KDP Select Pros & Cons: Should Established Authors Switch to KDP Select?

Self publishing is huge right
now, and there are many writers that are reaping the benefits. If you
have a manuscript that’s ready to see the light, then self publishing
can have a lot of pros above traditional publishing – including
regaining control over the rights to your work and having a personal
hand in aspects like cover art and formatting.

Here
are some of the pros & cons of switching over to KDP Select if
you’re a previously published and already established author.

KDP
Select Lets You See Your Stats in Real Time

Traditional
publishing means that you only see sales stats once every few months
when they send you their royalty statement, usually quarterly. When
you use a platform like KDP Select to self publish, you can see your
statistics on the site instead of having to wait for the publisher’s
royalty check to roll around. And instead of having to wait for
the traditional publisher’s check to see any of the sales, KDP Select
lets you access and cash out your earnings from book sales right away.

KDP
Select Keeps YOU in Control of Promotion

When
you publish through a publishing house, signing your contract means
more than just getting money in exchange for your work. You’re also
signing your rights away to the publisher for a certain (and
sometimes near-indefinite) amount of time.

While
Amazon KDP Select means that you’re signing into exclusivity with
Amazon, this still gives you far more control over the process and
promotion for your book than traditional publishing ever will.

For
example, many books will decline in sales after a few months and
traditional publishers will refuse to put more money into the pot for
promotion. This can really screw you if you’re a new or established writer
who wants to promote and control your own work.

With
KDP Select, you have control over when your work gets promoted. And
other than granting them exclusive rights, you can do what you want
to make sure your work gets seen.

KDP
Select Gives You Control Over Covers

Traditional
publishing usually has departments controlling things like art,
layout and design. It’s rare for most authors to get to pick
their own covers or cover artists. If you want to regain total
control over the covers that appear on your books, self publishing
through KDP Select can give you this freedom. You’ll end up with a
product that you’re actually happy with when it gets published.

KDP
Select Works Well With Multiple Formats

Traditional
publishing doesn’t always see books released in all formats. It’s
either print or e-book, and many traditional publishing companies
aren’t Kindle-friendly. If you want your content released
directly to Kindle readers (even many ones that don’t know your work
yet), KDP Select is one of the few platforms out
there that can release your work directly to the popular Kindle
platform.

KDP
Select Actually Gives You Support

Stuck?
Traditional publishers aren’t always as much help as you need them to
be. There are many authors who report feedback issues when they want
to know about a book that was released a few books ago. And
traditional publishers are notorious for losing interest in “older”
books.

With
KDP Select, support from the technical team is just a few clicks away.
You’re free to do with your older publications exactly what
you like. If you want to release your first book again, there’s no
need to call your publisher first. Log into KDP Select and get
publishing.

KDP
Select is Much Faster

The traditional publishing process takes months, sometimes even years, to get a book from the manuscript stage to the published book. The KDP Select process has this condensed to just a few minutes once you have your cover art and formatting the way you like it. For writers with a lot to say, this is a faster, easier and often more profitable process.