Amazon

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You Got a 1-Star Amazon Review! Now What?

This article first appeared on Ink Authors. Visit their website.

032216-1StarReviewYou’ve spent hours writing your book – rewriting, editing, getting feedback, and then writing some more. You’ve invested in the story arc and pulled your hair out over commas. You’ve navigated the murky trails (and trials!) of professional edits, layout, cover design, and book launching.

And the book is beautiful. It’s a work of art. And it’s here to change the world – starting with you!

All hyperbole aside, I know first-hand what goes into writing a book and getting it published. After all, I’ve got 16 titles to my name. And I know first-hand how holding your book in your hand for the very first time just never gets old. If anything, the lady at the post office is sick and tired of watching me rush out to the truck like a love-struck fool to caress the shiny cover on the proof.

But there’s something really important that is never told to authors – and it really should be.

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Amazon’s New Payment Plan Changes the Game

When Amazon announced their ‘Kindle Unlimited’ program, many authors, myself included, braced for impact. In a nutshell, Kindle Unlimited allows a user to borrow an unlimited number of Kindle eBooks in a month, with a 10-at-a-time limit, for the low price of $9.99 a month.

Amazon's new rules for paying authors when you borrow a book.Sounds great, right?

With everything, there’s a catch. But it’s not really on the reader’s side. There are over 800,000 titles in the program so there’s plenty of selection.

For a book to be part of Kindle Unlimited, it has to be a part of KDP Select (in a nutshell, the author is giving Amazon a 90-day exclusive to the eBook). But here’s the kicker… The author wasn’t getting paid for these downloads unless the reader got to 10% of the book or more.

(Before Kindle Unlimited, a book could be made available for borrow by Prime members (KOLL). But the author was paid the moment it was borrowed, regardless of how much was read.)

Oh Amazon… Forever changing the game for indie authors!

The way payment worked was simple:

  • Monthly pool of money
  • Divided by total number of borrows in that month
  • Multiplied by YOUR borrows
@Amazon still pays #authors better than other #ebook retailers. Click To Tweet

So I can do the math, imagine a pool of $100,000. If there were a total of 100,000 copies borrowed, that figures to $1 per borrow. If your book was borrowed seven times, you make $7.

Starting July 1, 2015, they changed the rules yet again. Bowing to author pressure that authors of shorter books were actually getting paid more than authors of longer books (not sure how that worked!) Amazon has introduced something called Kindle Edition Normalized Page, KNEP.

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Why Your Book’s ‘Finishing Details’ Make A Huge Difference

060915-PreviewEveryPageMy new office is getting [this close] to being move-in ready. I spent a very LONG hour and a half today doing the final caulking around the baseboards and door frames. So I can do the touch up painting.

And there was a not-so-small part of me who just wanted to skip it. I wanted to just put the switch plate covers back on and call it good – move in!

Then I realized that the lack of caulk (and touch up painting) would drive me nuts. It would look unfinished, unprofessional, and just… lazy.

Which made me think of the last bits of publishing projects: the previewing each and every page bits. It’s at the end and I’m usually trying to convince myself that it’s okay not to.

But you know what? When I’m previewing a book (or reviewing a proof) I look at EVERY SINGLE PAGE

Yep, every single page. Is that a huge PITA (pain in the a$$) for large manuscripts? Yep! Do I care? Nope!

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Should I respond to an Amazon review?

Back in August, I wrote about Amazon’s reviewing system for eBooks. I still feel that reviews are important to sales but not the be-all, end-all. I’ve recently received some new reviews on my books (yay!) and they are all positive 4- and 5-star reviews.

When a reader leaves a review on Amazon, good or bad, there’s a little spot where other people can leave a comment.

Don’t!

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As the author, whatever you do, don’t respond to a review. If you respond to a 1- or 2-star review you are seen as whiny and can’t take constructive criticism. If you respond to a 4- or 5-star review, congratulations, you have officially entered into creepy stalker territory.

