I am a very lucky guy. I get to write stories that I love, and share them with people that enjoy them with equal fervor. Even luckier still, I earn a living do so. However, luck isn’t always enough.
I have been exclusive with Amazon since day one… Not because I love Amazon but because their competitors paled in comparison. The other vendors were too difficult to work with, and showed little to no support for indie authors such as myself. In short, publishing through these other sites would simply have taken me away from what put food on my family’s table… writing books.
Until recently, this had been a fruitful partnership. However, with the introduction of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, the fruit has soured. Amazon’s pay-per-borrow rate has gone down steadily, with its latest drop being the most dramatic. Furthermore, the rate is the same across the board, be it a 10,000 word short story or a 100,000 word novel. This inequity has opened the door to scammers who hack up their work into smaller chunks in order to game the system.
The plain fact of the matter is that no matter how you look at it, a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited cannot succeed unless it has a massive membership made up of people who don’t use it, and the service must pay the authors peanuts per read. Unfortunately that is exactly the direction in which Amazon is headed, and at what appears to be breakneck speed.
Because of this, I have decided to pull all of my titles out of Amazon’s Select program, and therefore Kindle Unlimited. My books shall still be for sale on Amazon, but they shall no longer be available to be borrowed and read for free. I hate having to do this, but Amazon is leaving me no choice. At the current pay-per-borrow rate, I am losing thousands of dollars per month, a financial hit that I cannot afford over the long term. And as I said before, I expect it will only get worse as Amazon must pay the authors even less if they ever expect to make a dime from Kindle Unlimited.
I do not begrudge Amazon’s decision to implement this program. (Although I do consider it to be somewhat ill-conceived at best.) It is there company and they have the right to do whatever they wish. However, I am not only a writer, but also a businessman, and I have to do what is right for my business. I want to write all the stories that are in my head, and to do so, I have to continue to make a living.
Unfortunately, pulling my books from Select (and Kindle Unlimited) will result in a loss of revenue (due to the loss of pay-per-borrows) as well as a decrease in overall sales due to the reduction in visibility. (The result of no longer being listed in the Kindle Lending Library.) To compensate for this loss, I must raise prices, which as most of you know I loathe to do. But again, this is a business, and in order to ensure its survival as well as my continued ability to publish episodes on a regular basis, I have to take whatever steps are necessary to guarantee its success.
This was a difficult decision for me to make. I have spent months weighing the pros and cons, as I watched; hoping that the pay-per-borrow rate would stabilize at a livable amount, but it has become obvious that this shall not come to pass. These stories are my product… They are a part of me, and I cannot allow Amazon to dictate their value on a whim.
I thank you all for reading, and hope you shall continue to do so for many years to come, as I have so many more stories to share with you all.
I was wondering how Kindle Unlimited worked with authors, and i guess that’s the answer. You have a strong following because you write a great story, i feel you are past the initial “get your work out there” phase anyway, and i am assuming you are talking about a small increase to $5-6 (for digital) so i dont think you will lose any current readers. And given the reviews you have it should be enough for this series to carry on. Can you put some of the first books, like 1-3, on unlimited? that way new people will get hooked, your name will still be circulated, and with a nice request to us we can pup up the reviews, though i just checked and not sure they can get much higher! For work of this quality i have no problem with the $5-6, much more and i would want the book in my hand probably. And to be truthful if the price was much higher I would just take longer to buy it, i want to read on! Either way you have to do what is best to keep your family cared for, and then what is best for the story, and it looks like you made the decision on both counts.
Forgive me if I’m answering for Ryk, but as a sci-fi author myself I’ll tell you that it’s suicide to put only the first few books up on KS/KU. The exclusivity required would mean that readers from the other worthwhile vendors – Apple and Nook particularly, along with Smashwords – would never get to see the first few books, and so would be unlikely to buy the rest of the series. Might as well stay exclusive to Amazon in that case.
I salute Ryk for pulling out. I personally have not put my major series titles into KS/KU, only some more minor side works that don’t sell too well anyway. I’m toying with the idea of launching my next series in KS/KU for 90 days – it takes a bit of extra time to get things up on the other sites anyway – but only for that one period, for the visibility.
In any case, KU has made it harder for us authors to make a living, even top ones like Ryk. But we have to roll with the punches and the changes in the market, and hope that readers like you will recognize quality when they see it and be willing to pay a quite reasonable (say) $3.99 to own hours of entertainment rather than $10 a month to merely rent it.
I’m only upping the price by a dollar per book. I haven’t decided yet whether or not to keep episode 1, or perhaps the omnibus in Unlimited. For now, I’m waiting for them all to cycle OUT of Select/Unlimited while I watch the results. I’ll decide in February (after they are all out of Select/Unlimited) what to do next.
