Amazon First Reads is a program that Amazon runs, that anyone can participate. Every month a pool of 8 ebook titles are refreshed and encompass a wide array of genres and publishers. Users can select one book and pay $1.99 to download it and the title is yours to keep. For the month of April there are a number of notable titles, such as Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood. You can subscribe to First Reads for free and get emailed once a month when new books are available. What is more interesting, is that you can download the Audible audiobook for the same amount $1.99.
The vast majority of the ebooks available on First Reads are from Amazons own imprints, such as Little A and Thomas and Mercer. Basically, for every book genre, Amazon has their own imprint. They don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts from debut or independent authors. If you are a self-published author and sell lots of books on Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon might reach out and offer a good deal.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.