Author Topic: Kindle Scout experiences & Nomination Requests (MERGED) (Read 2065997 times) Tweet

Salvador Mercer · « **Reply #50 on:** June 19, 2015, 02:35:36 PM »

Makes sense. I'm almost done with my book so I'm hoping to get it submitted before July 1. Let's be sure to post back here either way if one of us finds out for sure.

I actually loved the cooler June day today. It doesn't have to be COLD, enough of those days here in Cleveland, but a nice comfortable day that doesn't require running the AC or the heat

Bbates024 · « **Reply #51 on:** June 19, 2015, 09:56:26 PM »

Quote from: Salvador Mercer on June 19, 2015, 02:35:36 PM

Makes sense. I'm almost done with my book so I'm hoping to get it submitted before July 1. Let's be sure to post back here either way if one of us finds out for sure.

I actually loved the cooler June day today. It doesn't have to be COLD, enough of those days here in Cleveland, but a nice comfortable day that doesn't require running the AC or the heat

I had a nice cool June day of 114 here in Phoenix :-)

AlexBack · « **Reply #52 on:** June 20, 2015, 04:37:08 PM »

So one day left to nominate, and my book, TRIGGER CANDY, suddenly got the 'Hot' tag. I did nothing other'n post to this thread a few times. It's a mystery!

Jill Nojack · « **Reply #53 on:** June 20, 2015, 05:05:57 PM »

Quote from: AlexBack on June 20, 2015, 04:37:08 PM

So one day left to nominate, and my book, TRIGGER CANDY, suddenly got the 'Hot' tag. I did nothing other'n post to this thread a few times. It's a mystery!

If a reader wants a free book, it would make sense to just check out the books on the ending soon list and nominate them on the last day. That's the only time they can get a free book for having nominated it. I would expect this to be a common phenomena.

Quote from: Bbates024 on June 19, 2015, 09:56:26 PM

I had a nice cool June day of 114 here in Phoenix :-)

I grew up in Phoenix and my mother is still there. I only visit in February now. Had a high school reunion in July a few years ago and it was still 100 degrees at midnight. Never again.

Salvador Mercer · « **Reply #54 on:** June 20, 2015, 08:12:39 PM »

Quote from: AlexBack on June 20, 2015, 04:37:08 PM

So one day left to nominate, and my book, TRIGGER CANDY, suddenly got the 'Hot' tag. I did nothing other'n post to this thread a few times. It's a mystery!

I've found that good things can happen here

Mark Gardner · « **Reply #55 on:** June 20, 2015, 08:15:59 PM »

Quote from: Bbates024 on June 19, 2015, 09:56:26 PM

I had a nice cool June day of 114 here in Phoenix :-)

pssh. It didn't even break a record, only tied some temp in 1896. Or so CBS5 said. Those guys couldn't predict that they'd hit the floor if they fell out of a chair.
Anyway, we're still maintaining double digits here in the high country.

Quote from: AlexBack on June 20, 2015, 04:37:08 PM

So one day left to nominate, and my book, TRIGGER CANDY, suddenly got the 'Hot' tag. I did nothing other'n post to this thread a few times. It's a mystery!

nominated!

Donna White Glaser · « **Reply #56 on:** June 22, 2015, 12:00:14 PM »

My Kindle Scout book just went live! So the length of time between putting it into the program and it being available was 2-1/2 months. Now the really fun part starts.

Salvador Mercer · « **Reply #57 on:** June 22, 2015, 04:36:16 PM »

Quote from: Donna White Glaser on June 22, 2015, 12:00:14 PM

My Kindle Scout book just went live! So the length of time between putting it into the program and it being available was 2-1/2 months. Now the really fun part starts.

That is faster than the very first batch, congrats!

Donna White Glaser · « **Reply #58 on:** June 22, 2015, 04:37:38 PM »

Yup. I think they're working the kinks out.

Tuttle · « **Reply #59 on:** June 22, 2015, 04:51:55 PM »

Two of the books from here went live today even! A Scrying Shame and Killing Katie! (Got the emails within the same minute)

B.A. Spangler · « **Reply #60 on:** June 23, 2015, 04:08:07 AM »

Quote from: Tuttle on June 22, 2015, 04:51:55 PM

Two of the books from here went live today even! A Scrying Shame and Killing Katie! (Got the emails within the same minute)

YAY - so exited about this!
Total time from submit to publish is an average of 3 months. Perfect amount of time to work on book 2. :-)

Jill Nojack · « **Reply #61 on:** June 25, 2015, 06:04:36 AM »

Quote from: Donna White Glaser on June 22, 2015, 12:00:14 PM

My Kindle Scout book just went live! So the length of time between putting it into the program and it being available was 2-1/2 months. Now the really fun part starts.

Congrats, Donna.

My book is now available on the Kindle Scout site (submitted Sunday night and became visible yesterday).

