Friday, April 27, 2012

Free Books - an Amazon Promo

By Chester Campbell

When Amazon first announced its KDP Select program, it looked like another effort of the 800-pound gorilla to throw its weight around. I had all of my mysteries set up on Amazon for the Kindle and at Smashwords for all the other ebook formats. The key to Amazon's program is the requirement that you make the book exclusive to the Kindle for 90 days.

The kicker to the deal is that the book is available in the Kindle Owners Lending Library. Amazon currently puts up a kitty of $600,000 a month to be divided among authors whose books were borrowed from the library. The kitty is divided by the total of books borrowed, and each author gets that amount times the number of his or her books checked out. According to the KDP Select FAQ, each book earned $1.70 per borrow in a prior month.  It isn't as much as the 70 percent royalty, but it isn't bad.

Only members of Amazon Prime can borrow books, and they're restricted to one per month. It costs $79 to be a Prime member, but you get other benefits like free two-day shipping on your puchases.

When I finished revising and getting my first Post Cold War thriller edited and ready for publication, I decided to try the KDP Select deal. I know several authors who have done well in the program. One of its features is the ability to make the book free for five days during the 90-day period. It's a good way to get word out on the book and encourage reviews. So here's the deal:

Today (April 27) and tomorrow (April 28), you can get a free Kindle ebook by going to this link: Beware the Jabberwock.

The book is set in the fall of 1991 and spring of 1992. As the Cold War winds down, former enemies on both sides of the Iron Curtain plot to retain power with a deadly stroke against top world leaders. Telephone intercepts hint at its existence. Veteran CIA spook Cameron Quinn finds it necessary to recruit an old FBI friend to assist in his investigation. Burke Hill, still trying to live down his dismissal by J. Edgar Hoover years ago, travels from Tel Aviv to Hong Kong and soon finds himself unable to trust anyone. He and Quinn's daughter, Lori, face one trap after another as they put the pieces of Operation Jabberwock together and find they're fighting against the clock to stop the slaughter.

Pick up your free ebook today or tomorrow and put a review on Amazon.

2 comments:

Earl Staggs said...

I downloaded it, Chester, and look forward to reading what looks like a story I'll like. Good luck with the KDP program. I've heard good things about it from others.

Jaden Terrell said...

Read and reviewed--and "liked"--Chester. It's a terrific read.