Y’all ever hear of Kindle Unlimited?
Imagine it as the Netflix of books. At least, that’s how it was sold to me. For a monthly subscription fee, you can read any book enrolled in the program on Amazon. That’s thousands and thousands of books that you have cheap access to. And you’re supporting writers, as they get paid per page that’s read.
It sounds like a great idea!
You won’t find my books there.
But why not? It seems like a win-win. Authors get paid, and readers get books cheaper!
Well, Amazon doesn’t run the program out of the goodness of their hearts. They get a cut. Now, that’s true of any platform that sells books online. If you buy my books from Amazon or Barnes and Noble or Walmart, each of those platforms get a cut. It’s part of the cost of doing business.
But part of Amazon’s cut for Kindle Unlimited is exclusivity. If I put my books on Kindle Unlimited, I would not be allowed to sell ebooks anywhere else. To get access to the Kindle Unlimited audience, I must essentially sell myself to Amazon.
I know writers who make good money through Kindle Unlimited. They’re able to support their families through that program! I bear no ill will to anyone who has chosen to go that route.
But I simply can’t. I don’t trust Amazon enough to allow them exclusivity to my stories. What happens when there’s a hiccup in the system and I’m locked out? What happens when I’m banned because someone reported me for something, but who knows what? Both those things have happened to authors I know, and suddenly their support was gone.
Another aspect of Kindle Unlimited is that the rate of pay to authors fluctuates every month, and Amazon doesn’t share what the rate is. It simply tells a writer how many pages have been read, and by the way, here’s your paycheck. It’s hard to budget when you can’t even predict how much you’ll receive for one of your books. At least this way, I know that one sale will equal this much money.
Every writer is on their own journey. So is every reader. If you like unlimited reading, Kindle Unlimited may be a great way for you to go. It might fit in very well with your writing and publishing strategy, too.
But for me, I can’t.
(As a side note, if you like the idea of unlimited reading but don’t want to support Amazon, may I suggest Kobo Unlimited? My books are enrolled there, so you could also support me! No exclusivity there! Woo!)
Jonathon Mast: Author 