Some years ago I railed, often ad nauseum, about how wrong KDP select was. Before I continue this post I'll say up front that I haven't substantively changed my mind. While the concept of Kindle unlimited and allowing Amazon Prime members access to read for free is a brilliant marketing strategy, I just don't believe Amazon have to insist on exclusivity for the service. I think there's enough space for Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.
So a long time ago I ranted, several times, on these pages about the model and said I wouldn't enlist in KDP Select. Of course Amazon are in this for the long game and gradually I've seen my exposure on Amazon dwindle to the point where I sometimes find it difficult to find my own books, and my sales via the other channels has become a little on the rare side.
So a little while back I quietly listed Hotel California on KDP Select. I did this with a heavy heart as I don't agree with the exclusivity concept, but like King Cnut I'm unable to order the tide to pull out. I've just listed two other titles - Digital Life Form and Skin - on the programme and I'm going to evaluate how it goes. For those of you who prefer to shop in non-Amazon shops there are six other titles listed there, but I can't say for how long.
If you are a Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime member and find yourself needing to self isolate from Covid 19 and want to lose a few hours inside a book or three, why not look up one or more of these. For you guys it is free - for me, I'm waiting to find out if it is worth the admittedly small effort of listing the books but I'll give it a try. If it looks like it is worth going down the exclusive route then I guess I'll self isolate with Amazon.
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