Should I Write More Books? Looking for the Silver Lining in the Kindle Unlimited Cloud

Since its release in August 2015, the new royalty payout system for indie authors who have registered with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) has left some authors disgruntled and others perplexed. At the end of this month, indie authors began receiving royalty payments based on the number of pages its readers have read over the course of a month. Among the many pluses that arise from the new system is the ability to gauge how much readers like your books. This can help independent authors devise marketing strategies that make the most use of their efforts.

In an effort to cut down on the book review mill that has been pouring over the Internet, and to reward authors whose titles people actually read, Amazon has stepped up efforts to assure that books published on its platform are more professional and that they consist of good content. One of the most obvious ways that people have come to learn about the professionalism and the quality of content has been the book review; readers who download a title are encouraged to tell others what they think about the titles they read. And, while this has been quite helpful to readers who are looking for specific information, and who enjoy diving into “good reads” in general, it is not a fail-safe system. 

Indie publishers, many of whom are hoping to make a name for themselves, rely heavily on the input of others, most especially readers. Unfortunately, some people, keenly aware of the role reviews play in the making or breaking of a new author, have resulted to less-than-savory tactics to beef up their online presence. This may include anything from review swaps (where authors review one another’s books) to paid reviews (such as those offered by Kirkus and other organizations) and even asking friends, family, and close social ties to chime in.

The new Kindle system tries to offset this somewhat. In addition to making changes to its review policies, the new royalty payout actually rewards indie authors for the specific number of pages its readers read. The system is not set up to account for sales through its regular platform, but for those readers who are enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, it creates a tracking system. On the one hand it helps Amazon market similar titles to these individuals; on the other hand it really gives the indie author the opportunity to see how well a specific title is received.

For the authors of nonfiction titles, this can be an added bonus. For example, I have four how-to titles on self-publishing on Kindle right now. Most of them are very short, except for the Author Toolkit, which essentially combines all of the other titles into one comprehensive anthology, with the addition of some tips on marketing, establishing an online presence, and advice on setting yourself up as an expert in your field. When I go to check my KDP account, I can see that people are actually reading those books; I can determine that they are taking the advice I am giving and, perhaps, saving themselves valuable time and money in the process. While I could certainly rely on the reviews people have posted, as I’ve said before, this is not the most reliable determiner of the success of the titles.

What’s more, I can see which of my titles people are actually reading. This helps me immensely when trying to come up with other topics to write about, and it also helps me make the most use of my marketing dollars. If I know, for example, that people are reading the how-tos on book design and not the ones on designing Kindle ebooks, I can try to figure out why that is the case. Perhaps the ebook how-to is not comprehensive enough, or perhaps there are other titles out there that are much better, easier to use, or cheaper. Nonetheless, it means I have much more information about my titles than I had access to just a few months ago.

For example, I received a comment from one of the readers of my basic book design how-to. I can also see, via KDP that the book hasn't been selling well. The reviewer mentioned that the book was not simple enough for someone with no experience with Adobe InDesign. Now I can re-evaluate this title: I can create a new beginner's guide for people with no understanding of how InDesign works, or I can add supplementary information to the existing title—an index, for example.

If you discover that people are not reading your books—i.e., low page number counts per day, low royalty payments through KU—it might mean having to re-examine your publishing strategies. If you have multiple titles on Amazon, find out which ones are doing well. If someone posted a bad review on your Amazon page for title that isn’t selling well, look closely at what the reviewer is saying. Do your homework and find out if there is something you can do to make the title better. If you have rather negative reviews about typos, grammar issues, and formatting on your Amazon page, it might be time to make some readjustments. If you discover that people are not reading many pages of your book, it may be a sign that people are losing interest after the first few pages. Seeking the advice of a book development specialist might also be an avenue you can choose. Explore any and all opportunities to improve your writing, your brand, and your online presence.

With the changes to KU royalty payments and, specifically, the Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENP) features, authors have more tools available to them than ever before. By taking advantage of the information contained therein, authors can save themselves time, money, and resources and get back to the things they enjoy the most, such as writing.

