Sorry, let me tame my evil laughter long enough to type out this post. Deep breath….

Okay, that’s better.

Alright, so loyal readers will know that earlier this year I tried a little experiment by going exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select program. This meant I could ONLY offer my books on Amazon – I couldn’t even give my own books away to my mailing list.

The plunge was a little scary, but it did provide a good way for me to focus on certain marketing efforts and allow me to hit the Restart button on my books in some ways.

While Amazon does have a wide reach these days, it’s gnarly claws don’t extend everywhere and some people refuse to buy anything from the online retail behemoth.

I tried KDP Select for two rounds (90 days each) and I did see some great sales numbers and learned a few things about advertising, but I grew to despise the limitations and was itching to be free.

That day finally came in mid-September and I immediately began the work of getting my books on other stores.

Being freed from Amazon’s exclusivity means I’m starting fresh on these other retailers, but it also means I can reach out to a wider audience and toss my tomes around the world (virtually, that is…I don’t think my throwing arm is that strong).

Even though this next step in my author career means more work in creating all the necessary formats for each retailer, uploading to numerous sites, and checking all those sites to tally my royalties and sales, it’s an exciting time and I’m already seeing positive results from the switch. Yay!

And just in case you want to take a look, here’s a partial list of where my books are hanging out now….

By the way, if you are an indie author and you want to get onto some of these sites, your best sources are Draft2Digital (who are WONDERFUL to work with) and PublishDrive (who are the only ones right now – I think – who can get your books onto GooglePlay).

Coming Up Next…

So, what’s my next big move? A long-held dream of going wider with my print books.

Currently, due to the prohibitive prices of ISBNs in the US, my print books are still only on Amazon (who provides authors a free ISBN – see, they’re not totally evil).

News came out last week that there might be a new player in the paperback field (a new player who I already distribute my ebooks through, yay!) and I’m also looking at another option for print. As soon as there’s news to share on this front, I’ll let you know!

All this talk of book shopping has me curious… Where do you usually shop for books? A “real” store or online? Indie bookstore or chain retailer? Amazon or elsewhere? 

Me? I’m a cheapskate :)) I get most of my books (both print and electronic) from the library. When I do buy books, it tends to be in one fell swoop at my local library’s annual book sale…$5 for a bag of books is hard to beat!

I’ll be back Saturday with Finn’s trip to the wild blue yonder!! In the meantime, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out Chapters ONE and TWO of my upcoming historical fantasy novel Domna.

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13 thoughts on “I’m Taking Over the (Book) World”

    1. True, about Amazon. The royalties within the Amazon store are okay, but if you hit that expanded distribution button you might as well give the thing away. Lulu was one of the options I was looking into. How do you like them? Are the books good quality?

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      1. The books are fine, but Lulu doesn’t have all the promotions Amazon has. They’re from the old days of POD. Still, I have choices on formats: size, type, etc. I did discover last year that they now have minimum prices, which they didn’t before. You can do extended distribution as well, and get onto all the big sellers; you just have to jump through a lot of hoops first. You control everything yourself with the free package, and can even publish immediately if you want.

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  2. Hooooooraaaaaaayyyy you’re freeeeeeeeeeeee! Congratulations! And I’m glad you had some good results and don’t feel the whole thing was a waste. My answers to your questions probably don’t help much… but I do prefer to get my books in person in shops (charity or Waterstones). If I go online, the Amazon monster is my go-to. Alright, go forth and conquer that world now!

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    1. Oooh, Waterstones! I think I spend almost as much time there as in the British Museum when I visit London. The prices on paperbacks are so much better on your side of the pond and Waterstones has such great displays and bargains, I can’t help but stock up. And, yes, I will stop in to every one of them I pass. I may need help for this addiction.

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  3. Yaaaay! I’m glad you’ve been able to wriggle free of the restraints of KDP Select and sprawl luxuriantly across the book world once again. The Beasties and I support your bid for (book) world domination, and we’re happy to hail you as our literary overlord! 😀
    As for getting my paws on new books, I ask the library first, then order from Amazon if things are proving tricky to find. Plus I have a steady stream of freebies coming in from Boyfriend’s work. Now all I need is the time to read them all! 😂

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    1. Aw, stop it before I started evil laughing uncontrollably over this world domination thing. Yep, me too for hitting the library up first, I mean how can a cheapskate like me refuse all those free books? Purchased “real books” come from the book sale. Then I usually make any ebook purchases from Apple just to defy the Amazon overlords. And it’s good to hear Mr Husband isn’t the only man keeping his woman happy with free books he brings home from work!

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      1. It’s the foundation of any good relationship! 😂 I also have a considerable stockpile of books from my own bookselling days, which I’m STILL working through. Like you, it was the cheapskate effect at work… They were free! How could I refuse? With all this going on, I think the only books I’ve bought in the last couple of years are yours!

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      2. Woohoo, I’ve hit number one on the Beastie Maker’s Charts! I’m adding that to my (very short) List of Achievements. Yes, I think any commitment ceremony should include, “Thou shalt provide free books.” It would have to reduce to break-up rate, right?

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      3. Definitely! I don’t know what I’d do if my stream of free books and homemade brownies was cut off! Oh, and remind me to send me your Beastie Maker’s Chart Topper certificate in January when the madness stops 😉

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