Go ahead and raise the price all you have to. I will continue to read regardless. I love your works, and always will.
Blair
Ryk – I think most of us understand the situation you have been forced into and none of us begrudge you making money for writing the Frontiers Saga. So no apology needed – you just keep writing them because no matter what the price I will keep buying & reading them.
Hi Ryk
I can see where you are coming from, but it sounds a little as if you are angry about Amazon. I’m not sure that is justified – as you do have the option to not have your work on Kindle Unlimited. I think Amazon is wildly experimenting, it’s the same spirit that gave you as a free author a chance, where editors did not.
And hey, I get your point you think there is just not enough revenue for you on Kindle Unlimited. I am not sure I like the Unlimited myself. I am happy to pay a few bucks for a good book.
Cheers
Mark
Yes, I guess I am a little angry about it, but I’m not angry about losing money. I can take actions to counter that problem. I’m angry that I have to deny those that preferred to borrow my books the ability to do so. I’m angry that I’m forced to break my promise to keep the first 15 books at $2.99. But mostly I’m angry that Amazon implemented such a poorly conceived system that is ripe for abuse and is destined to become only a slush pit for shorts and scammers. Unlimited could have been a decent program, but not the way it is currently setup. I’m hoping that Amazon has a trick up their sleeve that none of us are seeing and that when they make their move we’ll all go “ah hah”. Somehow, though, I doubt that is the case.
Ryk,
I respect your decision. I tell the people I work with/for on a regular basis that I am only here for the money. I enjoy what I do, but if I had the choice, I’d be home with my family. That being said, I was wondering about the price increase reason that you gave of reduced visibility. At this point, the established fan/reader base must be huge (I recommend it ALL the time.) If you are concerned about keeping your word for $2.99 for the fist 15 (I know I’m writing this after 12 was sold for $3.99) it might do to see if the level stays the same or increases. Just a thought, and not really a critical one. I know you don’t know me, but I feel I know you. Perhaps that is presumptious, and forgive me if it is.
At is widely suspected that books enrolled in Select/KU gain extra favor by the Amazon ranking algorithms. (There have been numerous claims supported by statistical evidence, which while not conclusive, are common enough to take seriously.) Pulling out of Select will cause a fall in ranking. (In fact, as of this post, I have enough evidence of my own to support that claim, as the omnibus fell from a ranking in the 5,000s to the 13,000s in only 2 weeks since it came out of Select/KU.) Of course, there is no way to know for sure how this KU thing will finally settle out, but the fact that Amazon choose to implement it in such a haphazard fashion show so little regard for their content providers that, for the first time, I am literally afraid of what they might do next. I simply can no longer run the risk of keeping all my eggs in Amazon’s basket, as that basket has too many holes and is getting weaker with each passing day.
In the past, Amazon had the majority of the ebook market, simply because of the Kindle ereader. Now, just like the ipod was crushed by the iphone, the dedicated ereaders are being crushed by smart phones and tablets. In addition, Android based devices are gaining an ever increasing share of the market. As Amazon has yet to put out a smart phone that can compete with Andriod and iOS devices, I’m afraid that they are too late to market on that one and will never regain their lost market share. Because of this, and because of the introduction of KU, it is time for me to kiss Amazon exclusivity goodbye and start distributing through other platforms. (I had originally intended to do so, but not until after episode 15, the conclusion of part 1, was published.)
Now, if I wanted to make a money grab and insure my financial stability, I could simply raise prices to $5.99 and be done with it. With 13,000+ names on the mailing list, (which only represents 25% of the readership) I’d make enough from each release to support my family for nearly a year. But I’m not here to make a quick buck and retire. I’m here to tell my stories, all the way to the end, and on a regular basis that readers can rely on.
If, by the end of part 1, sales on other platforms have made up for the loss of sales on Amazon due to pulling out of Select/KU, then I may drop the price back down to $2.99. But I cannot afford to sit by and take no action, lest I run the risk of not being able to pay my bills.
BTW: No forgiveness needed. I am always willing and eager to discuss these things for the benefit of us all.
Ryk,
Thanks for taking the time to share your insights with me. I actually have written a children’s illustrated book (TOTALLY different genre) and was looking at Amazon as the easiest (and most economical) way to market. I will tread carefully.
BTW – I don’t mind the extra dollar (or even 3). Your stories are worth it and you deserve to be able to support your family.
How difficult would it be to sell your books on your website? I use a combination of Merchant Warehouse/Authorize.net and PayPal on mine. It’s pretty simple to setup the merchant account with either or both entities. That way you have full control over pricing and profit. I had a similar issue with eBay that you are having now with Amazon. I still do business on eBay but my direct sales on the website are much greater. Plus with your product you can embed links in all of your books to this website to drive new customers and returning customers here.
