I've made the decision to pull my books from Kindle Unlimited for the time being. Why am I saying things like "for now" and "for the time being"? Well... it is a hard decision to make.
Here, I'll show you why:
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Pros of being in KU
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Cons of being in KU
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- Increased visibility with Amazon customers
- Use of Amazon stuff like Kindle Countdown Deals
- Only have to upload my files to one place
- Less people return my books
- I make more money overall
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- I might make more money but at less than half a cent per page read, it really devalues books overall, and not just mine.
- It's less than half a cent per page because the money comes from a pot that is split up every month amongst everyone enrolled in KU, and there are a lot of scammers publishing fake books or books that are rigged to make the reader reach the end (in which case Amazon pays the scammer for every page in the book), so us non-scammers have to share the pot with these assholes. (tl;dr: Authors have to share profits with scammers)
- When you are enrolled in KU, you can only sell your books through Amazon. So I might get great visibility with Amazon customers, but folks who prefer to buy elsewhere are shit out of luck.
- I am at the mercy of Amazon's sudden policy changes - which have largely failed to curtail the scammer problem. *two-finger salute*
- Amazon continues to censor, ban, and stonewall its authors and paying customers.
- I have to deal with the uploading files all over the place when I make a change... but... enh. *shrug*
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So there you have it folks: my decision making process.
As of today, Caged, Sacrificed, Fated, The Complications of T, The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel are out and will be followed by the F.I.S.T.S. books on June 1st and Careened on June 20.
Kestrel's Talon will be out around August 13.
By pulling out my books, it means that I stand to make less money, which is what makes it such a shitty decision: Ho hum... do I stay in a fucked up system, chained to their exclusivity clause to make more cheddar, or do I go wide and make my books available to a wider audience... at a possible loss? (Oh yeah... Something else about the exclusivity thing? You have to stay in the program for 90 days. Then you can either opt out—so no KU and you can sell your books in other places—or renew like a chump.)
Ultimately, I don't write for the money... Even with my books in KU I don't make anywhere near a living wage. It's hard work but I write because I love doing it, and I get to share my stories with like-minded folk.
But. Well. Money is nice. *shakes head*
Anyway... I think from now on (unless I cave and go back to wearing the golden handcuffs) I'll put new releases into KU for the 90 days but not renew. Who knows.
(and feel free to chime in... what's your opinion on this?)
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