This is a tough question to answer, and my answer would be: what do you have to lose. If you have enrolled in KDP Select through Amazon, chances are you will take advantage of one of promotions that they offer. I chose the free promotion, because as a Kindle owner, I pulled a lot of my books from the top 100 free list. Sure, I’m not getting a cent from the “sales” but my book would be able to get its name in shining lights. Well, in theory.
But that poses another philosophical question. If a reader buys my book for free (how’s that for an oxymoron), will they buy my next book? Will they even read it, or will it sit in their archive, lonely and unread for all of eternity. Authors need repeat business to become successful. There has to be anticipation, a connection to the author, that makes the readers want to return for more, regardless of the price of the book. It’s hard to know what to do as a first time self-publisher, so all you can do is read what you can, make gut choices and hope for the best.
So here are the stats from my free sale. I “sold” 157 free units in a 5 day period. Thats not many, however, considering that before that I had only sold 5, I was pretty happy with it. Secondly, I got to 67 on the Paranormal and Urban free list. However, I applied to get my book on a lot websites that list free books on the day of their sale. How many of those came through for me, I do not know. I used the list from the Authors Marketing Club free ebook submission tool.
So was it worth it? Short answer is yes. 157 more people have seen my book than before the promotion, and maybe a couple of those will like it enough to buy the next one? Let’s hope so.
Until next time,
Madeline x
Madeline Young Writes 