All month long, I’ve been posting about an indie author’s publishing options, covering the basic differences, safety nets, and flexibility. When you get right down to it, choosing between wide and KDP is a business decision–but it’s also personal and, quite frankly, emotional.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m faced with a big decision, I spend a lot of time worrying about what is the right choice. Objectively, practically, scientifically, even. And in these days of business management programs and self-help webinars, it seems like a business decision must be objective in order to be “right.” That’s a lot of pressure . . .
. . . But here’s what I’ve learned. Even if you want to make the decision objectively, your emotions do play a part in the outcome. I’ve seen it on both sides: KDP authors who defend their choice vigorously, wide authors who come across as overzealous proselytizers (um, I’ve definitely been one!). We could sit here and trade numbers all day: Amazon’s projected share of the ebook market vs. how many bookstores and libraries are out there vs. percentage chance that your book will be noticed and then loved by any reader anywhere. You can make the numbers fit either argument if you want to. “KDP is 80% of the market,” you could say, “so that’s the best chance.” Alternatively you could look at that and say “Oh, so 20% of readers are still out there in the wild, and I can reach nearly 100% with effort and a few concessions? Not bad!”
(P.S. I made up that number, based on popular reports and hearsay. The truth is, it’s actually very difficult to pin down statistics about the book market, because books are global and sales vary depending on format and sellers include independent sites, companies who report the bare minimum, etc. But you can check out general stats here or read this article from a few years back about Amazon’s market share.)
Which argument you choose to “objectively” make depends on your emotions, I think. Maybe deep down you’re really worried about the time and effort of going wide, and KDP offers security. That’s totally fine! Maybe having just one distributor to deal with, a huge one, makes you feel more in control. Or maybe playing with several distributors and experimenting gives you that sense of control, as long as you can keep up with all the data.
I’m going to be really honest–and I’m going to show my age. I personally have a visceral reaction to Amazon as a book monopoly (or any kind of monopoly, but we’ll set that aside). I can’t express how I feel about it in polite company. And believe me, other indie authors have put me on the spot about it in panel discussions, really pressing for an answer–and it is hard! By its very nature, indie publishing is wild and varied and wide open. I could never begrudge any author for opting for KDP: it’s pretty darn slick. My problem is with industry giants and manipulative promises. But that doesn’t need to have bearing on your decision–it’s just my scrappy millennial hippie rebel showing. 😉
You’ve probably already had a sense of that, if you’ve been reading my blog. I do my best to look at the publishing field objectively, but let’s be honest: no one’s objective. Human beings are not objective. (And that’s my experimental archaeology degree showing now, haha.) You are not a robot and you’re not a big corporation. The right choice for you is probably going to need to include some consideration of emotions. Because at the end of the day, as an indie author, you are answering to yourself.
. . . Well, you might also end up answering to other authors on a public panel. So, it might be worth your time to practice an honest but neutral answer to “so why did you choose to do it that way?” 😀
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