I doubt that it will do well - I simply don't have the chops for the kind of promotion it takes to get it into Hot & Trending. My efforts on day one yielded 51 page views, although I'm saving my newsletter subscribers for the push at the end. But since I really only put it in there because I wanted to hold it until at least Book Two is ready to go, I'm okay with it.

Anyone have any tips for quick promotion? I'm doing Facebook groups today to see how that goes, but it's so time consuming, and I'd rather be writing! With my permafree, I primarily just pay for promotions in the newsletters because that's what I've found is effective. There isn't anything like that for Kindle Scout.

Jill

HN Wake · « **Reply #62 on:** July 15, 2015, 06:26:16 AM »

Thanks for this thread! Very helpful. I have my second in a series lined up for Oct 1 publication (is available for pre-order.) I am considering putting it in Kindle Scout in the meantime, just to see if it gets picked up.

I'll report back.

Bbates024 · « **Reply #63 on:** July 15, 2015, 08:03:07 AM »

I have book in editing at the end of this month that I will be dropping into Kindle scout. I'll try and update here with the experience and info.

As a first time author I kind of see it as a win win, I make a little bit less per book but should get some awesome exposure, if it gets picked up of course.

If it doesn't well then hopefully enough people that saw it will look for it when it is released.

Also from reading the contract it looks like it just pertains to ebooks and audio, so you can still sell print versions outside of the contract. Granted I think that you are enrolled in KU as part of meaning your Amazon exclusive, but you could still use create space to drive extra income.

Jill Nojack · « **Reply #64 on:** July 15, 2015, 08:29:46 AM »

My book is currently hot & trending. Despite my initial misgivings, I have hit it all but 8 of the past 22 days. I've found it easier to get into H&T than I thought. It should be a cakewalk for someone who is good with social media rather than social-media-challenged like I am :-)

I will update with my results and strategy when my campaign ends in 8 days.

However, it is also interesting to me that there hasn't been a book selected for publication since June 20th. That's over three weeks. Prior to that, they were selecting a couple of books per week.

There were a some books I nominated that looked great. All of them were in the H&T for at least the last ten days of their runs, and I was sure they would be selected. I was looking forward to reading them for free! But if MCA Hogarth (Vice-President of SFWA) can't get selected for publication (that book is now doing nicely in the charts along with the other two in the series as a new release), I'm not going to be holding my breath.

Jil

Salvador Mercer · « **Reply #65 on:** July 15, 2015, 02:11:06 PM »

I think the H&T is just to get their attention. If a book isn't very well written, but the author has a fantastic social network, I don't think that even H&T books will be offered contracts just due to this. All my 2 cents of course.

Jill Nojack · « **Reply #66 on:** July 15, 2015, 04:21:34 PM »

Quote from: Salvador Mercer on July 15, 2015, 02:11:06 PM

I think the H&T is just to get their attention. If a book isn't very well written, but the author has a fantastic social network, I don't think that even H&T books will be offered contracts just due to this. All my 2 cents of course.

I would agree with that. There have been books selected that never hit H&T. But MCA Hogarth is a pretty good writer and the sample looked great.

Salvador Mercer · « **Reply #67 on:** July 15, 2015, 05:12:06 PM »

Quote from: Jill Nojack on July 15, 2015, 04:21:34 PM

I would agree with that. There have been books selected that never hit H&T. But MCA Hogarth is a pretty good writer and the sample looked great.

Well, I meant in general, I'm sure that the example you mention would be as you see it. But again, with these guys, who knows?

Jill Nojack · « **Reply #68 on:** July 15, 2015, 05:50:54 PM »

Quote from: Salvador Mercer on July 15, 2015, 05:12:06 PM

Well, I meant in general, I'm sure that the example you mention would be as you see it. But again, with these guys, who knows?

One thought I had about that was that hers is Epic Fantasy, and as far as I can tell, it's not a big KU draw. And I expect they want books that will do well in KU. Then again, I may not know what I'm talking about in any way at all :-)

Bbates024 · « **Reply #69 on:** July 15, 2015, 07:33:34 PM »

They do want books that will do well in KU, really for amazon it has to do a couple things.

It needs to sell so the program looks successful to attract better books.

It needs to draw readers into their programs.

Amazon is in this to make money with a relatively low payout $1500 especially when the author pays for the cover and editing. So as long as they can make 1500 back it didn't cost them a penny. Amazon can probably cover that with an email. They also reap 50% of the ebook sales vs 30%. So it's a pretty risk free gamble for them. Granted they really want the books to do better than that in the long room.

Donna White Glaser · « **Reply #70 on:** July 16, 2015, 07:22:16 AM »

Quote from: Bbates024 on July 15, 2015, 07:33:34 PM

They do want books that will do well in KU, really for amazon it has to do a couple things.

It needs to sell so the program looks successful to attract better books.

It needs to draw readers into their programs.

