OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Should you self-publish exclusively on Amazon? That is the question many authors consider whenever they put a book out.
The benefits of exclusivity
Here are my thoughts as to why you should consider exclusivity with Amazon, which basically means that you cannot publish a particular work anywhere else BUT Amazon for a 90 day period when you opt in with the checkbox on the KDP publishing page.
KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited
The KDP Select help page describes the benefits to opting in as:
- Earn your share of the KDP Select Global Fund amount when readers choose and read more than 10% of your book from Kindle Unlimited, or borrow your book from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Plus, earn 70% royalty for sales to customers in Japan, India, Brazil and Mexico.
- Choose between two great promotional tools: Kindle Countdown Deals, time-bound promotional discounting for your book while earning royalties; or scheduled Free Book Promotion where readers worldwide can get your book free for a limited time. [Note: you can still make your book permafree if you publish on multiple platforms, pricing free and then reporting the cheaper price to Amazon.]
Help readers discover your books by making them available through Kindle Unlimited in the U.S. and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) in the U.S, U.K., Germany, France, and Japan. Kindle Unlimited is a subscription program for readers that allows them to read as many books as they want. The Kindle Owners' Lending Library is a collection of books that Amazon Prime members who own a Kindle can choose one book from each month with no due dates. When you enroll in KDP Select, your books are automatically included in both programs.
Help readers discover your books by making them available through Kindle Unlimited in the U.S. and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) in the U.S, U.K., Germany, France, and Japan. Ease of changes
One of the big pains when you go direct to all platforms is the timing of price changes for sales. You can schedule a price change on Kobo and iBooks, but Nook can take a few days and Amazon's speed of change vary between 4 – 72 hours. Similarly, if you want to change back matter or fix a typo, you have to do it multiple times. Of course, you can use services like Smashwords, BookBaby or Draft2Digital and update once for all platforms, but I prefer to publish directly for the extra metadata fields I get on the various platforms.
If you are exclusive to Amazon, you only have to manage one site and one set of changes.
The drawbacks to exclusivity
There are several reasons why you shouldn't be exclusive to Amazon.
Global growth of digital markets. Don't miss out!
Amazon may be the biggest player in the US and the UK, but there are other retail stores and devices that dominate in other countries.
Germany, for example, is possibly the next big market for ebooks, and Amazon has 40% of the market. Apple iBooks and Tolino, an ebook reader and associated stores that are run by a group of German publishers, have the rest. I have found that my sales on the other German platforms match Amazon almost exactly.
My sales in Canada primarily come from Kobo, and both Kobo and iBooks break sales down into 50+ countries. We haven't even got started in the massive Asian markets yet!
The Compound Effect
I've found that by going direct to iBooks, Kobo and Nook, I have started to grow an audience there, and my income ticks up every month as their 
ecosystems discover my books. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy is a fantastic book that describes how little actions taken every day can add up over time to massive change, or massive impact over years. You can't expect to load your books up on Kobo and expect them to sell straight away, you need time in that market.
Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, says in his post on exclusivity that,
“It can take years to build readership at a retailer. Authors who cycle their books in and out of KDP Select will have a more difficult time building readership at Amazon's competitors.”
I have seen the Compound Effect on my blog, my online platform and my book sales over the last six years. I know things take time to build, and a few hundred dollars a month now may grow if I stay my course.
Independence and possibility of disruption
I'm an independent author, so I don't want to be dependent on any single income stream.
I love Amazon as much as the next indie author, as much as the next Amazon Prime junkie and happy customer, but in early 2008, I was laid off, along with 400 other people in one day from my department.
My one source of income disappeared very fast.
Few people saw the Global Financial Crisis coming, and we all had to adapt. Change is inevitable, so I choose to spread my bets amongst the retailers as well as selling directly from my own site.
In Jeff Bezos' interview with Charlie Rose in Dec 2013, Jeff said that at some point, Amazon itself would be disrupted. He just hopes it happens after he is dead!
I think about the future of this business a lot.
I'm 39, and I am not just building for the next year, I'm building for the rest of my life and hopefully leaving something for my family when I'm gone. As Amazon continues to rise and rise, we see the push back of many different industries against their domination. Who knows what the next 5 years will hold?
Conclusion: My personal choices around exclusivity
One of the best things about being an indie is personal choice, but of course, this can make it harder as well. I can't tell you what to do with your books, I can only say what I do myself.
