Kindle Authors...Are your sales hurt by people "loaning/borrowing" your book?

12 years ago

Are you talking about the "borrows" that are part of the KDP select program? Or people loaning books they have purchased through DRM?

You get paid for the borrows from KDP select (last month it was $2 per book - almost as much as you get for a paid sale for a book priced at $2.99 which is what most kindle books are priced at).

I don't know of a way to track the borrows from DRM, but if you do I would love to know what it is.

Either way, I don't think it hurts your sales. In fact, if you have a series of books it can encourage sales because the borrower may like your book and want to buy the others. It gets you more exposure and that can only be a good thing.

Lee

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creative producer

12 years ago

Originally Posted by cashcow

Are you talking about the "borrows" that are part of the KDP select program? Or people loaning books they have purchased through DRM?

You get paid for the borrows from KDP select (last month it was $2 per book - almost as much as you get for a paid sale for a book priced at $2.99 which is what most kindle books are priced at).

I don't know of a way to track the borrows from DRM, but if you do I would love to know what it is.

Either way, I don't think it hurts your sales. In fact, if you have a series of books it can encourage sales because the borrower may like your book and want to buy the others. It gets you more exposure and that can only be a good thing.

Lee

Hi Lee,

This is the lending program I was referencing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_200549320_faq?nodeId=200549320&#faq

Lending Kindle Books

"Eligible Kindle books can be loaned once for a period of 14 days. The borrower does not need to own a Kindle -- Kindle books can also be read using our free Kindle reading applications for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. Not all books are lendable -- it is up to the publisher or rights holder to determine which titles are eligible for lending. The lender will not be able to read the book during the loan period."

-As the text states, its up to the publisher to set the policy on lending. I was just wondering if anyone was experimenting with this and what results they were getting.

Seems this lending program is only available in the US at the moment and for a limited period with pretty strict rules....

-Carrie

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cashcow

12 years ago

Originally Posted by creative producer

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This is the lending program I was referencing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_200549320_faq?nodeId=200549320&#faq

That's the DRM one. I have my books in there but there's really no way to tell how many times they have been loaned, is there?

I wouldn't know if it hurts sales because I always check it off from the start.

Lee

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Gone Fishing

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creative producer

12 years ago

Originally Posted by cashcow

Are you talking about the "borrows" that are part of the KDP select program? Or people loaning books they have purchased through DRM?

You get paid for the borrows from KDP select (last month it was $2 per book - almost as much as you get for a paid sale for a book priced at $2.99 which is what most kindle books are priced at).

I don't know of a way to track the borrows from DRM, but if you do I would love to know what it is.

Either way, I don't think it hurts your sales. In fact, if you have a series of books it can encourage sales because the borrower may like your book and want to buy the others. It gets you more exposure and that can only be a good thing.

Lee

Hi Lee,

Seems this lending program is only available in the US at the moment and for a limited period with pretty strict rules....

My understanding is that the stats are reported.

-Carrie

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cashcow

12 years ago

Originally Posted by creative producer

Hi Lee,

Seems this lending program is only available in the US at the moment and for a limited period with pretty strict rules....

My understanding is that the stats are reported.

-Carrie

That's the KDP Select program which is different from Digital Rights Management.

Lee

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Gone Fishing

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Orator

12 years ago

I've tried the lending program with a small book series of mine, and the results have been mixed at best. I've noticed a minor uptick in sales which might be linked to people finding my other books from the links in the shared one. There needs to be a lot more testing done before I decide if it's useful or not. At the bare minimum though I think it's worth considering.

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JohnMcCabe

12 years ago

I'm not claiming to have this nailed down for Kindle - yet. But logic tells me that if a vendor (Amazon, in this case) allows and encourages lending, you have to plan to take advantage of it. Make sure you have a page in every Kindle book with a list of the other titles in the series, with a link to a web page or squeeze page of some kind.

One tactic I've seen in some fiction series, which I plan to test, is to include a chapter from another book in the series at the end of each book. So you finish book #3, and there's a chapter from book #4 waiting for you. You read the preview chapter and go buy book #4, and - who would have guessed - there's a preview of #5, and so on...

I have a hunch it might work a lot better for fiction than non-fiction, but who knows?

For non-fiction, and especially how-to, I imagine a good blurb and TOC would fill the bill as well.

It will be interesting to see the results...