Amazon May Very Well Shut Down the Indie Author Review-Seeking Machine

Using the Right Avenues for Attracting Readers Can Alleviate Headaches

Imy Santiago, an independent author, posted on her blog recently about trying to post a review to Amazon. Without mentioning the name of the author or the title, the blogger discussed, with great dissatisfaction, how her review was not posted. Amazon eventually sent her a message stating that her review could not be posted because it did not conform to the review standards. After several attempts to rectify the situation, Amazon determined that Imy knew the author and, in an effort to filter out inauthentic book reviews, they would not post Imy’s review. Imy remains puzzled as to how she and the author knew one another. Her final thought is that Amazon’s “Big Brother” tactics have become too overreaching and all-powerful. She is encouraging her readers to fight back.

Amazon has come under scrutiny in the past about the way in which it receives and posts reviews of products, most especially books. Since just about anyone can upload a title to the platform and sell it, the site has become inundated with review seekers who are willing to do just about anything to get them. The common logic in the self-publishing world is that book reviews on sites like Amazon help customers make informed decisions. Instead of relying on a name or a brand to generate sales, these authors resort to soliciting reviews from any number of outlets. Amazon fired back and began screening reviews and reviewers to determine authenticity.

Other new changes to Amazon’s system, particularly where Kindle ebooks are concerned, can help perpetuate the notion that Amazon really is acting like Big Brother. In a recent blog article, I talked about how publishers who are enrolled in the Kindle Direct Publishing program (KDP) are now receiving royalties based on the number of pages readers digest. Instead of paying authors and publishers per download, there is now in existence a tiered royalty pay scale; when readers finish reading a Kindle ebook, the author or publisher gets the full royalty. When readers read less than 10 percent of the book, there is no royalty.

Amazon’s ability to track Kindle reader activity is worrisome to many, most especially the authors who publish and enroll in KDP. And, as Imy points out, Amazon’s cryptic practices for monitoring customer activity and, some would argue, using it to their advantage, means that the self-publishing world has become the new battleground in cutting-edge-technology snooping. If other independent authors, for example, cannot post reviews to other indie authors’ pages because they are discovered to be in the same Facebook fan page group, this could mean the end of author solicitation for reviews of their own titles.

Amazon's approach could very well be the most ethical way of dealing with the review conundrum. But what this means for authors and independent publishers is they will have to try harder to secure authentic reviews from genuine readers. By “genuine” I mean simply people who find independent titles organically, whether through advertisements, endorsements from others, or even native Google searches.

For all we know, the traditional publishing industry doesn’t have much problem with review posting. I don’t imagine that there are big publisher operatives out there trolling the internet, trying to convince people to both purchase and review a traditionally published title. The traditional publishing industry has a great deal of money and resources to get the word out for its titles, some might argue, and it’s that arsenal of resources that attracts readers who will love their books—and, more importantly, review them.

Self-publishing authors can learn to think more like traditional publishers even if they don’t have a gargantuan piggy bank from which to operate. Instead of seeking out reviews for self-published titles through means that Amazon might deem unfit, savvy authors are using other avenues to attract the right types of readers.

1. Does your publishing company have a home on the internet? If you are an independent publisher with one or two titles available for sale online, you may have a small web page devoted to them. Without some hub for your titles, people will not know where to find out more about you and your work. Granted, there are author pages on Amazon and other sites, but the types of readers who will remain loyal to you will look for opportunities to connect with you outside of retail or commercial websites.
2. How easily can people connect with you? Sure, you may have a Facebook page or a page on Goodreads, but how easily can people connect with you? People like books, but people love authors even more, especially good ones.
3. How easily can people find you? The vastness of the cyber world means that independent authors have to try really hard to connect with readers. People are doing searches every day in topics very similar to your genre of writing, and they are constantly seeking new avenues of entertainment and education. But, if people can find you in the ways they are normally accustomed to finding out information, how will they even know that you or your titles exist?
4. How often are you connecting with readers? Authors who have a well-established presence on the internet follow the same basic principles. They develop a hub where people can connect them, they make it easy for people to find them, and—here’s the kicker—they actually engage in dialogue with their readers! If someone comments on your book by sending you an e-mail or posting a note on your blog, this is a perfect opportunity to engage with them. Thank the reader for reaching out, and then invite him or her to share his or her experiences with the book to others. Invite him or her to review your title and post to his or her social media outlets.

Without a fresh approach to independent authorship, self-publishing will continue to languish in a relatively substandard nether-region between traditionally published books and unedited, careless social media posts. Independent authors would be wise to recognize that the cutting corners approach to gaining recognition and sales is going to die out. Instead, books that continue to receive authentic, unsolicited reviews will increase in stature. Self-publishing authors who want to develop a career out of writing and publishing will have to start acting like the pros, who are dominating the publishing market.

