Have you ever wondered how to publish a free kindle book on Amazon? The $0 price point that was once exclusively for Publishers is now offered to anyone PLUS the option of earning money through Amazon’s Lending Library.
The catch? The book has to be exclusive to Amazon for at least 90 days. That shouldn’t be too much of a deterrent for most authors. Amazon still outsells the other digital book stores, and with the release of the Kindle Fire (and all the e-readers to be given for holiday gifts this year), this could be a gift Authors will cherish.
Introducing KDP Select – a new option to make money and promote your book. When you make your book exclusive to Kindle for at least 90 days, it will be part of the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library for the same period and you will earn your share of a monthly fund when readers borrow your books from the library. You will also be able to promote your book as free for up to 5 days during these 90 days.
This is a definite plus and a wise move on Amazon’s part.
What is the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library?
AMAZON: The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library is a collection of books that Amazon Prime members who own a kindle can borrow once a month, with no due dates. More on Amazon Lending.
When you publish your book you have the option of adding it for lending or not. I recommend the lending. While it may remove sales to a small degree, you’ll find in the long run it could increase future sales by finding new readers.
How is my share of the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library fund calculated?
AMAZON: Your share of the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Fund is calculated based on a share of the total number of qualified borrows of all participating KDP titles. For example, if the monthly fund amount is $500,000 and the total qualified borrows of all participating KDP titles is 100,000 in December and if your book was borrowed 1,500 times, you will earn 1.5% (1,500/100,000 = 1.5%), or $7,500 in December.
Show me the Money! This is the avenue where a popular book can earn a lot of dough — IF your book is lent to others. I personally have never lent a book, or received a lent book. Since my schedule is so hectic, reading in the 10-day limit time frame doesn’t work for me — but I am an exception.
Perhaps this Holiday (2011), adding “LEND MY BOOK TO YOUR FRIENDS THIS HOLIDAY AND SHARE THE SPIRIT” to your product description could entice more lending.
Who knows? You may develop a whole new reading fan base.
If my books are distributed in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, can customer still buy it?
Yes, your books will still be available for anyone to buy in the Kindle Store, like they’ve always been, and you will continue to earn royalties from those sales like you do today.
This is an excellent option. If the reader loves your book, but the 10-day time limit runs out, then they may purchase your book to finish. You couldn’t buy better advertising ;)
What does it mean to publish exclusively on Kindle?
When you choose KDP Select for a book, you’re committing to make the digital format of that book available exclusively through KDP. During the period of exclusivity, you cannot distribute your book digitally anywhere else, including on your website, blogs, etc. However, you can continue to distribute your book in physical format, or in any format other than digital. See the KDP Select Terms and Conditions for more information.
Where can I see the terms and conditions of KDP Select?
Click here to see KDP Select Terms and Conditions.
How to enroll in KDP Select
Book(s) already published to Kindle or uploaded to KDP? » You can enroll existing books by visiting the bookshelf. You’ll be able to enroll a single book or easily enroll multiple books at the same time.
Starting your new book(s)? » New books can be enrolled during the publishing process. Simply select the “Enroll this book in KDP Select” option and proceed to publish the book as you normally would.
How To obtain a permanent $0 price for your Kindle Book.
Distribute your book through Smashwords, and set the price at $0. Kindle has a price matching policy, so will match the price (eventually).
May I simply submit a book in a PDF file only for Kindle Owners Lending Library and at what point do we enter into an agreement?
You can’t submit a file directly to the Kindle Owners Lending Library. You select it as an option when publishing your digital file through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
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You can choose the Kindle Select option at any time. So any current books you have published, may be included in the Kindle Select program. The program runs for 90 days, and you may cancel at any time.
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No matter the format you publish through KDP, it is converted to a Kindle format (mobi / azw). PDF is not one of the recommended formats for publishing as it is considered an end-product (a file that was not intended to be converted back into anything) and conversion to a Kindle or epub file has mixed results. I recommend converting the PDF to a Word file, correcting any errors and formatting to a clean Epub or Kindle file.
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If you need help converting your PDF, please let me know.
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–Suzanne