The New Amazon KINDLE Reader: One Author's Experience

Hello Group:

I promised to follow up with additional info about my Amazon Kindle experiment. If you're not familiar with the KINDLE reader, it's Amazon's hot new handheld reading device for e-publications.

I've been participating in the Kindle user forums on Amazon for over a month. I'm fielding lots of questions from other authors who want to know more about the process of getting books into the system and the sales that have resulted. There's really nothing to it, though the upload procedure is tedious (if you're on a dial-up like I am) and can be a little frustrating. Follow the instructions for converting your book to HTML and you should be fine. Be sure you delete any images or strange fonts before you begin and then proof the Kindle version VERY carefully before you "publish" it. Otherwise, it can be a week or more before an edited version replaces a published version. Oh, and set your selling prices low! I listed Blackgloom at $2.95 instead of the $25.95 it sells for in hardcover. I think that makes a huge difference in sales.

And speaking of sales, I'm quite surprised and pleased with the first month's results. THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY (a fantasy epic) has been ranked as low as # 300 out of some 80,000 titles available in Kindle format. Even better, It has consistently ranked no worse than about # 5,000 over that month. After five years with hardcover books listed at Amazon, that's my first experience getting any title into and/or staying in the top 5,000 at Amazon.

I would urge more of you to get into the Kindle program so you can cross promote via the Kindle forums. The Kindle users are VERY active and apparently very interested in any new titles being uploaded. When Amazon gets more units available (they are sold out right now) there will likely be a big surge in sales. I plan to be there when that happens.

Jon Baxley

Blackgloom @ Kindle Store: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZYF3MQ

*** Please email your comments to FiveStarAuthor@aol.com .***

Thanks Five Star, must admit, I did look at the Kindle reader blurb not long back and made a mental note to look into it further. It sounds exciting! Thanks.

Hi George:

The best part of my "Kindling" experiment so far has been the immediate and direct user response, which is not always forthcoming from those who buy the hardcover version. It's also gratifying to see the sales rank hover in the low three digit range, which tells me the Kindle users ARE paying attention to my forum posts over there.

If you own your e-rights, I encourage you to make the leap into the Kindle realm. It can only get better as they produce more units.

Thanks for the reply.

JFB

I'm on it! Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it.

Whether it's e-books or Kindle books, are sales numbers taken seriously (or even considered) when comparing them (the numbers) with hard cover and paperback sales?

That is, could somebody sell thousands of Kindle copies but still remain an unknown when it comes to bestseller lists and mainstream buzz? If e-books are still not "real" books, where do Kindle books fit in?

Or so we know yet?

Malcolm

Hi Malcolm:

I could be wrong, but I doubt sales numbers for e-Versions of any books will matter for some time to come. Why is that? Traditional publishers will tell you that those sales cannot be verified, ergo, they didn't really happen. That's a crock, of course because with Amazon and other online retailers, the numbers are there in the form of sales reports that absolutely cannot be fudged (unlike royalty statements from print publishers).

The main thrust of my eVenture has been to gain exposure for the titles of my books. I have a standard practice of giving away a fully illustrated pdf eBook version of THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY to anyone who requests it. I do that on all the forums I belong to (which includes this one, if anyone is interested). Why give them away? I think eBooks are the best marketing tool you can have (other than a million $ advertising fund). Many of the folks who have gotten the free eBook have read it, some have reviewed it and some have gone online and bought the hardcover version. What was my cost in giving them away? Zero--nada, zip.

Gone are the days when publishers spent money to help "sell" an author. Unless you're a Tom Clancy, you're pretty much on your own in the promo department. That's why I spend about 3 hours a day answering questions and offering freebies in forums like this one. Plus, it's fun to meet new people this way.

JFB

One of the problems with Kindle is that you require a US Bank Account in order to receive payment. Despite what Amazon advertises this excludes anyone outside of the USA.

Malcolm wrote:

Whether it's e-books or Kindle books, are sales numbers taken seriously (or even considered) when comparing them (the numbers) with hard cover and paperback sales?
That is, could somebody sell thousands of Kindle copies but still remain an unknown when it comes to bestseller lists and mainstream buzz? If e-books are still not "real" books, where do Kindle books fit in?
Or so we know yet?
Malcolm

You raise some good questions, Malcolm. Still in all, I'm an unknown author (outside of my home town and family and friends in other parts of the country). As such, as FiveStarAuthor notes, ebooks are one of the best forms of marketing myself and my work.