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Amazon Matchbook – Discounted Kindle Version Of Print Book

Introducing “Kindle MatchBook”: Soon Customers Will Be Able to Purchase Kindle Editions of Print Books Purchased from Amazon—Past, Present and Future—for $2.99 or Less

Over 10,000 books already enrolled from authors such as Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, Blake Crouch, James Rollins, Jodi Picoult, Neil Gaiman, Marcus Sakey, Wally Lamb, Jo Nesbo, Neal Stephenson, and J.A. Jance, among many others

Today’s announcement is also a call to all authors and publishers to enroll their books in Kindle MatchBook—offering customers great value while adding a new revenue stream

Kindle MatchBook is the latest in a series of customer benefits exclusive to the Amazon ecosystem of digital content

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 3, 2013– (NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon today introduced Kindle MatchBook, a new benefit that gives customers the option to buy—for $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or free—the Kindle edition of print books they have purchased new from Amazon. Print purchases all the way back to 1995—when Amazon first opened its online bookstore—will qualify once a publisher enrolls a title in Kindle MatchBook. Over 10,000 books will already be available when Kindle MatchBook launches in October, including best sellers like I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, with many more titles to be added over time. Customers can learn more by visiting www.amazon.com/kindlematchbook.

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Amazon KDP Available for Mexico!

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¡Bienvenidos a México!

Amazon announced today the addition of Mexico to the list of countries available for eBook sales.

Amazon Launches Mexico Kindle Store with Over 70,000 eBooks in Spanish and 1,000 titles at Special Prices Starting at MXN$9 (www.amazon.com.mx)—Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite Now Available at Gandhi Stores in Mexico

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 29, 2013– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today launched the Mexico Kindle Store (www.amazon.com.mx), offering Mexican customers the largest selection of the most popular eBooks, the most Spanish-language best sellers, over 1,500 free books in Spanish and a broad selection of titles from leading Mexican authors and publishers. In total, the Kindle Store offers over 2 million titles, hundreds of thousands of which are exclusive, and more than 70,000 in Spanish, including titles from authors such as Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Isabel Allende and Paulo Coelho, among other Mexican and internationally known authors. In addition, Amazon announced that Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite are now on sale locally in Mexico at Gandhi stores. For more details, visit www.amazon.com.mx.

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Kindle Press Release: Kindle Worlds

Kindle Worlds Is Growing—Amazon Publishing Announces New Licenses from Valiant Entertainment and Bes

Kindle Worlds Is Growing—Amazon Publishing Announces New Licenses from Valiant Entertainment and Best-Selling Authors Hugh Howey, Barry Eisler, Blake Crouch and Neal Stephenson

Any writer can soon publish fan fiction inspired by Valiant comic book heroes Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Harbinger and Shadowman

Writers can also create new stories based on Howey’s Silo Saga, Eisler’s John Rain novels, Crouch’s Wayward Pines Series, and the Foreworld Saga by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo and more

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)– (NAS: AMZN) —Today, Amazon Publishing announced that it has secured licenses for its new publishing platform, Kindle Worlds, with leading comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment and best-selling authors Hugh Howey, Barry Eisler, Blake Crouch and Neal Stephenson. Through these licenses, any writer will be able to create and sell fan fiction inspired by the popular Worlds of Valiant superhero comic book series Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Harbinger, and Shadowman, with more to be added at a later date, as well as Howey’s Silo Saga, Eisler’s John Rain novels, Crouch’s Wayward PinesSeries, and the Foreworld Saga. Kindle Worlds is the first commercial publishing platform that will enable any writer to create fan fiction based on a range of original stories and characters and earn royalties for doing so.

“Since announcing Kindle Worlds just weeks ago, we’ve been energized by the interest and enthusiasm for this new program—from writers and readers alike,” said Philip Patrick, Director, Business Development and Publisher of Kindle Worlds. “With content from 2012’s Diamond Gem award-winning Comic Book Publisher of the Year and the work of several best-selling authors, we’re excited to expand Kindle Worlds and give writers even more options to be creative and earn royalties.”

“Kindle Worlds presents an amazing opportunity to bring Valiant’s wide-ranging universe of characters to a new medium, and empower fans and aspiring creators,” said Gavin Cuneo, Valiant’s CFO and Head of Strategic Development. “Comics are well known for their passionate and interactive fan communities, and, through the Kindle Worlds platform, we’re excited to give aspiring authors and fans the opportunity to work within the Valiant Universe, make their stories accessible to a large audience, and earn revenue for their work.”

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