This past Tuesday (10/14/14) Amazon announced Kindle Scout, their latest salvo in the battle for exclusive content. Like KDP Select, authors/publishers must agree to provide Amazon with an exclusive contract to publish their book in both Kindle eBook and audio formats. But unlike KDP Select, where your “payment” comes in the form of certain promotion opportunities, Kindle Scout provides traditional publishing terms, specifically a royalty advance and royalties over a five year term.
Kindle Scout vs. Kindle Press
Kindle Scout is the name of the crowd sourcing program used to both solicit never-before-published manuscripts and present those books to the public for feedback. It is a lot like Pubslush.com, or the more famous Kickstarter.com, except you must grant exclusive publishing rights to Kindle Press.
If your book is selected for publication, Kindle Press becomes your publisher.
Business terms
Exclusivity begins when you submit your book for the 45-day consideration period. If the book is not selected for publication, the rights revert back to you. However, if selected, you cannot change your mind. You are locked up for at least two years.
The rights you grant are for the Kindle eBook and audio editions, but not print editions. The rights are world-wide and for all languages.
The term is five years but it auto-renews if your book earned you more than $25,000 in royalties during that five year period. If not, you can request the rights be reverted back to you. There are also several circumstances that enable you to get rights back after a two year period. Read the Kindle Press Publishing Terms here.
If selected, you receive:
$1,500 advance
50% royalty on Net Revenues for eBook sales
25% royalty on Net Revenues for audio book sales
20% of Net Revenue for translations in eBook formats
Is Kindle Scout for you?
A few months ago my daughter was told that a fashion sketch submission she made was selected as a finalist for a clothing retailer. She was told to “tell all your friends and family to vote” and that the design with the most votes would win. She had a fair number of social media connections but clearly not close to what her fellow contestants had—her design was not chosen.
Authors, if you were waiting to hear whether email lists and social media connections where important, here is what Amazon says in the Kindle Scout marketing materials:
“…let your fans and network know that you’re putting your book up for a publishing contract. Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and email lists you have accumulated over the years are great places to start.” [emphasis added]
I should point out here that your book won’t get to the voting stage unless it meets these submission requirements. Basically you need a never-before-published manuscript that is about 50,000 words in Word format, ready for publication (fully edited!). You also need a cover and the usual metadata such as a description, author bio and author photo. Here is an example of how your entry is displayed.
But what if you wrote a great book but don’t have a rabid fan base clamoring for your book to be published? Amazon says they still review all submissions before deciding to publish. (Perhaps that’s a good thing for the reading public because the converse could also be true—a crummy book from an author with a rabid fan base would presumably not get published.)
But there are a few content limitations to be aware of…
For the time being Kindle Scout submissions are limited to three genres: Romance, Mystery & Thriller and Science Fiction & Fantasy.
English-only books.
No collaborators or co-authors.
Click here for Kindle Scout Eligibility & Content Guidelines
Let us know if you submit your book
Drop your name and book’s name in the comments below. Or if you submit your book, circle back to share your experience.
[photo: Tonto, played by John Todd in the TV version of the Lone Ranger, was one of the most famous scouts, ever.]