I acquired the e-rights to my manuscript from my publisher (along with the audio-rights) but have yet to decide whether I want to go the Kindle route or produce free ebooks in PDF, Mobi or one of the other formats (if not all -- I'm rather partial to the MS Reader format if only because it feels the most like a book when displayed on a computer monitor).

One of my problems with Kindle is its use of DRM. It means my book can't be shared with others. I have serious issues with DRM. It tends not (from my perspective) to benefit the author but instead chains the book to a certain product (reader). Also, if memory servers me, there were some issues of whether Kindle had exclusive rights to the epublishing of a title. It's been more than a month since I was in the Kindle section of their site, so (given my lapses of memory) I may be incorrect--read: don't quote me on it.

I hope to decide on a course within the next month or so. We shall see...

Be well,
William

I've been waiting quite some time, now, to hear back from Amazon about my novel, In Darkness Bound, being made available for the Kindle. I published a digital version of my book through Amazon some months ago, and when the Kindle came out I enquired as to whether it would be made available for that product. I was assured that it would be ported from mobipocket.com (an Amazon affiliate to which I had submitted my novel for digital publication), but apparently they've been having problems with the process. Thus here I am, nearly two months after I first contacted them, still waiting. I am really eager to have my book part of the Kindle catalog, but until Amazon gets things worked out I'm left sitting frustrated. There doesn't seem much point in going on the forums and promoting a book Kindle users won't be able to access.

The thought occurs to me that part of the problem may have to do with what another alluded to: that authors whose works appear on the Kindle can only get paid if they have a US account. When I published through mobipocket.com I had to open a PayPal account in order to receive my royalties, but I encountered no proscriptions -- despite being in Canada. Things may be different, however, as regards the Kindle. After all, the device itself is currently only available in the US.

Anyway, I'm hoping things will soon be resolved in my favor.

--Lindsay Brambles, Ottawa, Canada, 2008

Hi Linzi:

Yes, you are required to have a US bank account to list titles in the Kindle system. That's a drawback Amazon is going to address soon. The other problem with the Mobi-Kindle hybrids can be overcome. Once you set up your account with Amazon US, you can upload a Kindle version yourself. I wouldn't wait for the Mobi thing to be worked out. All you need is an HTML version of your book (no graphics or weird fonts) and you can upload it. It's not hard at all--just time consuming.

Good luck!

jfb

Well, as luck would have it, I just got an e-mail a few minutes ago from Amazon informing me that they have ported In Darkness Bound from Mobipocket to the Kindle catalog, so it is now available to readers of that device. Unfortunately, they didn't post the cover pic with the listing, which is a bit of a drag.

Since Amazon mentioned nothing to me about payment, I assume I'll be paid through my PayPal account that is linked to my Mobipocket account. Anyway, here's hoping I get some sales out of it.

-Lindsay

This Kindle specific info is excerpted from Mike Shatzkin's article on the future of publishing in 2008 -- Publishers Weekly, 1/7/2008:

"...The popularity of e-books will increase, with titles formatted for Amazon’s Kindle leading the way. Content for the Sony Reader will sell faster than ever, but by this time next year, Kindle-compatible books will be outselling them by more than 2 to 1...By year end, nearly every straight-text title published with commercial intent will be available for Kindle; the trick for the other formats will be to make sure they’re included, too. And Kindle pricing will drive the market. But despite the fast growth, e-books will still make up a tiny share of the market—no more than 2% of sales for most titles—and will contribute only a minimal amount to publishers’ bottom lines....

"Apple, seeing the growth in use of Kindle and Sony Reader, will move to turn the iPhone and iPod into e-book readers...This combination will enable Apple to challenge...the Kindle, though Amazon’s device still promises to take significant market share away from print and other e-book formats over time...."

Folks, this is a terrific article on the future of publishing and particularly the Kindle reader. Visit http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6517338.html?nid=3335 to read the whole thing.

JFB 1/19/08