Amazon's Been Up To Things

Amazon’s been doing some interesting things lately. I see it differently as an author than as a reader. As a reader, I have a Kindle (not just an app) and I have Amazon Prime. Some of the other authors I chat with didn’t even know everything Amazon’s been doing lately. And not everyone who has a Kindle is even taking advantage of the lending library, so it seemed worthwhile to mention these options were out there.

The Matchbook program launched recently. It’s pretty cool. If you buy a paperback (from Amazon of course, they’re not idiots) you can get the eBook for a discount. For participating books. I enrolled all of mine and listed the eBook as free at least through the holidays, kind of a “Buy one as a gift, get one for yourself” idea. When you look at a book’s page, it’ll show you if it’s part of the Matchbook program. Point of obviousness: the title has to have both an eBook and a print version. Less obvious point: it doesn’t work in reverse. Buying an eBook doesn’t give you a discount on the print version. Maybe someday, but not yet. There’s less of a margin on print books, so I don’t see it.

Countdown Deals is also new. You know how you can look at the top books, paid or free, in each genre? Well, there’s now a time-sensitive discount option. This just started, so we’re still experimenting with it, but the page is active. For example: on Saturday, a book could be $0.99; then on Sunday, it’s $1.99; on Monday, it’s $2.99; and on Tuesday it’s up to its regular retail of $3.99. I’m going to run AKA Lexi Frost on this promo starting November 9 to see how it goes. If it goes well, I’ll toss the other ones up there.When it first launched, there were 12 books in the romance category. When I listed the promo for AKA Lexi Frost, there were 5 pages.

And last, but not least, Kindle First. This is for Prime members but doesn’t require a physical Kindle. Amazon editors pick four books to promote, and Prime members can choose one for free before their official release date. I suspect it’s their way of getting some reviews in place for when the books launch. Next month, you can do it again.

On Kindle First, these aren't going to be your average indie books. These authors have sold enough in the past that Amazon Publishing editors have tried to woo them. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily better, there’s some fantastic indie books out there waiting to be discovered and some books published by the big publishing houses that aren’t good for much more than leveling a table. Sorry, you know it’s true and I’m not naming names. As a rule, these should be worth your time. Keeping in mind taste is subjective.