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is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date.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.
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
Desiree says
Very interesting discussion! I’ve been wrestling with this very issue trying to decide what I want to do for my first book later this year. You’ve definitely clarified some things for me and I think I will go ahead and start out with being exclusive to Amazon.
Two more things.
1. You don’t look 39 at all!
2. I read The Compound Effect earlier this year and so far it’s the best book I’ve read in 2014. I’m going to be giving a copy to my friends and family as gifts. Truly powerful stuff.
Joanna Penn says
Thanks Desiree, I appreciate your kind words – I am really looking forward to 40 – life just seems to get better 🙂 I’m glad you like the Compound Effect as well – I try to think about it every day – just a little step, even a half step, in the same direction every day gets us closer.
Sanjay says
Yeah that step by step thing is a great way of making things happen. I have been working on my website for over a year – but little by little I am getting there.
This is really useful advise – as a first time publisher about to do my first book I think I will now go Exclusive rather than not exclusive which was where I was originally going to go with it. Thanks for the tip off. 🙂
Clara says
This post is great! I love how you present the information in such a clear manner, it definitely gives one food for thought.
I haven’t yet read the Compound Effect, but I have a feeling that’s going to change shortly. 😉
You mentioned that going exclusive is something that happens for a 90 day period…does that mean you could start with going exclusive then pan out after 90 days if you choose to?
Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to provide such awesome insight to the world of self-publishing. It really helps!
Joshua Lawson says
Very informative as usual, Joanna. I don’t always comment but I appreciate the insight you provide into the publishing industry, especially for indie writers. I’ll be self-publishing my first eBook soon and this post is an excellent reference as I prepare.
Kelly Martin says
Hi, thanks for the thorough blog post on this topic. What would you say to someone who has had a book out for almost 6 months, is not exclusive to Amazon, but has had no sales on the other retailers at all? My non-fiction self help book did okay in the beginning but sales have dropped so much this past 2 months. Would KDP select help a book that had been on the market for some time and is not a new release?
Joanna Penn says
Hi Kelly, if you only have one book, then KDP Select can be a bonus – but any book drops off after 90 days, that’s the algorithms doing their thing. That’s one of the reasons that the best form of promotion is another book. One book is never going to do much over the long term – unless it’s a lightning strike success and you can’t plan for that. All the best!
Cassandra Leuthold says
Kelly,
I agree with Joanna about algorithms and following up one book with another.
Something else to think about would be all the different potential perks of at least trying exclusivity with Amazon. Amazon Prime subscribers can borrow 1 book a month at no extra cost to them – but giving a nice royalty to us. The new Kindle Unlimited program lets its subscribers download unlimited books for a flat fee – any book read past the 10% mark gives us the same royalty. You can also experiment with free days or deals to try to grow your audience. Especially if sales have slowed down on other platforms, why not give it a try? (I’ve been reading a lot about experimenting and risk taking lately.)
Antara says
I agree that exclusivity can be a bad thing but the other platforms are as nearly as as good as Amazon.
I started reading Let’s Get Visible which I bought for only 99 cents and on the first pages the author says that buying on other’s platforms is worse than on Amazon. As a reader I must admit it. Amazon looks good, has the best prices and the customer is a God (literally).
For example, I wanted to check out Sarah Water’s new book The Paying Guests on Kobo and see if it has a lower price. On amazon the kindle format is 14.99. I opened Kobo and there is for 25.99$. What nonsense! And on top of that there are no reviews. As a customer I will shop only on Amazon. I might later go on other platforms. Steve Scott has a second golden rule “help Amazon sell your books”.
Ruth Ann Nordin says
I appreciate the objective and simple breakdown of the pros and cons of exclusivity. I am going to do a pen name that will allow me to brand myself differently and was debating if I should be exclusive or not since I’ve never been exclusive before. After thinking of my long-term plans, however, I think I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing because I want to write a couple of series under my pen name over the next five years.
I agree with you on the international markets. It’s exciting to see them taking off.
Joanna Penn says
Hi Ruth Ann – how lovely to hear from you – it’s been a while! Glad to hear your writing is still going well – there are a few people who I met 6 years ago when the blog started that are still going – and you’re one of them 🙂 Happy Holiday season!