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creative producer

12 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

I'm not claiming to have this nailed down for Kindle - yet. But logic tells me that if a vendor (Amazon, in this case) allows and encourages lending, you have to plan to take advantage of it. Make sure you have a page in every Kindle book with a list of the other titles in the series, with a link to a web page or squeeze page of some kind.

One tactic I've seen in some fiction series, which I plan to test, is to include a chapter from another book in the series at the end of each book. So you finish book #3, and there's a chapter from book #4 waiting for you. You read the preview chapter and go buy book #4, and - who would have guessed - there's a preview of #5, and so on...

I have a hunch it might work a lot better for fiction than non-fiction, but who knows?

For non-fiction, and especially how-to, I imagine a good blurb and TOC would fill the bill as well.

It will be interesting to see the results...

Absolutely, John:

Those are great suggestions for engaging the reader with more of our titles beyond the one they borrowed. I especially like the sample chapter idea even more than, or in addition to just a link, because its more like test driving the car than handing them a brochure...once they are behind the wheel and smelling the leather, so to speak, if they like the experience, they are sold!

And for sure, at the end of the day, its all about the testing!

Do you write both fiction and non-fiction? (I already know you can tell a whopper of a story from your picture!)

-Carrie

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J Bold

12 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

I'm not claiming to have this nailed down for Kindle - yet. But logic tells me that if a vendor (Amazon, in this case) allows and encourages lending, you have to plan to take advantage of it. Make sure you have a page in every Kindle book with a list of the other titles in the series, with a link to a web page or squeeze page of some kind.

One tactic I've seen in some fiction series, which I plan to test, is to include a chapter from another book in the series at the end of each book. So you finish book #3, and there's a chapter from book #4 waiting for you. You read the preview chapter and go buy book #4, and - who would have guessed - there's a preview of #5, and so on...

I have a hunch it might work a lot better for fiction than non-fiction, but who knows?

For non-fiction, and especially how-to, I imagine a good blurb and TOC would fill the bill as well.

It will be interesting to see the results...

Sounds cool.

I've read fiction books that are a part of a series that have utilized this strategy. Don't see why it shouldn't work for ebooks as well!

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Paul Gram

12 years ago

Lending is awesome. It puts your books in more people's hands and if you are doing it right, you are creating a series of books that can be sold to people over and over again.

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creative producer

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Gram

Lending is awesome. It puts your books in more people's hands and if you are doing it right, you are creating a series of books that can be sold to people over and over again.

Hi Paul,

Seems to make intuitive sense. I'd be interested to hear more about any specific tests or results you've experienced with the lending program, that you feel comfortable sharing. Care to elaborate?

Thanks,

Carrie

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wizzard74

12 years ago

KDP Select means that you can only sell your book on amazon for 90 days, you cannot sell it on any other platform.

What the lending platform is, who ever buys your book can lend it to their friends, but they cannot read the book themselves for 14 days.

They are 2 seperate issues.

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AmandaT

12 years ago

How bad does it hurt sales when people lend physical books to their friends? Well, it is going to hurt sales even less with Kindle books.

Not many people make use of the lending function, though you should plan for if they do. Give them a way to find your other books or your website.

Also, realize that if someone is borrowing your book, that means someone who bought it recommended it and is likely spreading the word to more than just the person borrowing it!

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creative producer

12 years ago

Originally Posted by AmandaT

How bad does it hurt sales when people lend physical books to their friends? Well, it is going to hurt sales even less with Kindle books.

Not many people make use of the lending function, though you should plan for if they do. Give them a way to find your other books or your website.

Also, realize that if someone is borrowing your book, that means someone who bought it recommended it and is likely spreading the word to more than just the person borrowing it!

Hey Amanda,

The lending function (via Amazon, anyway-not between peers, off platform) is within the control of the publisher. So, the reason for my question is to get feedback on whether or not participating in the Amazon Lending Program has been, or might be a useful endeavor for those of us publishing on the Kindle platform.

I like the idea that people share and recommend what they enjoy. Encouraging that makes sense to me intuitively. Looking for some numbers/direct experience to back up these hunches, you know?

Thanks,

Carrie

Side note...off topic:
(Whoa....I'm in Northern California...just felt a big jolt of an earthquake!

Got a flash of the question that lives in the recesses of many Californian's minds, "What will I be doing when "the big one" hits?" Will I be posting on the Warrior Forum?

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Kindle Authors...Are your sales hurt by people "loaning/borrowing" your book?

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