Scouting Kindle Scout, Phase 2: December is the Time to... Study?

While everyone may be getting time off from work and school in the last few weeks of 2015, I'll be diving into a bit of studying. It's all in the pursuit to examine the Kindle Scout process as thoroughly as I can. The best way I thought I could do that is to read one winner of a Kindle Scout contract and one that didn't win.

The Titles

The Standout by Laurel Osterkamp was the first nomination I made on Kindle Scout, and it was also the first one that received a contract. This one stood out to me because of its well-designed cover (it's hard to find those on Kindle Scout, unfortunately) and the synopsis seemed like an interesting plot. Who doesn't love a good psychological thriller? Though I did find out recently that it's not the first Robin Bricker novel (looks like the third, unless I missed one...) and getting into the middle of a series is not my favorite thing to do. However, if it's good, it will be able to stand on its own aside from the series.



My nomination for Autumn's End by Curtis Moser was submitted only a few weeks ago. While it didn't win a contract with Kindle Scout, I just couldn't resist seeing what happens to two teenage grave robbers and their quest to find a secret gold mine. What's misadventures will these two stir up?

What I'll Be Looking For

First and foremost, what I want to see from these titles is quality. I can excuse a typo here and there (trust me, plenty of traditionally published title have them too), but things like huge holes in the plot, too many static characters, or a really predictable ending are things that I can't always forgive.

I'll be posting my book reviews soon, and I hope that with this phase of my learning process, I'll be able to understand just what makes a book on this program stand out from the rest. Want to read along with me? If you find these books interesting and pick one (or both) up, I would love to hear your thoughts.

You can also check out my other Kindle Scout related posts, Kindle Scout and Write On -- Can These Programs Help Indie Authors? and Scouting Kindle Scout, Phase 1: The Nominations for more information on the program and my pursuit to understand it's intricacies.