C.A. Baugh says
I am new at ‘self publishing’. Your article is great as it speaks to both the ‘one-off’ eBook authors as well as those who have/are continuously writing & publishing eBooks; giving both a path to explore. Since Amazon currently sells approx. 70% of all eBooks sold it seems wise to initially launch your eBook thru/with KDP SELECT and see how well it does (or doesn’t!). If it has promise then would it be wise to ePub with others in order to break into the other 30%, if the costs of doing so would seem to merit it?
Joanna Penn says
Hi CA – that’s pretty much what I have advised – but the ‘costs’ of ePub are usually the same as Kindle i.e. you can DIY with Scrivener or one of the other tools – so no extra cost. Amazon also does have 70% of ebooks in the developed markets of US, UK etc but other distributors have a stronger position in other markets e.g. for my ebooks in Germany, I sell just as many on Thalia.
Prasenjeet Kumar says
Hi Joanna
Wishing you a very happy new year! This is another fantastic blog post on exclusivity.
I am always fascinated by the debate on exclusivity. There are no right or wrong answers to this question. My own take on exclusivity is slightly different. I am of the opinion (again this is a business principle) that you should establish yourself in one market first before expanding into others. Many global companies started out with one market and then slowly expanded to others. I use the same principle.
So far I have published nine books and seven of them are on KDP select. One is perma free and the other is soon going to be. My print books reach everywhere through Createspace. There is no exclusivity regarding my translated books. They too reach globally because I use Babelcube.
So far I am building an Author Platform and the moment I am able to make a full time income from my Amazon sales, ( and when I don’t need the KDP select promo tools) I’ll move to other platforms. I know it is a risk I am taking but is a calculated one.
I think in the longer run there is no point in giving exclusivity to Amazon.
Regards,
Prasenjeet
Joanna Penn says
I agree this is a personal choice – it sounds like it is working out for you. All the best for 2015, Prasenjeet.
Laurence says
Hi, thank you very much for all of the useful information. It was an interesting read.
As a first time author, I’m in this place right now, as I’ve just had my first rejection letter. (Its sucks!)
Basically, I left my job to try my hand at becoming an author, and obviously while it is a major passion, I still need to eat and generally stay alive.
After opening my rejection email, (and immediately throwing my phone away where I couldn’t look at it over and over again) I wondered about self publishing through Amazon, as it was always one of my first choices. I would just like to know , if it has been worth it for you, personally and financially really.
I don’t know if it is worth approaching more publishers with the worry of the constant rejection, or to go at it alone. Today is going to be a bad day and any helpful information would be very, very appreciated.
Thank you so much!
Joanna Penn says
Hi Laurence, I would focus on writing the next book – submit the first one again if you still have that dream, while you write the next – you will only get better by writing more. One book will never make much money so I would concentrate on improving your craft and only look to publish when you have done all your research. All the best.
David Odum says
Thanks for the article, and your podcasts have been very appreciated, as well.
I am researching this subject for my wife’s first book, and I just read CJ Lyons saying the opposite thing about only having one book out. She says: “I would NOT use Select if I only had one book. You might see increased sales but once readers read that title where are they going to go next?”
I’m not sure I understand that, exactly. Isn’t the point for a new author to get out of obscurity? What do you think? The full article is here: http://janefriedman.com/2013/04/02/amazon-kdp-select/
Thanks.
Joanna Penn says
Hi David, CJ’s post was written April 2013 – almost 2 years ago – which in the indie space is a very long time. Select has changed a lot since then – including the introduction of Kindle Unlimited, where borrows can be very useful for new authors with no platform. You need to weigh up your decision yourself based on the latest information. All the best.
Màiri Norris says
Thanks, Joanna Penn for an informative post. I do believe you’ve made my mind up for me.
John Watson says
I have self-published one business book on Amazon, despite excellent 5 star reviews from Amazon top reviewers and extensive social media marketing, podcasting. and endorsements from business educators associations I have negligible sales. Price countdown did nothing for sales either. My book has been more use as a marketing and credibility hook for my consulting. business. I have managed to get my book into a couple of CBD bookstores where it sells out and the store managers say it sells itself. I will keep the marketing momentum going and look for the link from genuine 5 star reviews and sales. I ignore the unethical book promoters who try to sell fake reviews. The Ultimate Guide To Consulting in the Networked Age.
