Amazon Turns DTP into Kindle Direct Publishing – Newsletter will Test Marketing Power

Well, Amazon Digital Text Platform was always a bit of a lame name, and it’s finally changed – to Kindle Direct Publishing. Marginally better, maybe – and certainly indicitive of what Amazon’s real purpose with it is: to cut publishers out of the loop for many authors.

Apparently Amazon have just worked out that authors would like Amazon to talk to them …

A common request we’ve heard from KDP authors and publishers is “talk to us!”  Starting this month, we’re doing just that.

… so they’re starting up a KDP newsletter to help authors through the self-publishing process and, like, stay connected. Who knew that people wanted that!? And here are some interesting tibits from the newsletter/press release:

Canadian Royalties Go North:

New:  70% Royalty Option for Canadian Sales

We’re happy to announce that we have extended our 70 percent royalty option to include books sold in Canada. This royalty option applies to each book sold in Canada from the Kindle Store for Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, or one of the Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, PC, Mac and Android-based devices.

Authors and publishers around the world can receive 70% of the sale of their book in Canada, subject to the standard terms and conditions. A vast majority of our successful authors and publishers have embraced our 70% royalty option for sales in the United States and UK, and we are excited to extend this royalty option to sales in Canada.  For details, please see our terms and conditions.

This is an interesting twist – Amazon are running a KDP competition to win … um, you book published in paper. Maybe they are trying to play nice with paper publishers (while cutting their sales and slowly sending them out of business).

Compete in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Think your unpublished or self-published novel deserves recognition? Then enter your manuscript in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. The entry period opens January 24th.

This competition brings talented authors, reviewers, and publishing experts together to find and develop new voices in fiction, while surfacing the next popular novel. The competition includes two Grand Prizes, one for General Fiction and one for Young Adult Fiction. Each Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $15,000 advance. Up to 5,000 Entries will be accepted within each category between January 24, 2011 and February 6, 2011.

Last but probably the move with the most potential for self-publishers, they look like they’re throwing the feature spotlight on three Kindle books and one Kindle author in every month’s newsletter. It looks like this (below) and it will be the true testament to the power of the new “newsletter” regime of KDP.

I’ll be trying to find out from any of these featured authors whether basking in the glow of the KDP spotlight boosts sales. If so, Amazon will really start to have the power to turn the screws on big publishing. Why? Well, big publishing’s main point of difference for authors (or the one they still lay claim to) is that they have superior marketing and promotion to get author’s names out there.

If Amazon start finding a way to do that as well – and give authors 70% into the bargain – well, that’s one less reason to get a paper publishing deal.

Featured KDP Books

The Gift of Fury by Richard Jackson Enter the world of Count Albritton. It is a world where magic and the supernatural are very real. Creatures of legend, sorcerers and other powers walk among us. As a paranormal investigator, Count helps people with supernatural problems the authorities are either unwilling or unable to deal with. It’s dangerous work. Luckily he has Kara, a beautiful guardian angel to help him.

Disintegration by Scott Nicholson When a mysterious fire destroys his home and shatters his family, Jacob Wells is pulled into a downward spiral that draws him ever closer to the past he thought was dead and buried.  Now his twin brother Joshua is back in town, seeking to settle old scores and claim his half of the Wells birthright. Jacob’s wife Renee is struggling with her own past and her attempts to salvage Jacob are driven by guilt and ambition.

The Clones of Mawcett by Thomas DiPrima

While digging through the ruins of a long dead civilization on the planet Mawcett, a team of Terran and Nordakian archeologists find an underground tunnel leading to a door in such extraordinary condition that it could have been fabricated as recently as that morning. They labor throughout the day, using every modern device available to them, but are unable to gain entry.

Then, in the early hours of the new day, seemingly in response to the screams of a frustrated, over-tired scientist, the door slides noiselessly open. Upon passing through the entranceway, the archeologists are stunned to find an elaborate complex in pristine condition. Summoning the courage to venture further, they enter a large circular chamber lined with strange electronic equipment, and immediately become engrossed in examining strange symbols etched into the floor near the center of the room. Suddenly, they’re bathed in a strange light that paralyzes them where they stand. They watch in frozen terror as a clear, circular wall rises up around them. When the enclosed area begins to fill with a dense ocher gas smelling of persimmons, the dig site laborers, who had witnessed the activity from the periphery, run screaming for the entrance.

B.V. Larson: Featured KDP Author

B.V. Larson talks about his experience with Kindle Direct Publishing.

“Kindle Direct Publishing has reawakened my interest in writing fiction. I’d written several novels and many non-fiction pieces, but despite short story sales, awards, textbook publications, agents, contracts, etc., I had trouble nailing down a novel in print form. In part, this was due to my own impatience. One must have fanatical persistence to publish a paper novel; even if everything goes smoothly, the traditional publication process requires literally years of effort.  I suggest you carefully weigh your strengths and use outside services where you are weak. If you aren’t a graphic artist, get one. If you need help with editing, find a freelance editor. If you have technical troubles formatting and uploading your work, get help there, too. In my own case, except for proofreading, I’m performing all these functions solo.

Before releasing your book, I would suggest downloading (and reading) at least the free sample of the top-selling twenty novels in your target category. Make sure your work looks something like theirs. If it does, your odds of selling well are higher. If it doesn’t, consider a rewrite.  To get the word out, I have a website. A blog or other forms of social-networking can help get you off the ground. I would caution people who might go overboard in this area, however. Don’t chat online all day; write good stories instead.

Lastly, don’t expect instant success.  Writing is like any other art form. It’s hard work for most of us. You have to learn to crawl before you walk or run. If you’ve ever listened to an elementary school orchestra playing their first concert, you will know what I mean. But just because a kid with a violin sounds bad in the fifth grade doesn’t mean they’ll never be any good. It means they need practice—years of it. The good news is that now everyone has the chance to climb up on the stage and give it a try.”

–B.V Larson