How Kindle Direct Publishing’s Royalty Payout Changes Can Affect You, And What You Can Do about It

The new Kindle royalty system will reward authors for publishing content people actually read.

Beginning July 1, 2015, Amazon will be changing the way it pays out royalties to authors who participate in its Kindle Unlimited (KU) program. Kindle Unlimited is a subset of the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform, which typically gives authors the advantage of extra royalties. By enrolling in KDP, authors receive royalties whenever a reader, who is a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, downloads your book and reads at least 10 percent of it. Starting on July 1, authors will receive royalties on downloaded titles through KU based on the total number of pages a KU member reads, “the first time they read it.”

For many authors who participate in KDP, the extra money from KU royalties can provide a big boost financially. Many self-publishing authors participate in promotional opportunities that KDP offers. KDP allows authors to list their titles for free for up to five days per ninety-day period. Authors who are able to attract readers, who then download their books for free, can increase Amazon rankings, which in turn can boost exposure for a title. And, if that increased interest in your book leads Amazon Kindle users to download your book as a member of KU, it means your marketing efforts are working.

There are some good reasons for Amazon to make these changes, despite what authors may think of them. For one thing, there are lots of people publishing content on Amazon these days, some of it we could certainly say is substandard. With clever marketing, some of these ebook publishers are able to convince large numbers of people to download and buy their books. Those same people, who are far less serious about producing a high-quality book that people will love, are profiting off of the KDP system. When the readers of these books determine that the ebooks are, in fact, substandard, they stop reading them. Meanwhile, the publisher is still collecting a royalty for producing a substandard book. The new system rewards authors for publishing content people actually read.

At the very least, this means authors must devote the proper time and energy to their titles, to assure that they are high-quality reads people will enjoy. It’s not enough to merely slap something together and post it online; now authors have to think more like publishers, in that they must ask themselves how much readers will enjoy their work.

Here are some suggestions for making sure your book is in the best shape possible:

1. Proofread, proofread, proofread. An author who is familiar enough with publishing standards might be able to get away with proofreading his or her work, but that accounts for a very small percentage of authors who publish on KDP. Don’t be afraid to spend a little money to make sure your book is truly ready for publishing. If you can hire a copyeditor, you can also hire a proofreader to look everything over one last time before you post it. Look for someone with a book publishing background and who knows how to conform your content to the publishing industry standard.
2. Hire a professional cover designer. Books that appear in the search results on Amazon are much smaller than what you might expect to see in the bookstore. That little thumbnail image of your cover is what attracts people to check it out; it has to be compelling enough to urge a reader’s curiosity forward.
3. Learn how to format your book for Kindle. If your book is formatted improperly for Kindle readers, your customers are less likely to continue reading it. The same readers who download your book also download books from traditional publishers—meaning they, your readers, know what a Kindle ebook is supposed to look like, even if you don’t. There are lots of great resource guides out there, including one I have published. If that’s too much to handle, hire someone who knows what he or she is doing.
4. Are you sure your book is ready? While this may be an author’s biggest nightmare, neglecting it in an attempt to get a book out there can now cost you dearly. While you may have hired a copyeditor and/or proofreader for your title, neither of these services specifically addresses how awesome or how terrible your book may be. If you’ve received feedback from readers that is lackluster or less than desirable, perhaps it’s time to revisit the drawing board. This certainly doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel where writing and publishing are concerned; rather, it means that you should work with someone who specializes in manuscript development. At the very least, a critique from a publishing professional, who specializes in your particular genre, can provide insights and direction where development is concerned.

The new Amazon royalty rules mean authors will have to step up their game and compete with traditionally published books. Without knowing much about the way the industry works, this can seem like an insurmountable challenge. Through the end of June, I am offering a special rate on consultations for development, formatting, and publishing, including a $299 Finishing Touches special (proofreading and Kindle formatting). Please click the link to register.

You can continue to keep up with current news and events affecting authors and the self-publishing world by visiting this blog. If you have questions about the new KDP developments or other self-publishing topics, please feel free to reach out to me.

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Thomas M. Hill is an author, book shepherd, and publishing consultant. His latest release, The Author Toolkit: Publishing Strategies for the Passionate Author, is a motivational and practical resource guide to successful self-publishing and book promotion. He is humbled to have played a small part in the success of his bestselling author clients’ titles. He enjoys meeting new authors and offers free consultations on all services. Follow (or engage with) Thomas @launchpadpress.