TA Sullivan says
I made one of my two non-fiction books available to other sites, and it wasn’t easy getting it formatted to fit all the various platforms (despite using Smashwords to publish it). Over the past 2 years, I have made twice the royalties through Amazon than on any of the other platforms. For my upcoming fantasy series, I will go just with Amazon. They serve the customers and the authors better than the other platforms. I love that I make money even if the customer only borrows the book from Amazon’s Prime library.
The only thing Smashwords got me was a higher ranking on Google search, which is great, but being a high rank on the search didn’t bring me more sales.
Steve Fitz says
Thanks for the info Joanna. I’m a new writer and about to publish my first book – so have been considering using every platform (through Bookbaby) or just using Amazon for now.
It seems a decent strategy based on what I’ve read is to use Amazon Select for now as it can help build my audience quickly. But my next books (these aren’t a series) I should probably think about spreading to other sites. I think you’ve helped convince me that that’s as good a plan as any for now.
Cheers!
Claire says
Hi Joanna,
Is there any point/value in putting a book up on KDP Select for its first three months, then switching to normal KDP and adding it to the other platforms at that point? That’s what I’m considering doing!
Claire
Ben Fleming says
Hi Joanna,
I’ve just stumbled across your website via this article and am very happy to find it. As with many of the other comments, I’m in an experimental phase of my marketing, having just published my 6th management ebook, and my first piece of fiction.
I’m halfway through writing a novel, and a fantasy novel, both planned for release later this year. Having used KDP Select for all my releases, I am now turning my best management ebooks loose on Smashwords this weekend to see how they go.
For feedback to others that have commented, I suggest starting off on KDP Select, and when you feel like it, or want to, then choose other options. Selling books seem to be a marathon, not a sprint, so give yourself time to let the book run it’s own race. I recently read that Paulo Coelho’s publisher was ready to pull The Alchemist because of poor sales after six months, and we all know how that panned out!
For John Watson, as a management consultant myself, remember that all the famous people in our industry got famous from their books, so yes, use it as a hook, and the book will promote your skills, and your skills will promote your book.
Oh Joanna, I actually do have a question for you, amazing lady. I see that you promote yourself as J.E.Penn for your fiction works and Joanna Penn for your non-fiction. I’m interested to your perception of using the same across several genres? Be good to you. Ben
Joanna Penn says
I’m actually J.F.Penn 🙂 http://www.jfpenn.com
I think you should use the same name if your broad audience is the same, but if it’s very different, as mine is, then having more than one is useful.
Ben Fleming says
Hi Joanna,
I just noticed your actually name after I posted the comment, so I do apoligise. Your other website looks very good. Thanks for your advice. Ben
Anne says
I wrote one book (romance) and did not put it on KDP Select. I expected only family and friends to by it but to my surprise it began to sell very well (50 – 100 per day). I’ve also published on KOBO and Nook, but sales at those sites are negligible. I’m now entering my fourth month that it’s been on the market and sales have slowed considerably (averaging 10 per day). I’m wondering if it would be wise to give KDP Select a try at this point or is it too late? Your thoughts?
PS – Although reviews on both Amazon and goodreads are mostly good, there are not many of them (33 on amazon and 28 on good reads).
Eli Gifford says
I concur with others; thanks for the info. I am wondering what direction to take because unlike the others I have only one book and plan no more. This is a research book based on the history of Chief Seattle’s famous environmental speech he never gave. It has exclusive interviews with people involved that are now dead and a compilation of all the various purported speeches dating back to 1886. So the book is really for university libraries and people researching what Seattle may have said and when and how it became a prophetic speech about what would happen if Euro-americans continued on the path he saw in 1854. My concern is not money, but to get the information out to all the people who want to know. I am especially indebted to the man who was actively involved in the environmental version and has been trying to get the truth out for 35 years. He is dying so I want to honor him and get this published . Enough–your suggestions?