Kindle Scout discussion
Marketing your book prior to Kindle submission
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Ann -- I did nothing ahead of time and spent the forty-eight hours planning how to contact everyone I knew, influence centers, etc. and spread out my notifications and asks over the thirty days. Ant Farm was the 25th winner. That process allowed me to stay Hot throughout the 30-days with the exception of four or five days in the late twenties when I had run out of gas before the final push for the last few days.
Hi Ann,I am currently in review status. I had a cover reveal and started "teaching" about the Scout program two weeks prior to submitting my book, You Promised Me Forever. I didn't go crazy with FB posts and tweets because I didn't want to over-saturate, but I did want my followers to know a little about the process so they would understand the importance of needing their support. On my webpage I posted my trailer (created by the marvelous, Kathy Golden) and book cover as well as a more in-depth explanation of Kindle Scout. Then my posts were just one or two sentences and my webpage address for anyone to go learn more. I wish you much luck with you campaign!
Liz
I've won two Kindle Scout contracts and I did no advertising before the campaign. And during the campaign I mentioned it once in my newsletter, three times on my blog, and a few times on Facebook and Twitter. I did no paid advertising at all.
Thanks to everyone who replied - especially good to hear from successful winners! :)
Ann
Linda wrote: "I've won two Kindle Scout contracts and I did no advertising before the campaign. And during the campaign I mentioned it once in my newsletter, three times on my blog, and a few times on Facebook a..."I've just submitted my book to the program, first time. I'm pleased to hear that you didn't have to spend any money on advertising etc, Linda. I confess, I am worried I won't get enough votes, but I've already heard from a number of people, it's not a popularity contest, and even if you only have a few votes, that doesn't mean you won't get a contract. It comes down to the book. I'm glad about that. bahahaha. ♥
J wrote: "Linda wrote: "I've won two Kindle Scout contracts and I did no advertising before the campaign. And during the campaign I mentioned it once in my newsletter, three times on my blog, and a few times..."Yes, what you've heard is true ... it's not a popularity contest. Like any other publisher, Kindle Press is a business.
Linda wrote: "J wrote: "Linda wrote: "I've won two Kindle Scout contracts and I did no advertising before the campaign. And during the campaign I mentioned it once in my newsletter, three times on my blog, and a..."I like that it's not about who has the most friends. Now that's not cause I don't have any!! lol. But I'm pleased content is taken into consideration.
Ann wrote: "Well my fourth attempt in Kindle Scout (Darkness of Heart) is now down to five days to go, and as soon as that comes out of campaign and into review, attempt #5 will be put through to hopefully emb..."Thanks for the link. nominated. Good luck!
For those authors who shared their nominations with only their friends and/or followers, how many followers or friends are we talking about? Did your supporters keep your book hot and trending or was your book selected without being on this list? The more detailed the answers, the better, because I see books on KS that never trend and don't end up being selected.
Kathy wrote: "For those authors who shared their nominations with only their friends and/or followers, how many followers or friends are we talking about? Did your supporters keep your book hot and trending or w..."If you watch closely, you'll also see books that stay Hot and Trending nearly the whole time and don't get selected.
For my first campaign, a romantic comedy, I had 398 hours in H&T and 990 page views. For my second campaign, a horror/suspense/thriller, I had 208 hours in H&T and 847 page views.
I have a very small mailing list (less than 50) and, counting for overlap, about 500 combined Facebook friends and author page followers. I estimate half those people nominated my books. And though I have over 600 blog subscribers and 2,000 Twitter followers, I doubt a third of those are actually engaged, and maybe a tenth of them nominated my books.
Thanks for sharing your info, Linda., and congratulations on your contracts Yes, I am aware that there are books that spent lots of time on the H&T and then weren't selected. On Kindleboards, it was stated that some books that didn't trend at all were selected. Still, I think it's good to know what winners did in the way of promoting their books and what specific support they had because when others read about what wasn't done, they'll have an idea of what was done and how much support was involved.
Linda wrote: "Kathy wrote: "For those authors who shared their nominations with only their friends and/or followers, how many followers or friends are we talking about? Did your supporters keep your book hot and..."Holy schmolly, Linda! How much work do you put in to get that kind of following?! And how much time have you taken to get there (ie, how long ago did you start your blog, for example)? I am in awe of authors who do so much in their marketing and reaching out to people. I am just too shy, me thinks .... but quite happy to be the quiet one in the corner, shyly typing away and pressing 'submit to Kindle Scout', over, and over, and over, and over .. and over...
;)
Ann
J wrote: "Ann wrote: "Well my fourth attempt in Kindle Scout (Darkness of Heart) is now down to five days to go, and as soon as that comes out of campaign and into review, attempt #5 will be put through to h..."Thanks Julie - but do you have a book in there? I searched for you in the hope of nominating you too, but your name is not showing any findings...
Ann wrote: "J wrote: "Ann wrote: "Well my fourth attempt in Kindle Scout (Darkness of Heart) is now down to five days to go, and as soon as that comes out of campaign and into review, attempt #5 will be put th..."I have just received notification that my book has been accepted!! I'm jolly happy. My campaign doesn't start until 25th August, however... i can post the link and if anyone would like, they can bookmark it.♥ I know for a fact that just because someone is hot n trending, with thousands of hits, it means nothing. I have a few friends who belong to a group, where there are peeps in there who have very few votes. Amazon reviewers read the books! It might be that some peeps are paying for votes ( i know my friend was approached) but at the end of the day, you have to get past the reviewers. https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/28UY... If anyone wants to see a sneaky peek, i have the cover and synopsis with a snippet on my site here. http://julienicholls.com/dragon-moon-...
