There are a few reasons I chose to submit.
Reason number One:
I must confess, it's been 3 years since my last novel was published. In the meantime, I've self published an omnibus, a novella, a short story was published in a charity anthology, and I loaded all my short stories to my website as free reads. But they aren't part of my writing goal.
When my first novel The Bird With The Broken Wing was published by Etopia Press is 2011, I had a plan to publish one novel per year, heck two if I could get the time to write. In 2012, Feedback was published by Etopia Press. In 2013, I pitched Little Red Gem to agents and publishers and the response was overwhelmingly against paranormal romance because editors were (and I quote) "suffering from paranormal fatigue". Nothing could change their mind, except time. Which I didn't have. My plan was one book per year. So a friend suggested I self publish.
So the number one reason I submitted Welcome To The Apocalypse to Kindle Scout, I want to finish 2016 off with a published book. This book has been through pitching and edits and it needs to be read. So whether it's accepted in Kindle Press or not, look out for this series. Book Two is ready for edits.
Reason number Two:
Kindle scout offers an advance to writers who are successful. Who couldn't use an advance? Small press and indie publishers rarely pay advances. The big publishers do but it can be difficult to get past their gatekeepers. That advance is really gonna help with promotion. And they estimate authors can earn decent royalties over the 5 year contract. I imagine it's going to involve loads more promotion, hence the advance, but I'm up for it.
Now for some of the pros and cons.
Pros:
- The advance and the chance to earn some decent money.
- It's backed by Kindle Amazon, and since they have an invested interest they're probably gonna back it up with presence on their site.
- If the book is successful and you attract hundreds of nominations, each reader gets a free copy of the ebook and they're invited to leave a review. So the incentive to create a good campaign is there.
- It's good practice for an author to create a marketing plan.
- It's a fast turn around. 45 days to know if you'll be published or not, is pretty fast, considering some publishers can take 9 months to get back to you.
Cons:
- Publish with Kindle Press and you hand over all electronic rights. So no B&N, no Kobo, no other ebook retailer, just Amazon. I've seen my royalties from other sites. I'm still not convinced that is a Con.
- As one author stated in his post Kindle scout blog, if you attract 1300 nominations, and if you're NOT successful, then Kindle Press sends an email that basically tells 1300 people that your book sucked.
- For the 30 day campaign, you are probably not writing. You're probably checking the results, driving people to the Kindle Scout site, sending emails to friends, bloggers.
Part one of my Kindle Scout thread can be read here. I'll keep posting and share marketing tips along the way. What's working, what isn't.
And if you're thinking of submitting or already in the campaign, Good Luck!
D L Richardson
