If you choose KDP Select on Amazon you are agreeing to be exclusive to amazon, you are unable to publish your work anywhere else - including your website.



You are giving amazon the rights to your book while it is in KDP Select.  You lose your independence.



However, everyone knows Amazon and in KDP Select your eBooks will be in kindle unlimited and every time someone borrows your book it is counted as a sale in the rankings system, and you are paid some royalties. But you are unable to put your eBooks in libraries for people to borrow. It is only for subscribers to Kindle Unlimited.



If your eBook does well amazon will offer special promotions and recommend it to thousands of readers.



Being exclusive to amazon means your books are in one place, easy to manage and easy to see how well your books are selling. However, unless you are prepared to pay for advertising it is hard to move up the rankings in Amazon due to the huge number of eBooks for sale.

There is nothing wrong with being exclusive with Amazon as a self-published author, many authors are very happy and earn a good wage from being part of KDP Select.



Why publish wide?



It is a way of reaching more readers, even those who cannot afford to buy a book.

You will not be dependent on one outlet, subjected to changes of rules they may make, or vulnerable if there is a technology problem.



You can sell your eBooks in 190 countries on various sites and apps.



Your eBooks can be available in libraries, reaching more readers and gaining a commission when a book is borrowed.



What have I done?



I am being brave and switching from the known to the unknown.



I read, listened, and leant as much as possible about distributer companies such as Draft2Digital, Smashwords, PublishDrive and others.



I thought hard about what I want for my books as an author and came to this conclusion.

I want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to read my books, and I want to be known as an Indie author, not an amazon author.

I removed the kindle version of Vol One of Lunch is too Short for Long Stories from KDP select just as it was about to renew- phew – and published it wide through Draft2Digital.



I will do the same with Vol Two in September, followed by Colours of Rain.



After that any new eBook will be published through Draft2Digital, where I can opt for my book to be on Amazon – but not in KDP Select.