Amazon’s “Read Sample” – Too long or too short? Any potential use as a marketing tool? Any tips on how to change its length?
You’re familiar with Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature that allows you to preview the beginning of the book. KDP calls it the “read sample.” Did you know that the sample is set by default at 10% for eBooks, with the ability to be changed from 5% to 40% in 5% increments. Hard cover and paperbacks are set at 20% by default with the ability to be changed from 10% to 80% in 10% increments. Of course, if you have Kindle Unlimited and are looking at a book that is in Kindle Unlimited, the entire book is free. But, today, let’s look at books that are not in Kindle Unlimited.
N.B. A search on Google for instructions for how to change the read sample length provides instructions for doing it through the KDP bookshelf with editing book details. It doesn’t work. According to a KDP discussion group, it must be done by contacting support and asking them to make the change. However, good luck with contacting Kindle support. I finally reached a person. She didn’t have an answer. Nor did her support have an answer. I was referred back to the page where I had just come from. An eternal loop. Ugh!!!
Now that I have cooled off, here are the questions:
As a Reader: When you are considering a book to purchase on Amazon, how would you rank the importance of the cover vs. the book description vs. the read sample? Do you wish the read sample were longer, or shorter?
As a Writer/Publisher of a book: Do you think the read sample is too long or too short. Do you ever change the length of the read sample for your books. Were you able to do so through the KDP bookshelf, or did you have to contact support? What are the advantages or disadvantages of a long or short sample? And, have you ever thought of using the read sample as marketing tool with a plot twist or cliffhanger at the end of the read sample?
Please give us your opinions: Any and all thoughts on the read sample are invited and appreciated. Also, any thoughts on Kindle support are also welcome.
Interesting question, Steve. I’m one of those readers who doesn’t like to be surprised by rude language. A 10% book sample usually gives me enough content to search for offensive words. I’m no prude, but I prefer books written by talented authors who know how to convey the mood and tone without resorting to lazy and crude words.
I agree, Grant. Good points. I’ve started using the read sample during the past year to also explore the writer’s voice and skill with description.
Thanks for participating.
What Grant said.
Thanks, Jim.
Steve, you bring up some things I hadn’t even thought about. I admit, I only ever use the “look inside” feature for non-fiction. My pet peeve is when the “look inside” does NOT include the table of contents. While many non-fic books use good titles/subtitles to convey book content, not all do. And before I waste money on a book that doesn’t deliver the goods, I want to see the table of contents. When the “look inside” feature doesn’t include the table of contents, I generally drop that book from consideration and move on to something else.
I had noted that occasionally what’s available for preview is longer in some instances but hadn’t consciously thought about, nor did I realize that at least theoretically, you could adjust the amount available for that feature.
I can’t recall using ‘look inside’ for fiction. I rely on word of mouth, back cover copy, etc. But I like Grant’s suggestion of using it to get a read on how vulgar the book might be–hadn’t thought of that! That would certainly save a lot of heartache.
I like your ideas. BK. No table of contents in a non-fiction book would be a negative for me. I wonder if the paperback and hard copy are more likely to have the TOC than the eBook.
What got me interested in this topic was considering ways to use the read sample as a marketing tool with a cliffhanger or plot twist at the end. That might be difficult to pull off. I hope someone today will have some good tips for reaching Kindle support.
Thanks, BK.
Steve, I didn’t know the percentage could be changed.
But I am all too familiar with endless loops of instructions to nowhere. Not worth the time to try to change the amount.
Ten percent of a novel should be enough to give readers a taste of the writing, voice, and pacing. If a story takes longer than 10 percent to get off the ground, the book probably needs editing/rewriting.
What irritates me is when half the excerpt is full of long acknowledgements and glowing blurbs instead of actual text.
When formatting to self-pub, acknowledgements and blurbs can be put either at the beginning or the end. I always put them at the end so the reader gets the maximum amount of story.
Great ideas, Debbie. After nearly an hour on the phone and running circles in all the KDP loops, I agree that it’s not worth the effort of trying to change the length.
Good points about putting the acknowledgements and blurbs at the end. I never thought of that.
I wonder, (knowing the default length of the read sample), if putting a major plot twist toward the end of the read sample would have any benefit in pulling in the reader to buy the book.
Have a great day!
For a new-to-me author, I always check Amazon’s read sample. I don’t usually read very far, though, just a page or two. It trumps the cover and the book description.
I’ve only self-published one book. I didn’t know you could change the read sample. How ’bout that?!
Thanks, Priscilla, for ranking the importance to you of read sample, cover, and description.
Good luck with finding the details of how to change the length of the read sample. When you learn, come back and tell the rest of us.
Thanks!
I get most of my books from B&N, so I don’t care about the Amazon sample as a reader, but if it’s a new to me author, or a departure from what I’ve read by a familiar author, I always get the sample.
As an author, I have choices of how much I can include in a sample there.
