They must decide if the short term benefits of KDP Select outweigh the long term harm caused to their writing career. KDP Select places authors in a difficult position. When authors go exclusive with any retailer, they increase their dependence upon that single retailer, limit long-term platform building at other retailers, disappoint fans who shop at other stores, and hobble the development of a thriving and competitive ebook retailing ecosystem. I contended, and still contend, that exclusivity is a devil's bargain. Some authors have done well with it, and others have not. The controversial program has its share of opponents and supporters. I blogged my opposition to the program here at the Smashwords blog, and in the months since also spoke out against it here, here, here and here. The lure: KDP Select, an opt-in program that requires authors to make their books exclusive to Amazon for a minimum of three months. Last year, a mere three weeks before a record-breaking Christmas for ebook sales at the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony and other retailers, Amazon convinced thousands of indie authors to remove their books from the virtual shelves of all Amazon competitors. Will Amazon be the grinch who steals Christmas from thousands of indie authors this holiday season?
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