A question that indie authors are commonly faced with when they are in the process of publishing their debut novel is where they intend to publish: go wide, or go Amazon-exclusive? This was a question that I wrestled with a lot during the setup stages of my author career, and the answer isn’t really defined. But I wanted to talk about my experience, and why I switched from going wide to Amazon-exclusivity.
Please note that I’m only discussing the digital version of my book. This doesn’t include paperback or hard copies.
What does it mean to go wide?
Distributing your eBook widely means that it is available on multiple platforms. You can create an account yourself on any or all of the eBook platforms (Kobo, Apple, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc) and self-publish your book, or you can go through an aggregator such as Draft2Digital or Ingramspark (for a commission fee on sales–I’m not sure what those are). Getting set-up at all of these platforms was really easy, in my opinion, so I decided to opt for the higher royalties and just set myself up on all of the platforms above when I first released my debut novel, She Who Chose War.
What does it mean to go Amazon-exclusive?
Just as it sounds: your eBook book cannot be offered on any other platform during the enrollment period in Amazon’s exclusive KDP Select program (I believe it is a three-month long duration before it auto renews).
Naturally, after hearing all this, it seems that going wide is the best way to go. Your book isn’t limited to Amazon, you’re not selling your soul to Amazon, and everyone on every platform can read it, including on Amazon. So . . . why shouldn’t you go wide?
I found out precisely why the hard way when I first published. The chief complaint I heard during my research on why not go wide was “it’s more complicated to publish on multiple platforms,” which seemed like a poor reason to me. The real deficit, in my experience, is exposure, and I really want to share that with debut authors facing this dilemma themselves.
No matter what, you’re going to have to work, work work to promote yourself and your books. You’re not going to publish your book and magically become a best-selling author with tons of sales (yes, even traditionally published offers have to promote themselves and their books to be successful). But, I discovered that you’re at a massive disadvantage being an indie debut author AND going wide. Here’s why:
1.) No one knows who you are
This is probably the biggest one. You are a no-name is a sea of millions upon millions of choices. Why should anyone pick up your book when there’s so many other options from authors who have been around a minute and have a dozen books published? This becomes even more challenging when they have to openly spend MONEY on a book. It’s another thing entirely if you’re a new author, and you can be read for free through Kindle Unlimited. Hence where the benefit of Amazon exclusivity comes into play for a debut indie author.
Readers don’t have anything to lose in picking up a debut indie author’s book from Kindle Unlimited, because they’re only losing one of their 20-or-so slots that they get free through Kindle Unlimited. Through their subscription they can read for free without fear. If they don’t like your book they can drop it, no loss to them. Readers don’t want to take risks, especially when it comes to money and debut authors. Doubly so if they’re indie, because sadly “independent publication” has received a bad rep over the years–and poorly edited content on the market does not help matters. They don’t know if yours is going to be worth the read. And, until they do, chances are they’re not going to want to spend money on you.
Kobo does have a similar program to Kindle Unlimited called Kobo Plus, but there are fewer readers, by far, on Kobo than on Amazon, and Kindle Unlimited’s pool is much, much greater of readers (and authors). Which brings me to my next point:
2.) There just aren’t many e-readers that don’t read through Amazon
HOWEVER there are some! And that was one of the major reasons that I wanted to publish widely: there are readers who aren’t on Amazon, and I wanted to support THEM by allowing my book to be wide. I also thought, rightly so, that there’s less competition on more platforms, making it feasible to publish wide and not have to battle with all of the authors competing for visibility on Kindle Unlimited.
This was the hardest for me when switching to Amazon Exclusivity: I had to pull my work from the other platforms, and the dear readers that I had on the other platforms. However, even without the benefits of Amazon exclusivity, I literally only sold three copies of my book on Kobo, Apple, Google, and B&N combined.
Only three.
Granted, my sales weren’t astronomical on Amazon, either, but they were significantly higher than that! The vast, vast majority of all my book sales, including eBook and paperback, came from Amazon. Doesn’t thrill me, as I’m no lover of Amazon and their treatment of small businesses, authors, and employees alike, but no matter how displeased I am at this reality, it’s just that: the reality. They have become the master eBook platform, and it seems that you either have to swim with the giant, or sink.
Which leads me to my last point:
3.) Amazon only offers promo options and (supposedly) offers better visibility and marketing to those in the KDP Select program
You can’t run sales on Amazon unless you’re in the KDP Select program. This bothered me greatly, and still does, but I suspect this is how they coax authors into the program, because promotions are so, so important to get readers and reviewers into your network. Further, I have heard that Amazon offers better visibility in their algorithm to their KDP exclusive authors. I do not know if this is true, as I only JUST enrolled my romantasy debut, She Who Chose War, into the program, but it makes sense that it would be, as they would stand to profit from their own exclusive authors’ work being promoted rather than those going wide.
I really wanted to be a wide author, but as a debut author it was not working. I was just not getting any visibility, getting new readers, no matter how much time I spent chilling on social media and chatting up readers and writers. So, I want to give this Kindle Unlimited thing a try. I won’t know if it was worth it until I do, but I sure could see that I hit a roadblock going wide.
No matter what you choose, though, remember this: publishing is a long road of rejection, no matter what avenue you choose to publish. It’s going to take time to build traction and a readership. But I think it’s important to always analyze our marketing strategies, and if something is showing very little to no results, it may be time to switch things up.
Have any thoughts to share? I would love to keep adding to this discussion in the comments and hear your thoughts!