Amazon announced this week that it has now extended its Kindle ebook lending in a new market, Amazon.co.jp. The Japanese Kindle store will now let its users borrow ebooks that have been placed in Amazon’s exclusive KDP Select program.
Indie authors have often confused KDP Select with Amazon’s typical ebook publishing platform, Kindle Direct Publishing. eBooks uploaded through KDP are not automatically entered into the Select program, meaning the authors are not limited as to where the ebook can be sold. Once a title is listed under Select, however, it is eligible for some promotional tools and the lending program, a feature that can actually result in higher royalties for the author every time the book is borrowed, depending on its price point, of course.
What authors might be confused about in regards to this newest lending market in Japan is that their books are still only available in English, so the risk of losing royalties by putting their titles in the Select program might actually be a little higher than if they were not already enrolled. For authors whose works are already a part of Select and are producing successful returns, this announcement opens up the possibility of more readers choosing to borrow the titles, offering the authors more opportunity to earn the royalties associated with lending.
Authors whose English titles are not currently enrolled in Select would have to weigh the decision of removing their books from all other sales channels in hopes that readers in Japanese would borrow English-language ebooks with enough volume to make up the difference.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.