Comments on: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Sticking with Amazon’s KDP Select, or Going Wide?

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 18:46:34 +0000

Further to Elizabeth’s comment, Kobo offers other advantages, such as:

– 45% royalty on pricing less than $2.99
– No surcharge per MB for file size
– There is no $9.99 pricing cap which is advantageous for box sets
– many *curated* promotional opportunities that cost little to no money (most rely on a percentage)

By: Leonard

Leonard — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Do the first 90 days on KDP SELECT, then go wide

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:41:57 +0000

Oops… Wide vs exclusive, of course. Not wide vs. Kobo!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:40:25 +0000

Well done on the whole, but there are some significant gaps in this analysis. I’m surprised that such a lengthy article on wide vs Kobo doesn’t mention:

* Kobo, a significant wide marketplace
* The risks of depending on one platform
* Increasingly challenging and expensive visibility on Amazon without large ad spend

For those who are in indie publishing for the long haul, we need to look at more than just the immediate earnings. What makes sense in a long term career? Where are you more likely to cultivate a readership that actually buys books?

In addition, I would argue that marketing wide isn’t that much more complicated than trying to tickle Amazon’s algorithms. It takes a different mindset and approach, but it’s not accurate to claim that it’s easier to market on Amazon.

By: Ellis L. Knox

Ellis L. Knox — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 19:52:14 +0000

Good article. You say it’s important to consider the audience and that you’ve found certain things to be true about the romance genre.

What about the others? Do you know of any data anywhere that breaks down KDP vs wide for science fiction? Fantasy? Mysteries? Westerns?

Seems like this would be helpful for folks to know.

Also, I’d like to suggest a second consideration besides money: exposure. So far, all advice says the unknown author should go KDP plus advertising to try to raise awareness. It would be helpful to know whether that advantage is a constant or whether it’s shifting over time.

By: Lee Gabel

Lee Gabel — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 16:42:51 +0000

Yes, going wide requires a commitment of at least one or two years. Not sure where you learned that each marketplace requires different formatting and covers. I publish on Kobo (a retailer with HUGE worldwide reach I might add), Apple, and Amazon, all with the same .epub and cover.

Your article skews heavily toward Amazon. A little more research into the pros of going wide would help. Here’s a good Facebook group to get you started: https://www.facebook.com/groups/441469159372773/

And because I know a little about Kobo, which you didn’t mention, here are some pros:
– 45% royalty for ebook prices less than $2.99 (Amazon offers 35%).
– 70% royalty with no $9.99 price cap. This is especially good for box sets.
– No additional fee for downloading ebooks. Again, good for box sets. (Amazon charges $0.15/MB.)
– Many promotional opportunities available for little or no upfront cost.
– Huge global reach (190 countries).

It all ads up. Capturing 1/1000th of 1% of the smaller marketplaces is still a tremendous number.

With thanks,
Lee