Amazon.com, the leader in book sales everywhere, has been steadily growing and making an even greater imprint on the publishing industry. This year, several of their announcements have changed the way books are published and increased the number of sales for many authors. Their long arm has impacted digital sales through the popular Kindle Fire and has increased their viability as not only a book seller, but also a book publisher.
1) In January, 2012, Amazon.com announced that they were increasing their Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select fund by $200,000, making the total fund for the month $700,000. Prime Kindle owners can borrow books from Amazon’s Lending Library at no cost. When they do, authors and publishers receive royalties from each borrow. Not only have books received greater exposure through KDP Select, but authors have announced that their royalties have grown, from Lending Library borrows, as well as paid book sales on Amazon. The increase to the fund has encouraged more authors to participate in KDP Select, which has proven to be a great marketing and promotion tool for authors.
2) In April, 2012, Amazon.com released Tim Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Chef. Ferriss is the first author selected by Amazon Publishing, a division of Amazon.com that promises to be a major book publishing company. A New York Time Advice bestseller, Ferriss was formerly published by Crown, a division of Random House Publishing. Look for Amazon to expand its publishing division in the next year, bringing other great authors, both published and self-published, on board.
3) Also, on June 4, 2012, Amazon.com announced that they acquired 3,000 romance, western, and mystery titles from Avalon Books, a major publishing entity. With the announcement came future possibilities for the titles, most of which had not been digitized. With Amazon’s acquisition of Avalon books, a wider market will open as they are made available for Kindle readers.
Through Amazon’s publishing imprint, programs like KDP Select, and their royalty programs, Amazon.com is continuing to make an impact on authors and publishers and establishing themselves as the greatest influence on book sales for authors and publishers.