Trying KDP Select

With sales basically being non-existent, I thought I'd try using 2 of the 5 days I have for entering my book into the KDP Select program. But before I move onto the rest of the post, I want to say that I'm probably not making the best move here in making my work free when I have nothing else out there, especially when it's a short story. So, I don't advise people to follow my lead. I'll explain why I'm doing it and why I think you should wait until you have more than one eBook available. Also, I'll make another post over the next few days, where I detail the results of making my short story free.

Why I'm using the free days:

Okay, so . . . I've basically only managed to sell five copies. I didn't expect to sell many copies, however. Unknown + short story = not likely to sell in my view.

Now, I was going to wait until I had another story available, before using some of my free days. The reason I haven't waited is because I thought reviews (if I receive any) for this work might come in handy for future sales and for any future projects. Also, it gets my name out there, though I realise readers may forget me, especially with no other story available. Next, I may get feedback that I can apply to my next story, as writing is always a learning process. When a piece is published, it's done, aside from technical corrections possibly being made. If you do make content changes, then you risk the people who like it already disliking the new version. But that doesn't mean you can't apply feedback received to the next work, if you agree with said feedback. Also, while I don't really expect this with The Dead Should Stay Dead with it being a short, giving it away for free might spur some sales after the promo ends. With my financial situation being what it is, I felt it's best to see if the promo helps with sales, so I'm going to chance it. Sadly, I won't have other titles riding the success though if any comes my way.

Why you should wait until you have another story available before using KDP Select:

You should wait because if readers enjoy your story, then it's possible they'll seek out more of your work. This could translate into a sale. But if they find nothing else available, then there's no sale and they may eventually forget your name (I'm not saying there's definitely a high chance of this, as it varies from person to person). Basically, if you wait until you have more than one story available, then it's possible your free story's downloads and popularity will have an effect on all of your published works.

So, that's why I think it's best to wait and not follow my lead.

I'll make another blog post when I have some results to share.

Also, here are the links to my story that will be free:

UK

US

DE

FR

ES

IT

JP

CA

BR