AMAZON SHORTS: HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY
by Kathe Gogolewski
A little more than a year ago, Amazon lauched its "Amazon Shorts program" with the short stories of only a few dozen well-known authors and much speculation about how the program would fare. Now, in August, 2006, the program is going strong with hundreds of authors representing 533 stories selling for 49 cents each. The Web site boasts “previously unpublished short story literature for sale exclusively at Amazon.com,” and has expanded to include some of today’s “freshest literary voices.”
The contract buys exclusive rights for six months, and offers authors a 40 percent royalty of the 49-cent sale price. This likely won't fly you around the world, but it might get you down the block! More importantly, the exposure as a featured author at Amazon offers an exceptional branding opportunity.
I decided to try it, but I balked when a writer friend of mine said, “You have to fill out a ton of paperwork before you can submit.” I thought, “What if they don’t want any of my shorts? Then, I’ve done all that paperwork for nothing.” So, I decided to try it without the paperwork and submitted “Weighing In,” a 2,000 word humorous story about weight discrimination reversed. Since 2,000 words is their minimum, I got in just under-the-wire. The maximum word-count is 10,000.
Several months later, I finally heard from an Amazon representative, who said they would use “Weighing In.” He wanted to know if I had a book on Amazon, which is requisite for participation. Unfortunately, my e-book with Double Dragon Publishing, A Promise to Keep, was no longer featured. However, I had contributed to an anthology called, The Muse on Writing, and even though I was just one of eighteen writers, this qualified me for the program.
Suddenly, all that paperwork felt okay…and yes, it was a ton. They wanted a complete bio and asked a number of promotional questions, such as “Who do you envision as your target audience” and “What makes this short relevant today?” and “Why would a customer buy this short?” By the time I was done with the questionnaire, I had created a complete marketing plan. Not a bad thing because, as most authors without an uncle named “John Grisham” eventually discover, successful sales depend on their own efforts. Amazon offers each author a profile page with bio, photo and complete backlist.
So, was it worth it? It was to me. I suspect more people visit Amazon online in a day than most Web sites in a year…or even ten years! The association with the giant, in my mind, cannot hurt. After submitting my first story, I promptly searched my files and submitted a second story, this one a non-fiction called “The Gold Coin.” That’s one of the joys of doing this – you only have to complete the paperwork once, and it extends to all your shorts. And I didn’t have to wait three months for acceptance; they accepted it the same day as my submission. I am currently searching my files for another story.
Kathe Gogolewski is an award-winning author of fiction for both children and adults. You may find out more about Kathe by visiting her website at http://www.TRI-Studio.com .
(c) 2006, Kathe Gogolewski
