The rules in 60 seconds
5
free days in each 90-day KDP Select term, in one block or split. Unused days do not roll over.
1
promotion type per term: free days or a Kindle Countdown Deal, not both.
$0
royalty on free downloads. The book moves to the Free list, then back to the Paid list after.
Day 2
of the term is the earliest start, and you must schedule at least one day ahead.
12 am PT
is when promotions usually start and end. Avoid ending on the last day of the term.
Ebook
only. Paperbacks and hardcovers keep their price. A day you cancel mid-run is not credited back.
Source: KDP Help, Free Book Promotions and KDP Select pages.
Is your book ready to go free?
Answer six questions. Free days reward preparation, so the score tells you whether to schedule now or fix something first.
- 1.Is the next book in the series already on sale?
- 2.Does the back matter link to that book and to your mailing list?
- 3.Have you booked at least two promo sites for the free days?
- 4.Does the book have ten or more reviews?
- 5.Do readers in your genre read in long runs, like romance, thrillers or fantasy?
- 6.Have the cover and blurb already sold copies at full price?
0 of 6 answered
Three ways to split five days
KDP lets you use the days all at once, one at a time or anything between. The split decides how high you climb on the Free list and how many separate chances you get.
| Split | Best for | Upside | Downside |
|---|---|---|---|
| One 5-day block | A launch or relaunch of book 1 in a series | Downloads build on each other, so the book climbs higher on the Free list and stays visible longer | Uses the whole term at once, with no second try if the dates clash with a holiday or a news event |
| 2 days, then 3 days | Testing promo sites before the main push | The short run shows which sites deliver, so the longer run gets the better stack | Two smaller spikes, each with less momentum than one block |
| Single days | Riding a newsletter swap or a book 2 release day | Each day can match one event exactly | Too short to climb far on the Free list; promo sites often prefer longer windows |
Whichever split you pick, keep the days inside the current term. You cannot schedule into the next 90 days until that term starts.
The two-week playbook
Count backwards from the first free day. The order matters more than the dates.
3 to 4 weeks before
Book the promo sites
Free-book newsletters fill their slots early and many ask for a minimum number of reviews. Apply to several, stagger them across the free days, and note each site's dates.
2 weeks before
Rebuild the back matter
Put the link to book 2 on the first page after The End, then a reader magnet for your list. Most free readers never reach an About the Author page buried at the back.
1 week before
Schedule the days in KDP
Marketing tab, Run a Price Promotion, Free Book Promotion. Check the term dates first: day 2 at the earliest, and not ending on the term's last day.
Day 1
Confirm the price and announce
Check the Amazon page shows $0.00 in the stores your promo sites cover. Then email your list and post once; the newsletters do most of the lifting.
After the last day
Catch the readers on the way back
The book moves back to the Paid list, which can take up to 24 hours. Point ads at book 2, not book 1, and add a review request to your next email.
What a free download is worth
A free download earns nothing until the reader does something next. So the only honest way to value one is to follow the reader. Here is the arithmetic with example numbers; replace them with your own.
- Free downloads of book 1
- 2,000
- Share who go on to buy book 2
- 3%
- Book 2 sales
- 60
- Royalty per book 2 sale at $4.99
- about $3.39
- Royalty from the promotion
- about $203
Move the buy-through from 3% to 1% and the same promotion earns about $68; push it to 5% with a better back matter and it earns about $339. That is why the back matter, not the promo stack, is the biggest lever you control.
If the series is in Kindle Unlimited, page reads from borrowed sequels come on top. To know what each later sale really pays at your price and file size, run it through the KDP royalty calculator, and to decide how much of that you can spend on promo sites, use the reader-value math in our book marketing budget guide.
Mistakes that waste the days
Instead of
Do this
Giving away a standalone with nothing to follow
Wait for book 2, or add a reader magnet so free readers join your list
Scheduling first and looking for promo sites later
Book the sites first, then set the free dates to match them
Running free days and planning a Countdown Deal in the same term
Pick one per 90-day term; plan the other for the next term
Advertising the free book with paid ads
Spend ad money on book 2 after the promotion, where a click can become a sale
Ending a promotion early to save the days
Cancel only days that have not started; a day cancelled mid-run is gone
Judging the promotion by downloads
Judge it by book 2 sales, page reads and new subscribers over the next month
Before the free days start
Get the back matter and the follow-up ready in an afternoon
The work that makes free days pay is mostly writing: the back matter that sends readers on, the blurb that sells book 2, the email that asks for a review. It is also the work most authors leave until the night before.
The back matter generator drafts the also-by page, the next-book teaser and the newsletter invitation for you to edit. The review request tool writes the follow-up that asks free readers for an honest review, and social posts covers the announcement.
If book 2 is the missing piece, AIWriteBook's book series support builds the next book from the ones before it: you add up to five previous books, it pulls out the still-relevant characters, the plot so far and your writing style, and the new outline continues from there. For a reader magnet, a short prequel novella written in the same voice works well.
And when you upload, the KDP Chrome extension checks every field and fills title setup, so the edition you promote has the right keywords and categories in place.
Promo-site pitch template
Most free-book newsletters use a form, but the same five facts go in every one. Keep this filled in and paste from it.
BOOK: [Title] (Book [1] of the [Series name] series) AUTHOR: [Pen name] ASIN: [B0XXXXXXXX] FREE DATES: [Start date] to [End date], Amazon US [and UK, CA, AU] GENRE: [Main genre] / [Subgenre] REVIEWS: [Number] ratings, [average] stars ONE-LINE HOOK (under 25 words): [When ___ happens, ___ must ___ before ___.] SHORT DESCRIPTION (2 to 3 sentences): [Who the hero is and what they want.] [What stands in the way.] [Why readers of ___ will love it.] COMPARABLE AUTHORS: [Author A], [Author B] CONTENT NOTES: [Clean / steamy / violence level] NEXT BOOK: [Title of book 2], available now at [price] COVER: [link to a 1600 x 2560 image]
Frequently asked questions
How many free days do you get with KDP Select?
Up to five in each 90-day KDP Select enrollment term. You can use them in one block or spread them out, and unused days do not carry over to the next term.
Can I run free days and a Kindle Countdown Deal in the same term?
No. Each enrollment term allows one promotion type, either a Free Book Promotion or a Kindle Countdown Deal. Plan the other one for your next term.
Do free downloads help my paid sales rank?
During the promotion the book is ranked on the Free list, and afterward it moves back to the Paid list, which can take up to 24 hours. The paid benefit comes from what readers do next: buying the sequel, borrowing it in Kindle Unlimited and leaving reviews.
Can I make the paperback free too?
No. Free Book Promotions apply to Kindle ebooks only. The paperback and hardcover keep their list price.
Are free days worth it for a single book?
Usually less so, because downloaders have nothing to buy next. If you do run them, make sure the back matter sends readers to your mailing list, so the promotion builds an audience for the next release.
Give the book away only when the next step is ready
Five free days a term are a strong tool for book 1 of a series and a weak one for a lone title. Book the promo sites first, rebuild the back matter, schedule inside the term, and measure the result by what readers buy next.
Free days are one of the reasons to stay exclusive; weigh them against wide distribution in KDP Select pros and cons. If this term suits a discount better than a giveaway, the Kindle Countdown Deal guide covers the other option, Kindle Unlimited strategy explains the page reads that follow a free run, and getting reviews on Amazon shows how to turn new readers into ratings.
Free days are one tool on the platform; our Amazon KDP guide covers publishing, pricing and the rest.