I'll experiment with KDP Select, so you don't have to.

If you've paid attention at all, you know I'm a self-published author.

I've done it through three different publishing services. I originally published through Smashwords, because I liked the multiple distributions to outlets like Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, etc. It seemed an easy way to keep most everything in one location. I've since learned that I prefer to publish on Barnes & Noble directly through their own PubIt! service, because making price changes, for example, can take as long as a couple of weeks through Smashwords. And reporting takes forever. I honestly have no idea how well my first two books are doing on any of those minor (in comparison) outlets. In a nutshell, the PubIt! service makes it much easier to manage my books on B&N.

Then there's Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. If you want to publish anywhere, you want it to be on Amazon. They're huger than huge. I probably don't have to tell you this.

But what you may not be aware of is that they just unveiled a new service, KDP Select. There's a lot to it, but the gist is this: You make your book available on KDP Select, and Amazon Prime members can check your book out for free, like a library. The amount of money you make is determined by the amount of books of yours that are loaned out in comparison to the total amount of books that are loaned out. I won't get into the math, but you can learn more here. Yes, a book that is enrolled in KDP Select can still be purchased normally on Amazon.

There is a catch, though, and it's a doozy: If you publish on KDP Select, it has to be exclusive. You cannot have it published anywhere else. Not on B&N, Smashwords, your own blog. If you do, you risk forfeiting earnings, among other things. Seems like a monopolistic approach, but I'm okay with a monopoly that pays me.

So I'm throwing myself on the grenade here and seeing what's what. I recently released a Norse fantasy novel "Odinsons." It's not selling jack shit starting slowly on B&N. So I figured that it's the perfect guinea pig for KDP Select. I'll let you know how it goes.

Questions? Fire away.