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 |
Cons of being in KU |
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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?)
I hate how Amazon tries to monopolize EVERYTHING! I really wish that one of the sites would step up, making their service and devices just as convenient for readers. I’ve never participated in KU because I don’t like what it’s doing to the industry. Also, Amazon is getting harder and harder on readers leaving reviews. I admit I do get more ebooks from Amazon than other providers, but I have been trying to branch out a little more.
Off topic, but do you plan to have audiobooks available at some point?
I’d like to… The last time I checked ACX (most popular self-pub thing for doing audio, and owned by Amazon) was only available to US and UK authors/publishers. There are other options but I have to do more research.
Why in the world would Amazon limit it! I do not understand that company. I’ve only purchased them through Audible (amazon) and iTunes.
If I had to venture a guess, it would have to be something to do with royalty and taxes. See, it’s relatively simple for me to publish books in the US because of our tax treaty—I just have to fill out a special form —otherwise Amazon, ARe, CreateSpace would keep something like 60% of my royalties. However, audio books might fall under a different part of the treaty… maybe?
Who knows. :)
Anyway – I will definitely look into doing it through a different company.
Yeah, the idea behind KU has always rubbed me the wrong way so I’ve never gone that route. Always try to purchase directly from the publisher whenever possible – ForbiddenFiction has deals almost every month, and thanks Bey!, for offering the 50% rebate on your books last week – I grabbed up the ones of yours I didn’t already own & I’m really looking forward to Better the Devil You Know :) not to mention Baal’s Heart 3 which I’ve been hoarding like, well a hoarder I guess… Thanks for all the excellent work. I’ll buy your stuff off the back of a truck if that’s how it works out.
I can’t take the credit for the sale :) ARe does it on its own—but, the nice thing is that we still get the same royalties as a full-price sale, which is why I like them so much: loads of free promotion stuff and sales; the ability to make scheduled discounts; you, the reader, get to actually *own* the file you buy instead of just leasing them like through Amazon. It’s win-win!
Thank you, and hope you enjoy :D
I should have specified the 50% rebate deal you did was through AllRomanceEbooks… but many publishers are really good about running specials so it is easy to avoid Amazon and still save a little money too.