New Amazon KDP Special Author Promotion Program

Did you see the release this morning? This should be a great boon to Indie authors!

For immediate Release - April 1^st 2012 - Due to the success of our KDP Select program, Amazon is excited to announce our new KDP "Special Author Promotion Program," hereafter referred to as the KDP SAP Program. This special program is open only to Indie writers. So, sign-up today and be one of the first to become an Amazon SAP author!

With the KDP SAP program Amazon is finally allowing Indie authors to compete on a level playing field with big 6 publishers.

What are the advantages of the KDP SAP program?

This program allows authors to build a following by permanently giving away their books for free. In addition, Amazon will help promote your title and even offer free editorial assistance.

How long can I offer my book for free?

Forever! That's right, when you sign up for the KDP SAP program, your book will remain free forever, ensuring access to millions of readers and never again having to fuss with pesky commission checks.

How to I sign my books up?

It's simple; when you sign a new book on KDP simply leave the box checked that says, Yes, sign me up for Amazon's KDP SAP Program. If you wish to opt out, print out our easy to complete 18-page contract, have it notarized and delivered via courier to Jeff Bezos residence the first Saturday immediately preceding the new moon between the hours of 9 and 9:30 am.

Am I required to sign my books up with the KDP SAP program?

No, signing up your book is completely optional. However, titles listed via KDP that opt out of this program will no longer be listed in the "also bought" section of our product pages. Additionally, to create a level playing field for authors who chose to participate in the program, opted out titles will no longer receive a ranking, cover photo, or a "buy it now" button.

What if I decide to opt out of the program?

If, after the 30 minute grace period, you decide to opt out you may do so after the initial 3 year term has expired. Additionally, you may be required to sacrifice your first born child. Verification of said sacrifice requires you to deliver your child's freshly sacrificed blood via courier to Jeff Bezos residence the first Saturday immediately proceeding the new moon between the hours of 9 and 9:30 am.

Other Terms and Conditions:

By signing up for the KDP SAP program, you agree that your work is to be considered as a "Work For Hire" and filed with the Library of Congress as, Copyright 2012 by Jeff Bezos. Amazon reserves the right to remove any titles from this program, while still maintaining ownership. Complete terms and conditions are available via our gopher site, but really you don't need to read them, just sign up.

I don't know about you, but I'm signing up to be one of the first Amazon SAP authors!

New Lower Kindle Price $114, With a Catch

I went to Amazon's site this morning and noticed they are selling the $139 Kindle for $114, if you agree to automatically receive ads on it. Apparently this offer has been up for at least a few days (I'm not sure how I missed it, as I order from Amazon a couple times a week for business supplies).

So, for $25 off, you get the WiFi only Kindle, but you agree that Amazon can automatically display ads on it. The good news is that, at least for now, the ads only show up on your homepage and your screensaver. I haven't taken the time to read the fine-print, but I wonder how much leeway they've left themselves in changing when and where the ads display.

There's all sort of neat things you can do with ads in ebooks: Ads that appear when you turn the page. Links that appear right in your book, transporting you to an advertiser's webpage if you click on them. Ads inserted between paragraphs. Wait, did I say, 'neat things'? I meant, horrible things. There's few more devastating ways to mess-up the reading experience than break the reader away from the story with an ad.

Yes, Amazon is known for being very consumer friendly. I've had great customer service almost every time I've had an issue. But still, I don't trust any corporation with power over my valuable reading time. I know many of you are like me, so busy, that it's hard to find even 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to read. Is it really worth $25 to risk those few golden minutes?

Honestly, I'm really surprised Amazon didn't lower the price below $100, the magic price point that really would drive sales. It seems like a big misstep on their part. If you've never worked in marketing, sales or retail, you may not know that $99 is one of the biggest sociological price points.

Now, I'm not 100% against the idea of a few ads in between books. If the terms are clearly spelled out (which they might be) and they have some sort of expiration date; even, say three years (which they don't appear to); then I might be willing to sign myself up for something like $50 off.

But indefinitely giving away a portion (no matter how tiny) of my valuable reading time for a lousy $25 bucks? No, I don't think so.

Amazon's Staggering Market Share & Free eBook Promotion Ends

My free eBook roller-coaster ride finally ended yesterday. My short story is now back to 99 cents (but still selling fairly well).  The most interesting part of this whole adventure was the numbers. I've been giving away my short stories on my website, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords.com, Sony, and the Apple eBookstore. I would have given them away on Amazon as well, but they require a minimum price of 99 cents.

Over the last two months I sold about forty 99 cent copies on Amazon. But I had over 1,400 downloads between Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble (Apple hasn't reported and Sony has been about 4 copies). Not bad I thought. That was until Amazon lowered the price to free. In 5 days I had over 5,500 downloads. 

That's 1,400 in two months on all the other e-book sites combined and 5,500 on Amazon in 5 days--talk about market power! 

Wow, I Guess I'm a Bestselling Author!

A few months ago I started posting shorts on my website. I figured why not put them up on Smashwords and Amazon for free with links back to my webpage. I thought it might be a good way to build a platform.
Only problem Amazon made me put a 99 cent minimum price. Over two months I sold almost 50 on Amazon, but I'm approaching the 2,000 download mark between all the sites I posted it. Not bad.

Yesterday (Saturday) Amazon picked some titles to offer for free. Luckily, mine was one of them. Of course my sales skyrocketed. Blogs and forums picked it up and the next thing I knew I was on Amazon's list of 100 free ebook bestsellers. Today, I broke the top 50 peeking at #48. I'm outselling War and Peace. Wow, I couldn't be happier. And while these aren't technically sales, since the book is free (though I should get paid commission on them), it's a great opportunity to get my name out there.

So while I don't know how long it will last, I can officially say, I'm an Amazon Top 50 BestSelling Kindle Author!

Now if I can just find an agent, sign with a publisher, and get my book in hand, I'll feel like one!

$99 eBook readers by Christmas -- I think so.

In case anyone missed it--if you did, you were probably under a tree (reading your Kindle, of course). But Amazon just announced two new kindles, starting at $139.

The $139 model doesn't come with G3 wireless (so on the $139 version you can't download books anywhere), just WiFi and of course no color screen yet. But it does show just how quickly the prices are falling. Books-a-Million even had the Sony eBook reader on sale last week for $99 (and promptly sold out). 

I think, this Christmas day, Amazon better be ready for some major traffic.  As I predicted before, I think $99 is the price point where parents will start buying eReaders for their kids. And I think, we'll see this price as the entry point for most eReaders by Christmas

I know I plan to have several free short stories up by then. Hopefully, it will be perfect timing to start building some readership.