Ann wrote: "Linda wrote: "Kathy wrote: "For those authors who shared their nominations with only their friends and/or followers, how many followers or friends are we talking about? Did your supporters keep you..."Oh, Ann, don't be impressed. I started blogging 8 years ago. I self-published my first novel in 2011. Compared to the majority of other Scout winners, I have no following at all. We winners have a private FB group where, among other things, we discuss marketing efforts, and some of them are pros. Their main focus is building an email list, and some of them have thousands on their lists. BUT one of those authors recently ran a second Scout campaign and her book was NOT selected. So a huge fan base is not a guarantee your campaign will end with a Kindle Press publishing contract.
This is all very good to hear. I don't have a large following so a popularity contest will never see my books do really well. That said, I do have a book currently in Kindle Scout that has gathered more views than I had hoped. Just have to wait for the final results. Ann, I'll be nominating as my slots open up.
Laurie wrote: "This is all very good to hear. I don't have a large following so a popularity contest will never see my books do really well. That said, I do have a book currently in Kindle Scout that has gathered..."Thanks Laurie - I've just found and nominated yours, and for everyone else wishing to nominate Laurie's book, it is here... 9 days to go! Not long at all ...
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/111M...
:)
Ann
Linda wrote: "Ann wrote: "Linda wrote: "Kathy wrote: "For those authors who shared their nominations with only their friends and/or followers, how many followers or friends are we talking about? Did your support..."Linda wrote: "Ann wrote: "Linda wrote: "Kathy wrote: "For those authors who shared their nominations with only their friends and/or followers, how many followers or friends are we talking about? Did your support..."
I think starting blogging eight years ago is something to be very proud of! I know it's been around a while but not all of us jumped into it when it came out (personally I only began a blog last week! LOL).
Be proud, Linda! You're doing great! Us eternally-submitting-to-scout-ers (really pushing my grammatical English there) are in awe of anyone who secures one Scout contract, let alone two!
:)
Ann
Be proud, Linda! You're doing great! Us eternally-submitting-to-scout-ers (really pushing my grammatical English there) are in awe of anyone who secures one Scout contract, let alone two! :)
Ann
Well, I have no marketing budget, so Scout has been a godsend for me. I have a sequel to my rom-com in the works, and I'll submit that to Scout too. It's the best choice I have at this point, so why not keep trying until they tell me to knock it off? :D
Good luck, Ann. And Julie and Laurie too. :-)
Thank you very much Ann. I hope you hear good news soon. Think positive!
Linda wrote: "Be proud, Linda! You're doing great! Us eternally-submitting-to-scout-ers (really pushing my grammatical English there) are in awe of anyone who secures one Scout contract, let alone two! :)
Ann
..."
My thoughts exactly - hence attempt #4 is about to finish in two days' time, and then #5 will immediately be submitted. I, too, wonder if they shall eventually send me an email that says 'will you just give up already?!'
;D
ooh i wanted to let you know my book has gone live today. If anyone is interested in YA - this one might tickle your fancy https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/28UY...
One day left for your book Ann! Good luck! Are you excited? Nervous?I have three days left on mine and my heart starts pounding whenever I think about it. lol
Julie, you are now on the crazy ride! First piece of advice - your first day stats won't be up for another day or so, so don't go looking for some and stress when you only see '0'!! ;) I've popped your book on my saved list and will nominate when a space becomes available ... I love that cover so much! It will attract attention, I am sure.:)
HA (not sure what your first name is?) and Laurie, your books are in my nomination list and will sit there until they each drop off over coming days ... not long for you both and then it will be all over! Then the anxious wait ... ahh the wonderful wait!
Good luck everyone! One more day for me .. and then the cycle begins over again (and again, and again)...
:)
Ann
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/4J52...
Thanks Ann... I'm "Hot" bahahaha..first time in my life. *snort* This is going to be the longest 45 days of my life. I've got your book saved for when I have a free slot♥
Linda wrote: "I've won two Kindle Scout contracts and I did no advertising before the campaign. And during the campaign I mentioned it once in my newsletter, three times on my blog, and a few times on Facebook a..."Bravo. That's by far the exception to the rule. Clearly what you write is what KS want to publish, because they KNOW from their sales stats (which we will NEVER see) what's selling in a 'maturing' ebook market.
Something Scout needs to address is the 'dead' book title page on Scout once the 30 is over. At present they make no link to the title if you are not accepted but self-publish through KDP.
That is most unfortunate
What Goodreads needs is a high profile group to promote Kindle Scout books uniquely for the period they're listed for, then the listing is removed so the site is uncluttered by old irrelevant posts.
I'm on the Kboards forum where there are some very interesting discussions regarding Kindle scout. I was told by a friend that she knew someone who had less than 600 page views...and STILL won a publishing contract. I've learned this is not a popularity contest...the final say comes from Amazon...and if they think your book ticks all their boxes, you're in. While this is still hard for me to understand, given popularity surely must matter, it seems it isn't the case...which is a good thing for those peeps who don't have a lot of followers...or who find social media too taxing. I have some fab friends who are blogging and posting on all the media sites..and have been "Hot n Trending" from the start...however...I know that means diddly-squat...and just hope my book will be good enough to get in.♥ Good Luck peeps.
Every time I have gone through this process I have learned and tried new things but one thing I have not yet done is advertise or talk about the book about to go through the process.
So my question out there to everyone in the group, who has already gone through (or is going through) the campaign process, is did you put the word out about the book you put through scout, ahead of putting in your submission to scout?
Every time I've submitted, I have had a 48 hour gap between when I got my 'your submission is approved and this will be your campaign address' email, and when it went live, so I know we can put the word out then, along with the web address to the campaign page, but did anyone put the word out before they even approached scout, about their upcoming release? And if so, to what extent, and where?
:)
Ann
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/4J52...