On September 26th my Campaign went live and it's been a very interesting week so far to say the least. There is no known formula that Kindle Scout uses to choose which books they look into deeper, but nominations play a big part in that. How many I need to get on their radar...I don't know, but I also doubt that I am anywhere close yet. My time in Hot & Trending has been abysmal so far, but not non-existent which allows me to hold out hope that I might make it to be considered by the Scout team. I trudge through google looking for stats that others have had in the program to see where I need to be, but they vary widely. That is to say, high traffic and high H&T time does not necessarily mean anything in this publishing platform which requires us as authors to put our promotional skills to the test. |
Like many authors I have spoken with, shameless self promotion is not something I am very good at. I am a polite, reserved, and humble person. You will never hear me say that I am awesome, or that my book is awesome, which is why I often seek non-biased individuals to give me feedback on what I'm working on. If it's something that's just alright, I will just keep for myself or share with my friends/family. I'm fine with that. But, if it's something that I should try to publish, I'll go that direction then.
My university writing teacher told me that I HAVE to get this one published. He said there are rarely any novel ideas out there anymore, just the way that the stories are told are novel. He told me that I had that rare novelty with this book and that I needed to use that to my advantage. I have never received such a push on any of my previous works so I'm taking his advice. I know this book has the potential to be something, if only I can promote myself well enough to get it in front of those who would see its worth and potential.
Again, selling myself is not my best feature. I have been through the query slush pile more times than I can count with my previous series (that I eventually decided to self-publish). Going back into trying a more traditional method of publishing is nerve-wracking, mostly because of the impending rejection. Even if you do get picked up, you're bound to get plenty of rejection first to lessen your spirits along the way.
Because of this, I decided to start with Kindle Scout, as it seemed less intimidating than tackling the query letter again. It seemed like a good deal. If it gets published on this platform, I'll get a $1,500 advance (not much but better than I'm used to as an Indie), 50% e-book royalties, 20% audio royalties, and Amazon's marketing versus my own. For someone like me, this is is a great offer but trying to make my book stand out a midst the hundreds of other books trying to catch their own break is hard.
Here's what I have learned so far:
My stats to date are 35 Hours in H&T and 526 page views at 8 days in.
I will continue to post about my campaign so that others may learn from my experience, whether negative or positive.
If you would like to check out my campaign and nominate Faezed & Confused for publication here's the link: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/C686MDLVI41U
My university writing teacher told me that I HAVE to get this one published. He said there are rarely any novel ideas out there anymore, just the way that the stories are told are novel. He told me that I had that rare novelty with this book and that I needed to use that to my advantage. I have never received such a push on any of my previous works so I'm taking his advice. I know this book has the potential to be something, if only I can promote myself well enough to get it in front of those who would see its worth and potential.
Again, selling myself is not my best feature. I have been through the query slush pile more times than I can count with my previous series (that I eventually decided to self-publish). Going back into trying a more traditional method of publishing is nerve-wracking, mostly because of the impending rejection. Even if you do get picked up, you're bound to get plenty of rejection first to lessen your spirits along the way.
Because of this, I decided to start with Kindle Scout, as it seemed less intimidating than tackling the query letter again. It seemed like a good deal. If it gets published on this platform, I'll get a $1,500 advance (not much but better than I'm used to as an Indie), 50% e-book royalties, 20% audio royalties, and Amazon's marketing versus my own. For someone like me, this is is a great offer but trying to make my book stand out a midst the hundreds of other books trying to catch their own break is hard.
Here's what I have learned so far:
- While I love my cover in print, it does not stand out as a mini-pic against the white backdrop of the campaign. Make sure yours does.
- Facebook ads for clicks to your campaign will help a bit with page views, but seems to do little for nominations. I'm giving mine a little longer but have decreased the amount I'm willing to pay.
- Hot & Trending time does help your book to get noticed more, but overall time in it does not necessarily mean that you will get a publishing deal or not. I have found many stats with 80% time in H&T which did not yield a publishing contract, and I have seen stats with 40% time in H&T which have yielded such awesomeness.
My stats to date are 35 Hours in H&T and 526 page views at 8 days in.
I will continue to post about my campaign so that others may learn from my experience, whether negative or positive.
If you would like to check out my campaign and nominate Faezed & Confused for publication here's the link: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/C686MDLVI41U