Before you read this article, read THIS ONE.
I started in KDP Select in January 2012 and had a really stellar year. Much of my success that year was due to all of my books reaching #1 free when I used my KDP Select free days and then Amazon's algorithms pushing my books up the charts when they came off free. This worked like a charm for a while until Amazon changed their algorithms and books no longer skyrocketed when they went back to regular price.
I don't expect anything to last forever, and as an author, just because you hop on the "trending train" doesn't mean you shouldn't keep trying all sorts of different things. If you put all your eggs in one basket, when that basket empties, you might find yourself left with nothing. And then it's back to the drawing board.
Two years later, I have a couple novellas in KDP Select, but my full-length novels are on multiple sites. Do I still think KDP Select is a good idea? Yes, if you are a new author.
What does a new author need?
1. To get noticed.
2. To find readers.
3. To establish a fan base.
I believe KDP Select is still a great option for newbie writers. Readers don't mind taking a chance on you if your book is free, but as an unknown author, even if you price it for what you think your work is worth, very few readers want to pay good money for an author that is unknown.
The key to success if you're putting your novel up for free is to let others know about it. To maximize your chances, I've created a list that gives you all the places you should notify when your book is going free. Believe me when I say, it's worth every second of your time to prepare for your free days well in advance.
Facebook Groups:
When I first wrote this post, I included about 100 Facebook pages where you could pimp your book freebie (with the group admin's permission, of course). However, one of the latest trends I've seen too much lately is authors marking other authors as "spamming the page" even when you post your book on a site dedicated to author freebies AND with permission. As someone who is opposed to spamming in any way, shape, or form, I was disappointed to see this happen to good law-abiding authors who didn't deserve it.
The first time some random person reports your post as spam (and you won't even know who reported it as misuse, by the way) you get slapped by FB with a two week probation. Do it twice, you could lose your account entirely. I have an author page on Facebook and run my own paid ads on there quite a bit, so the risk just isn't worth it, even though I wasn't doing anything wrong. I'd rather pay for ads than go to Facebook jail. So I'd like you all to consider using your Facebook author page to your advantage, and I'll try to carve out some time in the near future for a post on making the most of your Facebook author page. For now...let's move on.
Main Book Sites to Notify:
Before we get started, if you would rather pay $25 to have someone else notify 25 sites for you, consider Ebook Booster and also additional exposure with Fiverr.
Awesome Gang
Fill out the form.
Bargain eBook Hunter
You can request your book be featured free or pay $10.00 to guarantee placement. See page for details. If you can shell out the five bones for a guaranteed placement, do it. You want as much publicity on your free pages as you can get. Click HERE for the $5.00 form.
BookBlast
Fill out the form. They have about 25,000 subscribers and are growing every day. Books must have five reviews.
Book Goodies
Fill out the form.
Book Marketing Tools
So...this site does a lot of the work for you for a price of $14.99. They submit your freebie to 55 websites. This is a great way to go if you don't want to spend hours doing it yourself.
Digital Book Today
Good news and bad news with this one. If your book is new, it probably won't get promoted. You need a minimum of 30 reviews and an average of 4.2 stars or more to promote your book on the day it's free. You will also need to pay. Anthony charges $30 per day.
Discover Free Books
On this site, they are running a promotion where you pay $5.00 and they will promote you all over the place. Check out their page for more details. NOTE: You MUST give them a seven day advance notice minimum.
Ebooks Addict
Fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
eBook Deal of the Day UK
Fill out the form. They only accept the romance genre.
eBooks Habit
Fill out the form. They offer paid promotions as well. Books must have at least three reviews and no graphic sex scenes.
eBook Lister
Fill out the form
Ereader News Today
Fill out form. NOTE: He does not guarantee that he will post your book and selects books with the MOST reviews and highest rankings first.
eReader Perks
Fill out the form.
eReader Utopia
You can submit freebies and any books you are promoting up to $2.99.
Flurries of Words
He charges $5 to list your book for free.
Free Book Dude
Fill out the form.
Free Booksy
Fill out form.
Free Digital eReads
Fill out the form.
Free eBooks Daily
$5 to promote your freebie.
Free Kindle Books and Tips
Fill out the form. Book needs to have an average of at least four stars to be considered.
Good Kindles
List your freebie at three different price points, the lowest being $7.95 and the highest $19.95. As far as followers, they have over 1,600 on Facebook, and that's all I could find out on their page.
Indie Book of the Day
Follow the instructions on their site. No erotica.
Just Kindle Books
Like their page to unlock the form.
Kindle Freebies
On this page they list their email address which you use to email your freebie.
Kindle On The Cheap
From what I can tell, you fill out the contact form. Include name of book, your name, dates it will be free, link.
Kiss My Freebies
They do have some requirements including a minimum of ten reviews and a 4.0 average ranking.
Kobo Book Hub
IF your book is on Kobo, they have their own submission form.
Orangeberry Book Tour
It is $9.99 for two days, and they will pimp you on their Twitter and Facebook pages. You will receive ten tweets, five per day.
Pixel Of Ink
You can submit up to 30 days in advance.
Pixelscroll
Fill out the form.
Storyfinds
A continually growing fan base which includes over 17,000 Facebook likes. Excellent and cheap for your .99 sale days.
Talisman Book Publishing
Fill out the form.
That Book Place
Fill out the form.
The-Cheap
Fill out the form. They charge $25, and I am not sure what the reach is. They have over 4,000 Facebook followers as of 12/2012.
The eReader Café
They have a form for freebies as well as .99 books. Books must be at least 120 pages.
Wanton Reads
For romance/erotica.
Wonderworld
It's $8 for one book and one book excerpt. No erotica, no gore.
TWITTER
Tweet these guys and they will retweet your freebie for you. I have found three that always RT, and they are the ones below in red. As for the others, a lot of times they don't RT.
https://twitter.com/#!/AuthorKarma
This is a Twitter site. You tweet your book announcement to them starting with the word "announcement" and they will re-tweet it.
@kindlebookpulse will RT your promo, just send them a DM.
@kindleebooks
@Kindlestuff
@KindleEbooksUK (THIS IS UK, SO MAKE SURE YOUR TWEET IS FOR UK SITE)
@KindleFreeBook
@free
@4FreeKindleBook
@DigitalBkToday
@kindlenews
@AmazonBookPromo
@WritersNetGuide
@TweetinURBook
@KindleBookBlast
@BookForPromoted
@Superfabbooks
@kindle_promo
@IndAuthor
@ZilcheBooks
@KindleDaily
@AmazonKindle
@HundredZeros
@e_reading
@Free_UK_eBooks (THIS IS UK, SO MAKE SURE YOUR TWEET IS FOR UK SITE)
@BooksontheKnob
@KindleNews
@FreeStuffRocks
@BookBub
@KindleFireDept