Kindle Authors Who Lend Books In Library See 26% Higher Sales

Amazon’s lending library is doing well, especially for Kindle Direct Publishing authors. The online giant reported today that customers borrowed 295,000 KDP Select titles in December. KDP authors earned $1.70 for each time their book was borrowed.

Interestingly, the library lending may be resulting in book sales. According to Amazon, authors who lend their titles in the library have on average 26% higher sales overall. The press release explains: “The top ten KDP Select authors earned more than $70,000 in December just because they participated in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, a 30% increase on top of the royalties they earned from their paid sales on the same titles in the same period.”

Amazon was so happy with the news that they have increased the monthly bonus pool from $500,000 to $700,000. Russ Grandinetti, VP of Kindle Content stated: “We knew customers would love having KDP Select titles in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. But we’ve been surprised by how much paid sales of those same titles increased, even relative to the rest of KDP. Due to this early success and a seasonally strong January, we’re adding a $200,000 bonus to January’s KDP Select fund, growing this month’s total pool to $700,000.”

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