Guest post from romance author Heather Hiestand
With Kindle Worlds, it’s all who you know. Want to write fan fiction with the possibility of making money, set in the world of popular fiction, movies, or comics? That’s how Amazon originally designed their Kindle Worlds publishing arm. But, guess what? That’s not how it has worked out.
Instead, authors are using their Kindle Worlds to cross-promote each other. This has been particularly successful in the area of contemporary and paranormal romance. So, if you are writing these sub-genres, or want to, start figuring out who you know. Your friends and friends-of-friends are your ticket to finding out who is launching a new world (it’s happening weekly right now), or relaunching, and joining the group.
Why is this so important? Because you want to be a launch or mini-launch author for a world. Your story will sell better if you cross-promote from the get go. My world, for instance, Kaira Rouda’s Laguna Beach, has a Facebook party and a blog tour going on during release week. Also, if you are a launch author, Amazon may actually PAY you to be involved. That’s right, something vaguely like an advance, if you are lucky.
Here are the caveats: it’s basically self-publishing, so you will likely have to pay for any editing you want done and your cover. Also, at this time, these stories are only available for sale in the US Amazon store, and are not part of Kindle Unlimited. Some day, Amazon may change this, but for now the sales outlet is very restricted.
Common wisdom says that one or two stories break out and sell well with each launch, and the others might not make back expenses. But if you are one of the big winners, multiple times, Amazon might offer you a world of your own, which means you make as much money as an individual author in your world. Passive income, something we all dream of as small business owners. Those folks who fall into this category are very pro-Kindle Worlds.
There are lots of worlds to choose from, so if an author doesn’t respond to your request for information, move on and choose another world to investigate. Check the Kindle Worlds bestseller lists and contact those authors with successful worlds about mini-launches, where an existing world releases new authors all at one time. Once you pick a world and are part of the group, it’s time to start reading! Some authors have series bibles, but even if they do, you’ll want to read at least one story in the series to get a feel. I read all four of Kaira Rouda’s titles, but I was also burned by reading three stories or more in another world where the author involved isn’t even responding to agent requests, so I would wait to contact the author before spending too much precious reading time. If you are already a fan and have read the work, of course, that is an entirely different matter.
You can learn more about A Treasure in Laguna and Laguna Beach here: https://kindleworlds.amazon.com/world/LagunaBeach
And buy it here:
https://amzn.com/B01I2DN6FM
Learn more about Heather Hiestand here: http://www.amazon.com/Heather-Hiestand/e/B004NG0A98
Sign up for Heather’s blog or newsletter at: www.heatherhiestand.com
