Let’s see…what can I talk about this time?
How about…the new and improved Kindle Unlimited?
If you haven’t heard, Amazon has changed its
method of payment for authors that are in Kindle Unlimited. Instead of a flat
rate all across the board, they’re now paying by page read.
Initially, I had dismissed this as flummery, to
steal a word from Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe. But, I began thinking about it.
With the original setup of a flat fee for a “borrow”,
I avoided joining for a couple of months. When I did join Select, and Amazon
lowered the fee paid to KU members to around $1.33, I discovered that I was
losing money big time by leaving my novels in the program, and I felt guilty
about earning more for a short story than if I had sold a copy. I pulled
everything out of KU, and swore that I wouldn’t return.
Now, with a “pay-per-page” rate that makes all
things equal between my short stories and
my novels, I’m going “all-in” again.
Being in Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Select means
that I have to keep my regular eBooks exclusive to Amazon. My translations into
other languages can be everywhere – they aren’t exclusive. Print editions and
audiobooks (remind me one day to say what I think about audiobooks) are not
exclusive, either.
But, you, the reader, can get around that. Here’s
how:
If you own an Apple iPad or iPhone, or if you own
a Samsung tablet or phone, or any of the many brands other than an outright
Kindle reader or tablet, there’s an app you can download for Amazon’s Kindle.
You probably won’t be able to buy a
book through the app – you’ll have to use your Internet browser and go to the
full site for that – but you can sure read
books purchased through Amazon on that app.
And, presto, you’ve got a workaround for an
Amazon-exclusive story. Nothing to it.
Now, back to my thinking about how this might be a
better deal for me, as an author.
There are certain college libraries that have my
print books on the shelves. Now, when they purchased those print books, of
course I received a royalty on each of those titles…plus the knowledge that my
fiction is on library shelves. That royalty on those print editions is all I
will ever be paid for those copies, no matter how many people read those copies.
But, if you look at Kindle Unlimited as a “lending
library” in which the subscriber pays a monthly fee and “borrows” however many
stories he/she can read each month, and you realize that you get paid for each page of that borrow that the reader
reads, the potential income for an author for a story that isn’t purchased
outright is substantial.
Granted, there are authors that were making a
killing on “borrows” in Kindle Unlimited under the old plan. And it’s highly
unfair of Amazon to give higher visibility to books that are part of Kindle
Unlimited and Select instead of using a strict sales measurement. Exclusivity
is also a pain in the arse, but, with the workarounds, a reader can still
obtain books from Amazon, even using another device.
I know, I know – these are things that the average
reader doesn’t see, and it isn’t anything the average reader cares about. But,
on certain message boards and comments on certain author blogs have been
running hot, with personal attacks against those in favor of the changes, when it’s totally a business decision for
each author! Fellow author Hugh Howey has borne the brunt of these attacks,
and I feel for him.
That is a result of allowing emotions to dictate
your business decisions.
My stories, at least for 90 days, will be in
Kindle Unlimited and Amazon-exclusive. I hope my readers will follow.
I’ll see you there, as you…
Keep reading!
T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)
Visit my website: www.tmbilderback.com
Follow me on Twitter: @mrtmbilderback
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