What I learned from being rejected by Amazon’s Kindle Scout

I’ve had two books on Kindle Scout, and have also had both of them rejected. I suppose they’re not going to part with $1500 lightly! Does anybody know if any books have been accepted by Kindle Scout?

Deanna Cabinian

Most writers don’t like writing about rejection, but in an effort to be helpful I wanted to share the details of my Kindle Scout experience for my YA novel One Love.

I submitted to the Kindle Scout program for two reasons: the possibility of a $1,500 advance and having Amazon’s marketing machine behind me and thus, wider distribution online.

To me it was a win-win because even if my novel wasn’t picked (spoiler alert: it wasn’t) I would still be able to have Amazon alert those who voted for me when I released the book myself.

The campaign went live on October 8, 2017 and ended November 6, 2017. During that time I asked members of my email list to vote and posted on social media maybe three times. Everything I’ve read suggests that Kindle Scout editors don’t really base their decision on nominations, but rather what they happen…

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Result of Kindle Scout Campaign

Well, surprise surprise, my Kindle Scout campaign for The Porn Detective wasn’t successful.  It’s hard to keep promoting a book for a whole month.  It’s okay for a couple of days, and then to be honest I expect people are sick of the sight of it.   Unless you have an army of fans who are all clicking away and nominating every single day of the campaign, then it’s difficult to keep the book up there in the ‘Hot and Trending’ section where the judges are looking.  I did notice though that the whole campaign did receive about 1,400 hits, so perhaps all is not lost.

However, you can’t keep a good story down, and instead I’ve had a rethink, changed the cover, changed the title in case it was giving readers the wrong impression, and put it up for pre-order on Amazon.  The Porn Detective has morphed into…

MIND GAMES

Pre-order here:    http://bookShow.me/B073YHXSJH

Mind Games will be published on 1st September 2017.

Frances Andrews is sick of her husband Martin’s addiction to pornography, and has lost her trust in him.  Martin views porn as a harmless pastime, but when Frances threatens to leave, he is distraught and begs her to go with him for marriage guidance therapy.  Counsellor Rhona suggests they take a holiday in the first instance, and start talking to one another again.  Frances just wants out of the marriage, but finally agrees to go on a cruise…as long as they have separate cabins.

Told from both Frances and Martin’s perspectives, Mind Games shines a light on the effect that an addiction to pornography can have on a previously happy marriage.

Kindle Scout Campaign – The Porn Detective | Stevie Turner, Indie Author.

Thanks OIKOS for all the shares!

Guest Blog by Katrina Mountfort

 

Hi all, today fellow author and blogger Katrina Mountfort is writing about what she has learned from running a Kindle Scout campaign for her new book ‘The Lost Corner’.

Running a Kindle Scout campaign – what I’ve learned:

At the beginning of June I decided to have a shot at getting my latest novel published via Kindle Scout. From what I’ve heard, of other people’s experience with Kindle Press, they can sell a lot more of my books than I could manage on my own. I was delighted but shocked when my application was accepted within 12 hours of submission and so, a little unprepared, I started a 30 day campaign to gain as many nominations as possible. It’s been a huge learning curve but a useful one, so I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned so far:

1. A large proportion of my votes have come from direct traffic to the Kindle Scout site. So my first piece of advice is to polish your submission as much as possible. Make your one line description catchy. Invest in a professional cover. Proofread it again and again.
2. It’s a marathon not a sprint. My biggest mistake was to use all my big guns at the start of the campaign. Several friends shared it on Facebook all at once. This helped me make a splash and find myself in the ‘hot and trending’ section, but it’s hard to keep up that momentum. If I had the chance to start again, I’d have asked my friends to spread out their shares.
3. Book bloggers are the nicest people. My work schedule doesn’t allow me to blog regularly so I asked several people whose blogs I follow if they’d feature my campaign. They all said yes and each post has given me some votes. I’ve tried to spread them out so I’m featured in one blog per week of the campaign.
4. I’ve had mixed success with social media. Facebook has been far and away the best. Twitter has only given me a few page views. Some people have found Bing Bing and Headstarter useful but I haven’t got very far with them yet.
5. Although I find it excruciating to do so, you have to contact EVERYONE you know.
6. It’s not just a popularity contest. The point of getting a lot of votes is to get the judges to consider your work at the end. They’re not going to publish a seemingly popular book that will then get a lot of bad reviews so if other books seem to be ‘hot and trending’ more than yours, don’t despair.

If you’ve found this useful I’d be grateful if you could check out my campaign:

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2KB0W6JT2O5KA

If you like what you see, please nominate me. If it’s accepted, you’ll all get a free electronic copy.

Finally I’d like to thank Stevie for her generosity in letting me post on this blog and wish her luck in her own Kindle Scout campaign for ‘The Porn Detective’! https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3IQ62RDNCFI3F

About me:

I am a UK-based author, living in York. My philosophy of life is that we only regret the things we don’t try.  When I hit forty, I decided it was time to fulfil my childhood dream of writing a novel. My first three novels, Future Perfect, Forbidden Alliance and Freedom’s Prisoners formed the speculative fiction Blueprint trilogy, and were published by Elsewhen Press. I love music, walking with my two Labradors, travel, wine, daffodils and Parma violets.

Find Katrina on the following web links:

Blog: https://herstoryblogspot.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.katrinamountfort.com/

Publisher website: http://elsewhen.alnpetepress.co.uk/index.php/catalogue/author/katrina-mountfort/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatrinaMountfortAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/curlykats

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Katrina-Mountfort/e/B00MU1AEA8

Kindle Scout Campaign – The Porn Detective

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Kindle Scout Campaign

My thanks go to Amazon, who have now accepted that the second edition of my novel The Porn Detective is totally different to the original.  As the new version has never before been published, they have approved it for a Kindle Scout Campaign, which launches today and runs until 15th July.  However, I’ve had to use a new temporary cover.

Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books. It’s a place where readers help decide if a book gets published. Selected books will be published by Kindle Press and receive 5-year renewable terms, a $1,500 advance, 50% eBook royalty rate, easy rights reversions and featured Amazon marketing.

Please can I ask you to nominate The Porn Detective?  To cast your vote please click on the link below from 15th June – 15th July.

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3IQ62RDNCFI3F

Told from the perspectives of both Martin Andrews and his wife Frances, The Porn Detective charts the damaging effect that an addiction to pornography has on a previously happy marriage. When Frances tells Martin that she wants to leave, Martin begs her to accompany him for therapy. Counsellor Rhona advises them to take a holiday and start talking to each other again. Will the holiday bring Martin and Frances together again, or force them further apart?

Thanks in advance for your vote – it is much appreciated!