# I'm running an Amazon Kindle Scout campaign



## Wruter (Feb 12, 2017)

I've put _Hunter's Song_, the historical romantic horror/dark fantasy novel I wrote last year up on Amazon Kindle Scout for 30 days as an experiment:

Hunter's Song

Anyone with an Amazon account can nominate it for publication. 
_
London, the late eighteenth century: a time of social decadence and political upheaval. Lila Davenport was born a noble heiress but when tragedy strikes she is outcast from her inheritance. Now a hunter of the demonic forces which stalk the shadows, Lila finds herself the target of a supernatural enemy more terrible and cruel than she could have imagined. But how will she prevail when even those closest to her are not what they seem? Her journey will take her across a Europe torn by revolution, and down into the darkest depths of her own heart..._​


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## Brian G Turner (Feb 12, 2017)

I've nominated.


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## Cathbad (Feb 12, 2017)

Me too!


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## LittleStar (Feb 12, 2017)

Three! 

Do amazon tally how many nominations, and have a second (first?) look at the ones that get the most, then decide if they want to publish?


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## Alexa (Feb 12, 2017)

Four ! I liked the sample and I would like to read the whole story.


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## Wruter (Feb 13, 2017)

Gosh, thanks guys!

@LittleStar I think so. The whole process is shrouded in mystery - they don't even tell you how many nominations you've had. All Amazon are revealing is that nominations increase the chances of their editors considering the book. So it's all very much a shot in the dark but isn't everything in publishing?


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## HareBrain (Feb 13, 2017)

Have another one from me!


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## Wruter (Feb 13, 2017)

Gracias, HB! And best of luck with The Goddess Project.


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## Vaz (Feb 14, 2017)

Am I right in remebering a part of this was on the crits board?

I enjoyed the sample and added my nomination.

Best of luck with this


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## Wruter (Feb 15, 2017)

Much appreciated, Vaz, and yes, a bunch of Chronners chipped in on an extremely helpful critique of the opening.


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## Dan Jones (Feb 15, 2017)

Oh go on then, have a nom nom nom from me


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## Wruter (Feb 16, 2017)

Thanks, Dan!


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## Jo Zebedee (Feb 16, 2017)

Oooh, yes, I liked this piece in crits. I'm in


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## TWErvin2 (Feb 16, 2017)

Done


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## Parson (Feb 17, 2017)

Have another nomination. I thought it was an interesting working out of a clever idea.


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## Stable (Feb 17, 2017)

Another nom from me. Good luck!


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## Wruter (Feb 17, 2017)

My gosh, I really appreciate the support from all you guys. Thank you Jo (a celebrity nomination!), Parson (an ecclesiastical nomination!), TWErvin and Stable!


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## Jo Zebedee (Feb 17, 2017)

Wruter said:


> My gosh, I really appreciate the support from all you guys. Thank you Jo (a celebrity nomination!), Parson (an ecclesiastical nomination!), TWErvin and Stable!



 

I wish  (not really) 

Good luck with it! Keep us posted!


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## Wruter (Mar 6, 2017)

Not getting any hopes up but with three days left the book has got onto the 'hot and trending' list.

I can honestly say that I've never been hot and trending before in my life.


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## The Judge (Mar 6, 2017)

I meant to do this the other week, but forgot, so I'm glad you updated us.  I don't have an Amazon account myself, but I got the Judicial Helpmeet to use his, so there's another one.


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## Wruter (Mar 7, 2017)

Very much appreciated, thank you!

Whatever the outcome I'll post about the experience, for science.


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## Jo Zebedee (Mar 7, 2017)

Wruter said:


> Very much appreciated, thank you!
> 
> Whatever the outcome I'll post about the experience, for science.


Do! I have Pom poms. Just in case.


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## Cathbad (Mar 7, 2017)

Jo Zebedee said:


> Do! I have Pom poms. Just in case.



~smh~


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## Parson (Mar 7, 2017)

Jo Zebedee said:


> Do! I have Pom poms. Just in case.



Twod be a sight to see. No doubt!


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## Jo Zebedee (Mar 7, 2017)

Parson said:


> Twod be a sight to see. No doubt!


I could you tube it. If sufficiently bribed


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## Parson (Mar 7, 2017)

I'd hesitate to think how many hits that would get. You could go viral!


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## Wruter (Mar 21, 2017)

Well, the Kindle Scout route wasn't to be for this book.

Which is fine! The only failure is failing to try. And I tried. Now I have the opportunity to follow other routes.

Heartfelt thanks to all my friends and companions of Chronicles for graciously supporting me in the attempt. And thanks again to Brian for allowing me to post this thread.

So what have I learned about the Kindle Scout process that could help other authors who may be considering it? Not a whole lot, unfortunately. Amazon keep the whole thing opaque, which perhaps is how it should be. Anything I might say about why a book is or isn't accepted would be pure speculation. My takeaway is that it's best to regard it as being like any other publisher submission - a shot in the dark.

Submitting itself is a piece of cake. Fill in a few boxes, upload the book and images, then a day later came an acceptance notification then a couple of days after that the campaign began. You get a page which tells you how many views you've had. And that's it. No indications as to how well or badly you're doing, no clues as to how many nominations you've had, no feedback at the end. There's a 'hot and trending' list but what makes a hot and trending book is anyone's guess. It might be worth noting that 80% of views came from the Amazon site itself rather than external sources such as forums (like this one) or social media, blogs etc. hence the book's fate was ultimately in the hands of interested readers (and Amazon's editors of course).

I feel like I should write something else here but my mind has gone blank. Or maybe there's nothing more to say. I came, I saw, I got rejected.

Losing is learning.

Thanks, everyone.


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## The Judge (Mar 21, 2017)

Sorry to hear that, but well done on having a go.  Next time, perhaps.


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## Brian G Turner (Mar 21, 2017)

Ah, sorry about that, Wruter - I was really hoping you'd blaze a trail here and pass on your experience of it. Still, I guess it's just like submitting to agents, but with a popularity contest angle. The best you can only ever do is try.


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## BionicGriff (Mar 21, 2017)

I'm curious to know how many views you received if you don't mind sharing?

Knowing that 80% come from amazon it would be interesting to know what kind of exposure one could roughly expect.


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## BionicGriff (Mar 21, 2017)

Oh, and sorry to hear it didn't result in a positive submission, best of luck with further submissions!


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## Stable (Mar 22, 2017)

Well if they base it on a pure popularity contest... it looks like you were up against Mrs. PG and I suspect that blog gets enough traffic that anyone would have trouble beating the vote volume.


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## Cat's Cradle (Mar 22, 2017)

I'm sorry your work wasn't selected Wruter, but well done for submitting! I received the following e-mail from Kindle Scout:


Dear Christopher _____________,

We wanted to let you know that your Kindle Scout nomination _Hunter's Song_ was not selected for publication.

We'll notify you when this book becomes available on Amazon.
Let us know if you would prefer not to be notified.

The author, William ______, wanted to make sure you received this thank you message:

_“Many thanks for considering HUNTER'S SONG worthy of your nomination.”
_
I liked the line stating they'll let me know when the book becomes available...so they seem optimistic it will appear there some day!  Looking forward to that day, CC


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## Dan Jones (Mar 22, 2017)

Wruter said:


> The only failure is failing to try.



A thousand upticks for this.


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## Vaz (Mar 22, 2017)

Bad luck, Wruter. At least you gave it a crack, sorry it didn't work out.

V


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