sucker someone else into doing it for me? Hmmmm....

Crisis of Confidence

I don't usually have writer's block. I have so many different ideas running through my head--and sometimes they come one after another. Sometimes I can't think clearly because of all the ideas. It's almost like having writing A.D.D....

My problem isn't in figuring out what to write--it's writing in a way that does justice to the vision in my head of the finished story. My real problem is that I sometimes lack the confidence to transmit the ideas into words.

Do you have those days--those times when you are crippled by the fear of being dishonest when you call yourself a writer? Surely I'm not the only writer who goes through this. There are times when I feel like a complete fraud; I convince myself that I am the worst sort of poser (my Canadian heritage popping out...sorry), and it can be a crippling fear that compels me to question everything.

I make my living as a musician. I play in several different bands, and I also teach piano. Sometimes I have the same crippling fear when I'm playing or teaching--but there's a difference because I have more of a resume as a musician. I've also played music my entire life, and I usually get more immediate feedback when performing music.

There are obvious differences between music and writing, but there are also common elements. Music is a form of art, but it is also a craft that can be mastered with hard work and discipline. Writing isn't much different, and in some ways writing is more of a craft. Writing is all about that aforementioned hard work and discipline.

Good musicians learn their craft--but great musicians have extraordinary gifts...perfect pitch, or what I call "relative" pitch--the ability to instantly discern the interval between two different notes, or to know right away whether a note is sharp or flat. Some people have a highly developed ear for music, and some don't (even though almost everyone has a better ear for music than they think...how long does it take for you to figure out that a singer isn't any good?). It's the same type of natural gift as a photographer's good eye for composition. But talent isn't everything, and I know I would be a better musician if I practiced more. I'd be a better teacher if I studied more...and that's a goal of mine (it is the new year, after all!).

Writers vary in talent just like photographers, or musicians. But everyone can learn to be good at some form of writing. We can't all be poets, and not everyone has the ability to be a great storyteller, but there are many different ways to make a living with the written word if you master the craft of writing.We are not all destined to write something as brilliant as "To Kill a Mockingbird", but we can all improve, and that's the thought that invariably pulls me out of my funk when I have my moments of terror--I can work my way toward legitimacy.

My crisis of confidence is real, and I never will be able to fully escape its crippling effects, but I know a few things now that can help me fight back. I don't think I'm unusual--I think all writers deal with the same demons I endure, and the secret is in working through the fear and trusting that the work will lead to a good result.

I know I will always be better if I allow myself to be me--I can't be Harper Lee, or Ken Follet--I just have to be satisfied with being J.D. Currie. Beginning writers are often told to imitate the style of their favorite writers, and it might be good advice...but eventually writers have to develop their own voice.

I get into trouble when I try to predetermine the destiny of my stories, and that's a sure-fire sign that I'm not confident. My best work always grows from within itself. I don't over-think my writing when I'm going good--I create an interesting character, and then I put that character in a tough situation and allow the character to lead me through the story. It might not work for everyone, but it always works for me. There's nothing wrong with a strong plot, but the characters shape the plot when I'm writing my best.

That's why I write from beginning to end. Maybe someday I will craft a great ending to a novel before I write the rest of the book, but it doesn't seem to work that way now. I start at the beginning, and I go on to the end, and then I stop (sorry, Lewis Carroll). And that's another lesson--it is tough to admit that you started a book in the wrong spot. Is the beginning of your book or story really the beginning? Or did you just write forty pages of fluff before getting into something that will hold your reader's interest? If you screwed this up it's okay--just make sure you understand that you haven't written a book at this point--you've written a first draft of a book. Don't be afraid to admit that you made a mistake. Starting a book in the wrong spot is a sure sign that you aren't listening to your characters. They write the story.

That's my epiphany--I'm flawed and I know it. I'm not Harper Lee, or James Joyce (thank God!). I'm just me...and I can only succeed by working hard, staying positive, and by learning the lessons my writing is trying to teach me. The rest of it--the degree of my success, is out of my hands, and it is silly to fret about it. I don't always keep this in mind, but at least now I can read this blog post when I feel like a poser.

Ignoring the experts--a published writer stays true to her work

I have always found tales of success in the face of a naysayer particularly inspiring. At some point in our lives, most of us have had an idea, endeavor, or passion that someone else didn't agree with or understand. That's at best. More likely, we also have had people who told us outright, perhaps even with best intentions, that we were going down the wrong path, our goals destined to remain in the realm of day dreams, our path clearly the wrong one. 

When I read a story about someone who persisted and followed their own path despite a naysayer (and a so-called "expert" at that) and met with success... well, it gives me a little more hope, and a little more pep in my own step! Today, as the new year approaches, I thought I would repost a blog post by an author friend of mine, Nancy Bilyeau. Nancy has followed the traditional publishing path and her first novel, The Crown, will be released here in the U.S. on Jan. 10, 2011.

The Crown has been receiving rave reviews despite an "expert" writing instructor's opinion that historical fiction just might not be the genre in which she should be writing. Reading her blog inspired me, and I hope you will feel the same way. I, for one, plan to continue to learn and grow in 2012 while pursuing the path that feels best for me.

Every writer has to choose their own path, and sometimes well meaning advice has to be ignored, or at least tempered with the writer's unique perspective of what they want their work to express. Nancy made the right choice, and this post is proof of her courage. She understands the golden rule: writing is a deeply personal affair--and every writer must be the final judge of his/her work. No teacher or critique group can understand the work like the writer.
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