On all channels, I use their default. If someone’s browsing in a brick and mortar store, how many pages do they read before they decide if it’s a yes or a no?
I agree with Debbie — get as much meat up front as you can. I once downloaded a sample that had about 1 page of text after all the front matter.
Thanks, Terry, for the info and the advice. It sounds like B&N are easier to work with.
A one-page read sample would be of not much value. I would wonder whether the author is hiding something.
Have a great day!
Steve, I had no idea we could change the sample percentage. Hope someone has done it. I’d love to know how. Ten percent works for me as a reader. It allows me a taste of the voice and the writer’s skill level.
Thanks for stopping by, Sue.
I think 10% is a good length. It would be nice if the eBook (10%) and the paperbacks (20%) both had the same length of read sample, then we could do some creative plotting at the point just before the read sample ends. Another problem is that a lot of the eBook samples start with the content, and a lot of the paperback/hardcopy samples start with all the front matter.
I hope that someone will give us some clues for how to do it. I’m guessing that it will require contacting Kindle support. Their contact page included an option for phone call, but did not list the number. They also had contact through Facebook and Twitter.
I hope you have a wonderful day!
Back in ancient times, we had to put up a chapter or two on our websites. Back when authors actually had websites. The advantage of a longer sample is that the reader can read it or stop reading it. We can only hope they keep reading and regret when it ends so they’ll buy the book.
Great points, Marilynn. Putting up a chapter or two on our websites raises some ideas for creative marketing. I’m thinking “out loud” here. But, if we could put a link to our website (and the sample chapters) on Amazon’s (or others) book sales page, we could increase sign-ups for newsletters, followers for our blogs, or even offer sign-ups for prizes.
With the chapters on our websites, we could do some creative plotting with a plot twist or a cliffhanger right at the end.
Thanks, Marilynn!
Good info, Steve!
I have rarely used sample read. I look at the cover, the synopsis, and other books by the same author before I buy one.
Happy weekending!
Thanks for your input, Deb. I wonder how many readers do as you do. I like to check cover, check description, then check actual chapters for a feel of language (as Grant mentioned above), voice, and descriptions.
I hope your weekend is Happy!
Good morning, Steve. I didn’t realize I could change the read sample percentage, but 10% seems fine to me. As a reader, I agree with Grant. I don’t want to buy a book and be surprised by the content. As long as the sample contains the first chapter, that should be enough.
As a writer, I just went out to look at the read sample for Lacey’s Star. The samples are different for the ebook and print.
Ebook: Cover, endorsements, title page, copyright page, dedication, epigraph, contents, first three chapters. (Chapter 3 is incomplete). That is exactly what you would get if you opened the book on an ereader.
Print book: Cover, endorsements, title page, copyright page, dedication, contents, Acknowledgements, Chapter One (complete with cliffhanger), About the Author page (from the end of the book), Back Cover.
Somebody obviously put some thought into the way the print sample was arranged since the content was not the contiguous pages of the book, but selections.
As far as KDP customer service. At least you can talk to somebody on the phone. Other sites require only email contact. Having said that, the quality of the service seems to depend on the actual person you get.
Thanks, Kay, for reporting on the read samples for your book (eBook vs. paperback). Interesting how that is different from other books I have seen. I wonder how Kindle makes those distinctions.
The person I reached on the phone said she was from Amazon support (apparently different from Kindle support). The contact page she referred me back to contained a link for a phone number, but it didn’t work.
Have a great weekend!
Good blog, Steve. I put the first chapter of my novels on my website, so readers can decide for themselves.
That’s a great idea, Elaine. You know for sure what’s going to be seen by the reader. Do you provide a link on your books’ sales pages on Amazon or other retailers letting readers know the first chapters are on your website? Or is that even possible?
Thanks for that wonderful tip.
Have a great weekend!
Great questions, Steve. I rely heavily on the sample. It trumps synopsis or cover since I can get an idea of the writer’s style, especially if there is a lot of description. Heavy description is great for some readers, but I tend to skip after a few sentences. And if I’m skipping in the sample, I know that’s a sign to move on.
Have a good weekend.
Great advice, Rose. No better place to see than the read sample. I’m with you on its importance.
Thanks, and I hope your weekend is great, as well.
As a reader, the sample is what sells me on the story. I get a glimpse of the writer’s style, the storyline, and the characters. I may like the title, I may like the cover, but if I don’t fall into the story from the sample and want to know more, then it’s a hard pass. I do the same when perusing books at the store. If the first page captures me, I go to a random part of the book as well to make sure the book will still capture me later on. I’ve also used the sample to search for specific words in the story if someone asks me if there’s any swearing or content they may not like. I had no idea we could change the percentage. Will have to try that the next time I’m ‘sampling’ stories.
I like your strategy, Robin. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Good luck with changing the read sample length. If you are successful, come back and tell us about the process.
Thanks!