Should You Bundle Your Books?

For the past few months, I had been playing with the idea of bundling the books in my Consortium series I’ve written so far. I had already bought a pre-made cover from bookcoverzone.com, so I thought ‘what the heck.’ It’s gone more smoothly than I thought possible. One thing I’ve done is put the book on preorder on Amazon. Next, I did the same by distributing the ebook through Draft2Digital. It will be on several other websites like Smashwords and Kobo.

Reasons to Bundle into an Omnibus

1. Reader Convenience
   Readers love getting the whole story in one go, especially for binge reading. It eliminates the friction of purchasing books one by one.
2. Better Value Perceived
   Offering all books at a slight discount over buying them individually can attract cost-conscious readers. Great for promotions like “box set for the price of two.”
3. Boost Sales for Slow-Moving Books
   A lagging Book 2 or 3 can be revitalized as part of a bundled product. It gives all titles in the series a second life.
4. Improved Page Reads (for Kindle Unlimited)
   Longer reads = more Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENP), which can lead to higher earnings.
5. Ideal for Promotions
   Omnibuses can be spotlighted in BookBub Deals, newsletters, or ads more easily. Works great for reader magnets or limited-time offers.
6. Author Branding & Shelf Appeal
   A professionally packaged omnibus shows off your series as a polished, complete body of work. Adds to your credibility and makes your backlist look more robust.
7. Easy Gateway to Upsell Related Content
   You can add bonus material: novellas, maps, artwork, or author notes to entice purchase. Direct readers to spin-offs or sequels.
8. Target Different Reader Segments
   Some readers won’t commit to a series until it’s complete. An omnibus appeals to these latecomers.

Tips for Creating and Marketing an Omnibus

1. Choose the Right Format
   Ebook is cheapest and easiest. Print is doable via KDP or IngramSpark, but be wary of high page counts (KDP max is 828 pages). Audiobook omnibus can be attractive but costly to produce.
2. Add Unique Content
   Include a foreword, afterword, new short story, or exclusive world-building extras. Offer something new to readers who already own the individual books. I added an index of characters, places and so on.
3. Use Strategic Pricing
   Price slightly below the total of the individual books to offer a clear discount. Consider a limited-time launch price to incentivize early buyers.
4. Update Back Matter in Standalone Books
   Include a link or ad for the omnibus at the end of each individual title. Make it easy for readers to upgrade or gift the omnibus
5. Design a Unified Cover
   |A strong, consistent visual that combines themes or motifs from all books will attract attention. Use a cover that signals “value” and “completion.”
6. Optimize Keywords and Categories
   Use keywords like “box set,” “omnibus,” “complete series,” or “collection.” Add it to relevant categories: e.g., “Science Fiction Anthologies,” “Collections & Anthologies,” or “Boxed Sets.”
7. Make a New Amazon Product Page
   The omnibus will have a separate ASIN. Make sure the description clearly explains what’s included. Use this opportunity to highlight reviews of the series, accolades, or awards.
8. Promote it Differently
   Market the omnibus as a special event or premium experience. Run it through discount promo sites like Freebooksy, BookBub, Written Word Media, etc.
9. Use Omnibus in Series Strategy
   Bundle after 3+ books or when the series is complete. You can also create volumes (Books 1–3, 4–6) as a step between singles and full series.
10. Mind Your ISBNs and Metadata
    If you use your own ISBNs, assign a new one for the omnibus. Be clear in the metadata that this is a complete or partial bundle to avoid reader confusion.

Bundling a book series is an opportunity to fine tune your stories, add some extra scenes, and maybe fix any spelling mistakes. There’s just something grand about seeing all your works in one place.

My book The Consortium Saga Omnibus is available for preorder.

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