Moving Exclusively to KDP Select (Need Your Feedback)

Since releasing Lucifer’s Odyssey in September, I’ve managed to place the ebook for Lucifer’s Odyssey in all the major distribution networks. This includes Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Store, and so forth. Up until recently, I had planned to do this with the second book in the series as well, but that has changed with Amazon’s new foray into exclusivity and benefits for independent authors called KDP Select.

KDP Select is a lot of things for customers, readers, and authors, but I’m most interested in the borrowing feature. You as a reader can borrow one book a month for free. The borrow can still benefit the author in that it gives exposure, and authors also get a percentage of a communal pot at the end of the month (For January, it’s expected to be $700,000). The December disbursement for readers being able to borrow ebooks was about $1.70 per borrow, and this is good money for independent authors. It also resulted in a lot of people reading books that they never would have read before.

Now, for me, that’s a big deal. I’ve given away hundreds of copies of the book at Library Thing and various giveaways, gained some nice reviews from these readers, and I’ve done paid promotions on sites like Kindle Nation Daily. Sales have not really picked up. Despite investing thousands of dollars into the production of the first book, my book is relatively unknown.

And that’s why I’m considering granting Amazon exclusive rights to not only Lucifer’s Odyssey but also the Goblin Rebellion in February. The paperbacks should still be available everywhere. This is just for ebooks.

What are your thoughts, as readers, on this?