Amazon is in this to make money with a relatively low payout $1500 especially when the author pays for the cover and editing. So as long as they can make 1500 back it didn't cost them a penny. Amazon can probably cover that with an email. They also reap 50% of the ebook sales vs 30%. So it's a pretty risk free gamble for them. Granted they really want the books to do better than that in the long room.

Just want to point out that the $1500 isn't a payout, it's an advance against royalties. I kinda think that's what you meant anyway, Bbates, but I thought it worth clarifying to new authors exploring the program. And I also want to add that while, yes, the author originally pays for cover and editing, Amazon puts the book through another round of edits/proofreads before approving it for publication. That's at their expense. They also have the expense of staff running the Scout program and the site, so they do have overhead costs. IOW, they have their own money invested as well.

Salvador Mercer · « **Reply #71 on:** July 22, 2015, 09:17:41 PM »

Anyone who had a book in Kindle Scout, a question...

Ok, My book just hit the 24 hour live mark and under the "My Campaigns" tag it says "Last updated: Never". So how long till I see my first stats for "Hours in Hot & Trending" and "Total Page Views"? Any ideas? I'd expect to see a big fat 0 if my book isn't in the H&T category, but I would expect to see some page views. Right now the only data showing is for "Days Left" at 28. I think they can't count either, as 30-1 is 29, not 28.

Your experience(s) with the stats?

Jill Nojack · « **Reply #72 on:** July 23, 2015, 05:21:28 AM »

Quote from: Salvador Mercer on July 22, 2015, 09:17:41 PM

Anyone who had a book in Kindle Scout, a question...

Ok, My book just hit the 24 hour live mark and under the "My Campaigns" tag it says "Last updated: Never". So how long till I see my first stats for "Hours in Hot & Trending" and "Total Page Views"? Any ideas? I'd expect to see a big fat 0 if my book isn't in the H&T category, but I would expect to see some page views. Right now the only data showing is for "Days Left" at 28. I think they can't count either, as 30-1 is 29, not 28.

Your experience(s) with the stats?

The stats have usually been there by 7:30 AM EST the next day. But they are running late this morning.

They also just added a whole bunch of new types of stats/charts yesterday, so the data you get is a drool-fest if you're the stats-loving type. They now show where your traffic is coming from and the top 50 sources.

The days left don't count the day you are on. On your final day live, it will say 0 days left.

brkingsolver · « **Reply #73 on:** July 23, 2015, 06:10:37 AM »

For what it's worth, I put a book in Kindle Scout last Thanksgiving in the second round of the program. At that time, there weren't that many books there, and the ones in before me were all by authors who were entrants in Amazon's publishing award contest. Hot and Trending is nice, but not necessarily how books are chosen. In the first rounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas, most of the first entrants were chosen. I studied which books were chosen for about two months, and this is what I found:

- Popular genres (one of the first books chosen was a billionaire book)
- Author name recognition (Yes, H&T is important as they want authors who bring a following with them)
- Authors that they want to lock up. A number of the "winners" are trad published mid-tier authors who have decided to go it alone. Others are successful self-pubs who haven't truly broken out yet but Zon wants to keep them away from the trad publishers because it looks like they may be close to breaking out
- Well written. Yes, they're looking for books with great covers and the editing and formatting Zon has to do is minimal

That said, some of the winners are selling very well, others not so well. Although Zon does market them, having a following and doing your own marketing is still important.

Just my 2 centavos.

Bbates024 · « **Reply #74 on:** July 23, 2015, 07:26:22 AM »

Quote from: brkingsolver on July 23, 2015, 06:10:37 AM

For what it's worth, I put a book in Kindle Scout last Thanksgiving in the second round of the program. At that time, there weren't that many books there, and the ones in before me were all by authors who were entrants in Amazon's publishing award contest. Hot and Trending is nice, but not necessarily how books are chosen. In the first rounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas, most of the first entrants were chosen. I studied which books were chosen for about two months, and this is what I found:

- Popular genres (one of the first books chosen was a billionaire book)
- Author name recognition (Yes, H&T is important as they want authors who bring a following with them)
- Authors that they want to lock up. A number of the "winners" are trad published mid-tier authors who have decided to go it alone. Others are successful self-pubs who haven't truly broken out yet but Zon wants to keep them away from the trad publishers because it looks like they may be close to breaking out
- Well written. Yes, they're looking for books with great covers and the editing and formatting Zon has to do is minimal

That said, some of the winners are selling very well, others not so well. Although Zon does market them, having a following and doing your own marketing is still important.

Just my 2 centavos.

It's true amazon wants this program to do well they put money into it, and they want to make money out of it. Plus it never hurts to discover maybe the next best thing. :-)

I'm looking to getting my book up for them in August. I figure either way it will be a really great experience. Obviously I would rather be picked up :-)

I'll update here with my experience I save this thread, everything I have heard from authors selected has been very positive.

I wonder if anyone who was selected that had a series was offered a contract for additional books.