- For anyone with one book and no platform, exclusivity seems to be the best way to get your book moving, at least in the initial period. I helped my Dad self-publish his historical thriller, Nada, last year, and put that in KDP Select. There was no point in going with the other platforms when the majority of his sales would be Amazon, and he had no intention of doing any ongoing marketing for the book. Free books allowed us to get the sales started and get some reviews.
- For translations, in a new market, with little ability to do other forms of marketing, exclusivity is also a good idea. I'm using KDP Select for my Spanish and Italian books, and the free promo days have enabled us to get the algorithms moving and get some reviews.
- For an established series that you are building over time, using more than one site is my personal choice. The compound effect will mean that over time, as I add books onto the platforms, and reach readers one by one, my sales will grow on the other sites. I also like spreading my income streams so I am not dependent on one platform for my livelihood. That's why the vast majority of my English language fiction and non-fiction is on all the major platforms.
- Trying new things is important! For this year's NaNoWriMo, I'll be writing a stand-alone novella that I will put on KDP Select in order to try out Kindle Unlimited. As a reader, I love the idea of KU. I already utilize borrows on Prime and I consume a lot of books. I also love to play with the available options we have.
So basically, when you have multiple books, you can adopt multiple strategies. Fantastic!
What are your feelings around exclusivity? Do you keep all your books on Amazon only, or do you spread your books on multiple sites? Have you started selling direct, and why? Please leave a comment and join the conversation below.
Top image: Flickr Creative Commons fence by John Curley, solving the GFC by Cathrin Idsoe
Thanks Joanna, very helpful, as ever.
I’ve always thought that going wide was best, but will now go KDP Select for my next book, at least initially, to try get more eyeballs on the work.
From what I’ve read, I’ll be exclusive for 90 days only. If that is correct, thereafter I can publish wherever I want to in print or on any ebook platforms. What is the drawback in doing that? Am I missing something? I did buy my own ISBN #s, but not sure it matters now.
Yes, that’s correct – but most people end up staying longer and not building readership elsewhere. It’s a personal choice …
Jacqueline, you can publish your paperback alongside KDP Select. It’s only the ebook that has to be exclusive.
After the 90 day exclusivity period, if one chooses to publish on other platforms like nook, can you still keep your book on Amazon a the same time? I finished the first draft of my first novel and plan to do readings for promotion and I’d hate to miss up a chance to speak at a Barnes and Noble if a location was interested in having me.
Yes, you just opt out of KDP Select – it’s just a checkbox on your KDP publishing platform
I have been writing for over thirty years, but have always been confused by all the options offered on various web sites. I have over fifty completed projects, but presently have only ten ebooks on Kindle. I simply do not understand all of the various options I’m offered–and am not even sure if I’m participating in them, so I have not had much success at marketing my books.
There is simply too much for me to wrap my mind around.
I cover the options on this page: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/publishing/
Hi Joanna, I’m self publishing my first children’s early reader this fall and am thinking about KDP Select for 90 days. I’m publishing through Ingram Spark so I should be fine. Is there any downside using select for a children’s book? It’s a historical fiction chapter book about an American president so I don’t think there will be a lot of interest outside the US. Thanks, Vicki
It’s a personal choice, Vicki, but no harm in trying Select 🙂
Great advice. I’ve always opted to NOT go the KDP Select route simply for the benefit of having my work available elsewhere. Do you know if Amazon’s CreateSpace requires you to be exclusive with them? Looking to branch out from publishing only ebooks, and would like to find a good on-demand printing source for paperback.
No, Createspace does not require exclusivity. Many indies choose to use Ingram Spark and Createspace together – http://selfpublishingadvice.org/how-to-use-createspace-and-ingram-spark-together/
Thanks a million for this post. I have a weight lost book coming out soon on Amazon. I was just trying to figure out if I should go with kindle select or different platforms. As you said, just do it with kindle. I lost 50 pound and have before and after photos. I have a story to tell, hopefully I’ll do well. I will take advantage of the 5 day free book option for a fact, every 90 days.
I may do another book, as for that one I may not use Kdp select and use different platforms and keep my first book on Kdp select only. Again, Thanks, great post.
Hi Joanna,
Thanks for the post! Very interesting and quite helpful as well.
