Why
I Entered My Latest Novel in Amazon’s Kindle Scout Program
by
Keith Deininger
Although
I’d been writing for years, I didn’t begin to take my writing career seriously
until March 2011. I know because that’s when I setup my website and wrote my
first blog post. I was three months clean and sober.
I’d
written a 100k word fantasy novel the year before, in a haze, but when I looked
it over, I realized it was crap. It was disjointed and still didn’t have an
ending. I had tons of notes and scribbled verse, but nothing substantial,
nothing finished. I had lots of ideas (I’ve always had lots of ideas) but I
didn’t know where to start, so I collected a few of my more recent ideas
together and began to write.
My
first novel (The New Flesh)
was published May of 2013 by DarkFuse, a publisher far more impressive than I
realized at the time. I knew nothing of the publishing world. All I knew was
that I had been given an opportunity and I was determined to take advantage of
it.
I now
have three published novels and four novellas with DarkFuse. I have also
self-published one novella and one short story collection. I have, during these
past few years, learned a great deal. I’ve met amazing people and become a part
of a community of writers and readers. I have spent countless hours attempting
to decipher the publishing world and discover a way to become a fulltime writer
in today’s environment. I’ve been working hard.
Unfortunately,
like most things, there is no one right answer. The secret, I have concluded,
is perseverance and diversity. Write and write and keep producing and then
publish in as many ways as possible. That’s it. There you go. And keep up on
the changing environment. In today’s market, innovation and risk-taking are
required to stay ahead of the curve.
Which
is why I have enrolled my dark fantasy, The
Godgame, in Amazon’s Kindle Scout program, but I’ll get to that.
As I
began to publish, I realized that I had entered a world in flux. As I searched
the internet for information, I found arguments and contradictions. I found
passionate pieces from authors like David Gaughran and Hugh Howey on the
wonders of self-publishing, but was, thankfully, pulled back to reality by dark
fiction author Greg Gifune. While I searched and pondered, I continued to write
and write (because, no matter what, writing is the most important thing) and,
because when I set my mind on something I learn as much about every aspect of
it as I can, I schooled myself on the business side of the publishing world. I
asked everyone I met their opinions and absorbed what they could tell me. I
read articles and books. I learned about book distribution, cover art, the
differences between print and ebook markets, and studied the history of
publishing in order to hypothesize the future. This is what I do. I attacked my
subject and became obsessed.
What
have I discovered? Well, like I said above, perseverance and diversity, and that
I still have a lot of learn. Results, as they currently stand, from a
scientific point of view, are inconclusive. My research goes on. I currently
have work submitted to agents, legacy publishers, small press, and, through the
month of August, Kindle Scout…
What’s
Kindle Scout? Well, a ton of people have covered the subject (including Allan
Leverone here, who had his thriller, The Omega Connection,
published as one of the first books through this program). Basically, an author
must do all of his or her own work, including writing, editing, formatting, and
cover art, and then submit to the program. The author’s work is then on display
for thirty days on the Kindle Scout page where readers vote for their
favorites. At the end of thirty days, Amazon decides whether to publish the
work based partially on how well it was voted upon by readers. If published,
all those readers who nominated the title receive a free Kindle copy.
Yeah,
it’s weird. It’s somewhere between traditional publishing and self-publishing.
All I know is that Amazon holds considerable sway over the literary world at
the moment, especially when it comes to genre fiction, and having a little of
their marketing power behind your title can help to find new readers.
I know
the indie world may look like a fetid shitscape of mediocrity with so many
titles from self-published authors without a clue how awful and unready their
work really is. I know the indie literary world has become like those early
stages of American Idol (fuck me for making this reference), with thousands and
thousands of self-entitled morons prancing about without talent or the
discipline required to develop real skill, but there are still a few gems.
Well-written and captivating literary works, I still believe, will rise to the
top.
I
hope.
In the
meantime, I will continue to press onward, determined never to give up,
determined to explore every available avenue, determined to find my place in
the literary world.
The Godgame, Keith’s latest novel, is on Kindle
Scout through the month of August. Check it out. He’d really appreciate it if
you nominated his title for publication!
And
for more about Keith, visit his site or find him on social media:
If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer then
please consider using the links below to buy any
books from Keith Deininger or indeed anything at all from Amazon. This not
only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy
books after reading my reviews, interviews or blog posts.
Thanks.
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