Where are my Kindle millions?

Well, my goal to give away a million Kindle books may be running on fumes, as two not-unexpected developments have me bogged down past the three-quarters-million mark. (There was an old running joke spawned by Lee Goldberg riffing J.A. Konrath about "Kindle millions" until people actually started becoming Kindle millionaires...)

First, the KDP Select program of Amazon has gone through its natural cycle--early pioneers get great results, word gets back to the others, the Gold Rush turns into a stampede, and the hills are prospected into tiny mounds of pebbles Part of it is Amazon's ever-changing algorithms that no longer give a huge rankings bounce to indies, and part is the sheer glut of free books that results when authors are repeatedly making 130,000 books free. This has all been written about far more ably and in depth by others (Kindleboards is a great resource if you're interested), but I figured the jig would be up by summer one way or another.

The second challenge is also fairly obvious: most of the people interested in my free books got them the first second, and sometimes third times I made them temporarily free for Kindle. So I will be leaving a lot of free days unused , and some books will no longer be free even if they still have some promo days left. I already have all my short story collections and some other properties out of Select and back in Nook, iTunes, Kobo, etc.

BUT....

I still want to reach the million-copy goal, so feel free to share my current roster of upcoming freebies! And if you read any of my free books and liked them, please leave a review to help both me and future readers. And if you hated them, why are you reading my blog? Heh.

Scott Nicholson free books

May 29-May 30

The Dead Love Longer

Paranormal mystery

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dead-Love-Longer-ebook/dp/B004LROVS0

(UK:) http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dead-Love-Longer-ebook/dp/B004LROVS0

May 30-June 1

October Girls

(YA paranormal)

http://www.amazon.com/October-fantasy-paranormal-romance-ebook/dp/B00433TD0I

http://www.amazon.co.uk/October-fantasy-paranormal-romance-ebook/dp/B00433TD0I

May 31-June 2:

Speed Dating with the Dead

http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Dating-Dead-ebook/dp/B003TZLWTG

(UK:) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Speed-Dating-Dead-ebook/dp/B003TZLWTG

June 2-June 4

Burial to Follow

(supernatural horror)

http://www.amazon.com/Burial-To-Follow-ebook/dp/B0031RHNZY

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burial-To-Follow-ebook/dp/B0031RHNZY

June 2-June 4

Creative Spirit

(supernatural thriller)

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Spirit-ebook/dp/B006HKLNAI

(UK:) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Spirit-ebook/dp/B006HKLNAI

June 8-10

Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 4

Thriller/horror box set

http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Nicholson-Library-Boxed-ebook/dp/B006AF8UWE

(UK:) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scott-Nicholson-Library-Boxed-ebook/dp/B006AF8UWE

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KDP Select, aka Amazon lending library

Having been put in the "stir" by the L.A. Times, and since every writer with an opinion (which is basically all of them--which is why we are writers) has to chime in on KDP Select*, here's my take:

1. More books for more readers.
2. Chance for writers to meet new readers.
3. Chance for readers to meet new writers.

Risks? Sure, but mostly for authors. This could signal the downward spiral of the value of ebooks, which could lead to fewer people bothering to write them and eventually fewer new books for people to read.There's the possibility a writer choosing Amazon exclusivity will alienate fans in other markets, but the author can opt in and out of the program every 90 days. That should give anyone truly interested in the author a chance to buy in the non-Amazon markets. Plus paper copies will be exempt from the exclusivity requirement.

Those who are screaming that Amazon is taking away the hard-earned freedom of indie authors, I have to snort coffee through my nose. Indies earned nothing (unless you were one of those who succeeded selling paperbacks out of the trunk of your car). Indies were just sitting there, largely either unpublished or cast off by the industry, when Amazon created a huge market and then let them in it. Amazon created the device, the market, and the audience, and Amazon's success forced other competitors to open up to indies and offer excellent compensation and terms. Any author who claims Amazon is "the enemy" is not working from facts but from emotion.

Every single move Amazon has made resulted in MORE money for all participating writers, MORE ebooks for all readers, and MORE opportunity instead of a monopoly (if you follow me at all, you know I'm a contrarian and I see huge, huge opportunity in the other markets now, which of course will have to do something to counter Amazon's big move.)

As The Dude says, "There are a lot of angles to this thing," but it looks like everyone wins for now. Who knows what the future will be, but did we ever know that anyway?
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*This is basically a lending library for anyone who is enrolled in the Amazon Prime program. You can check out any book in the library for one month.