Is the KDP Select Free promotion worth it?

In my previous blog I announced that The Children of Isador was about to have three days free promotion via KDP Select - and it did! The Children of Isador reached #10 in the best-selling epic fantasy downloads and has gained over five-hundred potential new readers because of this promotion. :-)

Before joining KDP Select and taking part in the promotion I was a bit cautious - and like many other writers I wasn't pleased with Amazon's rule that you cannot have your book published on any other e-publishing platform when enrolled in KDP Select. Nevertheless, I'd heard great things about the free promotion service and was keen to give The Children of Isador a boost. I published it in on Amazon Kindle in June this year and although the sales had been ticking over nicely, wanted to give the novel a bit more visibility.

So was the free promotion worth it, and would I recommend it to other self-published authors? The short answer is yes. I write primarily to get read. Yes, I want to make a living from it, and a monthly check from Amazon is most welcome, but what matters most is that epic fantasy fans read my book.

 So, here are the Free download stats for The Children of Isador over three days (23-25 October 2012):

.com = 401
.uk = 100
.de = 20
.fr = 0
.es = 2
.it = 0
.jp = 0

Total free downloads: 523 copies.

I know there will be writers out there that get thousands of downloads for the free promotion, but since The Children of Isador is my first book I'm pretty pleased with these numbers!

If you were one of the five-hundred and twenty-three people who downloaded my book, I thank you - and invite you to post an honest review on either Amazon or Goodreads. If you have any feedback or thoughts about the novel, you can email me at: samanthajcharlton@gmail.com  I'd love to hear from you.

If you enjoyed The Children of Isador then you'll be pleased to hear that I've been busy writing more epic fantasy! Journey of Shadows (Book One of the Palâdnith Chronicles) is due out in December this year. This first book in the series begins the story of Seth, Eni and Val; three brothers who parted ways ten years' earlier and have not spoken since. Unaware of their unusual heritage, or of the sorceress pursuing them, the brothers are catapulted from their old lives and begin journeys that will test more than their courage. Keep an eye on my website: www.samjcharlton.com for updates on this book!

The Children of Isador, a dark, traditional fantasy about the triumph of good over evil is now available on Amazon Kindle at its usual price of $2.99 USD.