In another effort to challenge traditional publishers, Amazon has announced a program to test and market e-books before they’re published.
Called Kindle Scout, the program allows authors to place their unpublished work before a focus group of readers. If they like your book, Amazon may offer an advance and royalties through a five-year contract.
It’s crowd-sourcing for the unpublished author. And the key word here is unpublished. Only e-books that have not seen publication in any form except blog posts are eligible for Kindle Scout.
Authors thinking about selling their e-books through competing channels such as iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s NOOK should read the fine print. Kindle Press acquires worldwide publication rights for e-book and audio formats in all languages. The e-book is automatically enrolled in Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
On the plus side, giving away a previously unpublished e-book enrolls the author in Amazon’s marketing program.
Amazon is looking for e-books in these categories: Romance, Mystery & Thriller, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Literature & Fiction. Action & Adventure, Contemporary Fiction, and Historical Fiction will be accepted within the Literature & Fiction category. To apply for the program, the author must be 18 or older with a valid U.S. bank account and a U.S. Social Security number or tax identification number.
Should you jump in? Only with eyes open. You can review the Kindle Scout guidelines here.
Jeff Widmer 
Here’s an update on Amazon’s launch of Kindle Scout. I asked Kindle support if e-books published within the last 45 days would qualify for the promotion. The answer is “no.” Here’s the response:
“The Kindle Scout Eligibility & Content Guidelines require that all submissions be never-before-published books. This means that Kindle Scout books should not have been available for sale in any format, anywhere in the past, including on Amazon. However, if you have a new, never-before-published manuscript that you’ve finished working on, we encourage you to submit it to Kindle Scout.”