I have just published my first eBook today and I have opted for Amazon, probably due to its popularity as well as the KDP program which sounds very inviting. The book is a science fiction called “Chariot 3” and should be available tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
R.C. Albertini
The translation of your ebooks interests me. Have you translated them yourself or does the Select exclusivity do this for you. Great article, thanks
Pauline
childrenandteensstoriestomotivateandinspire.com
Hello Joanna,
I came across your blog and found it to be a breath of fresh air to all the information overkill that is out there. So, if I understood correctly on the Amazon KDP Select: a plausible strategy for a newcomer is to milk the Amazon platform for 3-6 months down the road (possibly longer), leveraging the sales and reviews to one’s advantage – with possible social media presence – and then move over to a platform provider like Ingram Spark to move into other areas, downgrading the KDP Select? So, rather than waste cash on marketing packages, it is better to ensure the book cover is attractive and the content is accurate. So, KDP Select can be likened to the old-fashioned crank to start up a vintage motor running?
You’ve got it 🙂 although many authors stick with KDP Select for longer. It’s easier to get traction on the other platforms once you have 3+ books in a series.
Okay. Let us explore that a bit. Say I bring out Edition 1 of my book and focus on KDP Select. That means the ISBN and copyright will be registered to the first edition. Then, 6 months later, I publish a major revamp of the book in terms of new data/content and illustrations that were not in the first edition. My thoughts are:
1. keep editions 1 and 2 on KDP Select at the same time
2. de-register edition 1 on KDP Select, keep on Amazon and move over to other platforms at the same time, keeping only edition 2 on KDP Select
3. de-register editions 1 and 2 on KDP Select, keep on Amazon and move over to other platforms at the same time when sales of edition 1 are absorbed by sales of edition 2, and write a sequel book to the first book with a different title and content
I like to plan things before completing Edition 1 because like, for instance, the software development industry of which you are familiar, you can consciously choose what content to leave out now and save for a future edition.
Thanks Joanna. Your portal has got me thinking strategically.
Thanks dear, you’re really a pace setter for writers. I just got to amazon last week and after enrolling one of my non-fiction books: `How to Recognize the Ideal Man’ on KDP and chosing the 5 day free promo, the book kicked in like madness in the sales rank. The first time I checked, it was at around #88,000 (on 1,000.000). It moved several spots up the chart and got to #15,000 and has been hanging around there. This, in less than 5 days. Though, i have no reviews yet, i feel somehow excited and positive. (My books have been sitting at almost all the other platforms online for months with no sales despite the money and time i put in promoting them). The worst thing is that i had put up a book elsewhere at free and it sold almost 100 copies few hours after i published and never sold again (at FREE). But KDP looks like a short cut to me given that i would rather have my books eaten up where it’s served than have it unnoticed everywhere for now. I’ll take your advice to spread wisely though, at the right time.
Hi Joanna,
I’d like to publish a book of poetry, there may be another but m not planning on a series of books. Would you still advise a broad range of platforms? I was thinking of going with Amazon initially and seeing how I get on.
Thanks
Poetry is one of those genres you do for love, not money – so your decision should be more about where you expect to find your readers.
Joanna,
Thank you so much for this post! I’ve been weighing the pros and cons on my end and pretty much arrived at the same conclusion.
The exclusivity position has helped me to simply marketing and develop my initial readership, but with 4 books on the market and another 2 primed for release (waiting to hear back from agents first) I feel that now is the time to expand.
Great post!
All the best,
What about publishing a book of literary criticism with Amazon kindle? Do you think people use it for critical material as well or just for fiction?
Thank you! I’m publishing my first solo book for middle-schoolers and was trying to figure all this out. My daughter-in-law and I have written two books for very young children, but she hasn’t put them out as eBooks.
After receiving the proof, correcting four small mistakes and re-submitted the book, I should be ready to get it out soon and you have saved me a ton of time.
I have a question. If you don’t use KDP select can you still run a promo and give away the book for a few days before selling it for its original price?
If you want the book to be free, you have to get Amazon to price match, so have it on other stores as free and report the lower print, then Amazon should eventually price match to zero. But it’s out of your control. You can change the price to 99c or anything else you like at anytime.
Hey, I was just wondering if I put my eBook on Kindle select what is the next step? Do I just leave it and it does its thing or what is the best step for income?
Thanks so much
Check this post – you need to look at marketing 🙂 http://www.thecreativepenn.com/marketing/
JoAnn, I will soon have my first book written and ready to go. What about Self Publishing Companies…..I hear good things and very bad things about them. How do you feel?
Check these posts for publishing ebooks and print:
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/how-to-self-publish-an-ebook/
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/how-to-self-publish-a-print-book/
and also check out this watchdog report before you go with a company:
http://selfpublishingadvice.org/allis-self-publishing-service-directory/self-publishing-service-reviews/