Real dip or just you?

The single most useful signal: are other authors seeing the same thing? An Amazon-side change — a reporting delay, an algorithm shift, a KU payout move — shows up across many books at once. A problem with your ads, price, or product page shows up only on yours.

That's the whole point of the Dip Detector board: authors report anonymously, and if a real share of the last 72 hours' reports say sales are down, you'll see it in seconds.

Look back over the last two weeks. Did an ad campaign end or hit its budget? Did you change the price, cover, blurb, or keywords? Did a promo or newsletter push wind down? Did a book drop out of Kindle Unlimited? Any of these explains a dip that only you are seeing.

A fall from a launch spike or promo high back toward your baseline isn't a dip — it's gravity. Compare against your usual baseline for this time of year and this point in your cycle, not against your best-ever day. Slow months, paydays, and single quiet days are all normal noise.

Amazon's numbers don't update instantly. A day that looks empty can fill in later. Before reacting, give it 24 to 48 hours — a real Amazon-wide dip stays visible across days and across authors; a lag resolves itself.

Sales down but page reads steady? Something changed in buying, not borrowing. Reads down but sales steady? That's often a KU-specific shift — see how KU page reads report. Both down together, across many authors at once, points at Amazon itself. Why do sales dip? walks through the common causes behind each pattern.

Shared dip → Amazon-side; wait it out and watch the board. Private dip → your side; check ads, price, enrollment, and launch timing. One bad day → almost always noise. If in doubt, report on the board and check back tomorrow.