There
are so many possible paths to publication nowadays, and Kindle Scout is just
one possibility. [If you haven’t heard of Kindle Scout, it is an Amazon
platform to allow readers to “nominate” books for Kindle Press to publish as
ebooks. Think “American Idol” meets corporate behemoth Amazon.]
To
help you decide if Kindle Scout might make sense for you, I’ve designed a
little decision tree. If you answer “no” to any
question, Kindle Scout is not what you want. If you get through all the questions and are
still yessing, then I have some links to help you make a final determination.
Is your manuscript fiction? [No? The Kindle Scout program
is only open to fiction. It started with Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller and
Science Fiction/Fantasy, and later added Literature & Fiction, which includes
Action and Adventure. Nonfiction won’t go, nor will children’s literature,
foreign languages, etc.]
Do you have a U.S. bank
account and tax number?
[No? So far the program is only open to people who Kindle Press can pay in the
U.S., even though your books are sold throughout the world wherever Amazon does
business. Update: In September KP opened this up to other countries, including Canada and much of the old British Commonwealth. Check for their current requirements.]
Will you be satisfied
with a nontraditional publishing contract? [No? You need a traditional publishing contract,
which Kindle Scout is not.]
Are you willing to have
different publishers for the print and electronic versions of your book? [No? The Kindle Press contract
only covers ebooks and digital audio books. If you want a print edition of your
book, you must either obtain a print-only publisher or self-publish.]
Are you willing to have your
ebook and audio book only available on Amazon? [No? The Kindle Press
contract locks your electronic books to the Amazon platform.]
Are you willing to have your
electronic books part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription service? [No? Kindle Press is not for
you.]
Is it okay if no digital audio
book is made in the first two years?
[No? Kindle Press is not required to produce an Audible book; your rights
revert back to you if they don’t produce one within two years. In their first
six months of operation they have not yet produced any.]
Is your manuscript finalized
so it can be published without any further copyedits? [No? The Kindle Press
contract does not require them to make any changes to the text you submit. Of
course, if that answer is no, you aren’t really ready to self-publish either.
Note: Kindle Press has copyedited all
books it has published to date.]
Do you have a
professional-looking book cover? [No?
Kindle Press requires you to have a book cover. During the thirty-day
nomination process that is the first thing prospective readers (called
“Scouts”) will see. Again, you should have this for a self-published manuscript
as well.]
Are you willing to give up
pricing and promotional decisions to a ginormous corporation? [No? Then you really need to
be an Indie publisher.]
Are you willing to wait two
and a half or three months for publication? [No? Because you must have a complete manuscript
and book cover to enter the Kindle Scout nomination process, you could be Indie
publishing as soon as you format the manuscript and upload it. The Kindle Scout
nomination process takes around forty days from submission to approval. Because
Kindle Press has been copyediting, add another six weeks or so plus a week for
formatting and, best case, you are ten weeks out. With glitches (and I had
several) it will be a longer delay.]
Congratulations, you’ve said “yes,” or at least not “no,” to all of
the questions. Kindle Scout may make sense for you.
What advantages might Kindle
Scout have compared to Indie publishing?
$1,500 advance on royalties paid within thirty days of
being selected
Amazon promotion – there are no guarantees,
and Kindle Press is only one of a number of Amazon imprints. However, early
Kindle Press publications have received various pushes from Amazon.
International sales: Your electronic book will be
available in North America, the U.K., Australia and Germany through Amazon
subsidiaries.
One final copyedit—again, not promised, but
currently they are contracting with Kirkus editors for copyedits. Every author
I have talked to has been very pleased with their edits.
Free publicity during the
thirty-day Kindle Scout nomination period. If you are selected by Kindle Press, those who
nominate your book will receive a free Kindle version (and are asked to leave
reviews). If you are not selected, those who nominate your book have recently
been given the option to receive an email when your book does become available
(from your Indie publishing or from another publisher.)
Decent royalties (given there is an advance):
50% on ebooks; 20% on digital audio
Rights reversions are clear: After two years if book does
not hit minimum royalty levels ($500 in any trailing twelve-month period) you
may reclaim your rights. After five years if you haven’t received at least
$25,000 in royalties you may revert your rights. If Kindle Press does not
publish within six months (ebook) or two years (digital audio) you may reclaim
rights.
What are the disadvantages of
Kindle Scout relative to Indie publishing?
As an
Indie publisher you can choose whether to distribute through all channels or receive
higher royalty rates going exclusively with Kindle. Thus, if you are going to
stay within the Amazon umbrella anyway, you are giving up royalties per book.
[Added 9/12/15: If you are not selected by Kindle Press, people who nominated your book receive an email notifying them that your book was not selected. If you wanted, the email has a link to your website, however, some authors think that notification implies their book is "not good enough." They worry their fans may not purchase that book when it finds a publisher or you self-publish it. Further update: When your nonselected book comes out, Amazon sends a message to those who nominated it letting them know it is available for purchase.]
[Added 9/12/15: If you are not selected by Kindle Press, people who nominated your book receive an email notifying them that your book was not selected. If you wanted, the email has a link to your website, however, some authors think that notification implies their book is "not good enough." They worry their fans may not purchase that book when it finds a publisher or you self-publish it. Further update: When your nonselected book comes out, Amazon sends a message to those who nominated it letting them know it is available for purchase.]
As an
Indie you retain control over pricing, whether or not to have an audio book,
promotions, etc. With Kindle Press you are relying on
Amazon’s marketing power and self-interest to benefit you.
That, I think is the crux of your decision if you compare Indie to
the Kindle Scout route.
Will the Amazon marketing power make a difference in sales? So far, most of the
Kindle Press published authors have been happy with their results. As the
program continues to roll out, I think it will be worthwhile to pay attention
to the opinion of Kindle Press’s authors. Recognize that it is in their
interest to promote the Kindle Scout program, so if you hear issues or complaints
or concerns, dig deeper.
As
promised, here are some links with additional details.
This post originally appeared on the Judy's Stew blog, June 3, 2015