Just a thought….
Really enjoy the series
Mike
This is something that I’ve always wanted to do. In fact, long before the Kindle and KDP, I daydreamed about this. However, until I have a large enough mailing list (approx 50,000 names) it is too risky. People aren’t searching the internet for new sci fi books to read, they’re search the likes of Amazon, B&N, Google Books, and iBooks. Selling thru my own site would rob me of sales on those platforms, thereby reducing my visibility and severely decreasing the number of new readers joining the series each day. (I could never have the marketing power of any of those vendors.) In addition, many people are put off by the hassle of downloading and side-loading a file into their chosen reading device. So until the mailing list is big enough, its too risky for me.
I like mikes idea of selling books off your site. You could encourage your hard core readers on your book list to buy from your site and charge them/us 5 or 6 dollars. And continue to keep you books on amazon at a lower price to keep the new readers coming in. This could be done if you released your books to your subscriber/list a month/weeks? earlier then you release your books on amazon at the lower price.
That way you still capture a higher price for us hard core readers who have been waiting for 3 months for the next read and are willing to spend 2-3$ more dollars on the book.
Price elasticity i think is the economic term for this? Anyways Good luck. Excited for your next book!
The problem with selling off the site is that it would stifle the growth of the reader base. Every sale from this site would be taking away a sale from another site, (like Amazon) which would reduce ranking. Lower ranking = less visibility = fewer sales = less income = have to write faster = lessor quality… and so on. (Not too mention stress, fatigue, etc…)
Now, my mind has always been set on growing the mailing list to a size that I could sell only from my website and still make a good living. However, I’m only about 20% of the way to that goal. Mind you, it’s not that I want to sell from my site, but rather it is that I want the option of doing so, should the terms of vendors become less profitable than selling direct.
Ryk how does the ranking actually work? How does it benefit you?
When I log into Amazon and get redirected to “Your Amazon.com” none of my Kindle recommendations include anything from your library. And considering that I own everything you’ve written, it seems at least one or two might be indicated. I own a few books from Christopher Nuttall and Vaughn Heppner and even the copies I own from those authors show up as recommendations there. In order for me to see if you have anything new I have to search specifically for you. How does a new reader get exposed to your work?
Mike
I think it is a function of how you review and rate for your own recommendations. Its the ratings that bring the books to the top of the list for new readers, if you search sci-fi, 4+ stars and sort by popular (which i think is a pretty standard book search for amazon readers, or i am just a wierdo) Ryks book are always in the top of the list. Once your hooked, it just a matter of knowing when the next one is out and waiting patiently and refreshing your screen until it is available… 🙂
Hmmm, that would be a problem… Darn, I thought I was a genius! It sounds like you have a complicated problem and a good understanding of the problem but that you really have very few good options:(
I, for one found your book on the prime lending library and it will be hard for me to see your books not available to me for free but I will be willing to pay for them:) You got me Hooked!
I would never have read your books if they were not in Kindle Unlimited. I suggest leaving the first couple books in to get readers like me hooked into buying the rest of your books.
How well does Audible pay compared to everything else? Just curious if that’s in danger of being cut out, especially with the credit system being subscription-ish
I support your decision wholeheartedly. Even with a small price increase, your books are still a bargain, and I will continue to buy them. Although they contain no really new thought-provoking speculative ideas or themes, I enjoy them immensely; the characters, in particular and along with their dialogue, are well written and satisfying, appealing to me and my sense of authenticity in ways that characters in many other science fiction works do not.
Now, having said all that, I must also agree with your assessment of Kindle Unlimited. Perhaps it’s a workable business model for Amazon since it costs them virtually nothing and they can pocket the lion’s share of the subscription fees from the unwary and gullible, but it seems like the authors, like you, bear the risks and financial burdens. Later, when sales of the first few books in the Saga are flagging, you may want to reconsider and make the first book or two available through Kindle Unlimited as a way reach new potential fans. Baen Books has done much the same thing with the Baen Free Library, successfully giving away the ebook version of the first book or two in a series to hook readers who then buy the rest of the series. It’s certainly worked with me; I am even often spurred on to buy other works by the same authors.
For the record (and for any Amazon minion who might be poking around), I am a long-time ebook fan, first reading ebooks on PDAs in the Nineties and migrating to Nook ereaders and then to the Nook apps on successive tablets (I’m currently using a Samsung Galaxy Tab S). Until seeing the first episode of “The Frontiers Saga” mentioned on Audible.com and discovering the ebook was only available as a Kindle ebook, I hadn’t bothered to install the Kindle app on any of my devices. Now I have the app on my phone and tablets, I have bought all of the available episodes of the aforementioned Saga, and I have purchased a growing number of ebooks from other authors available exclusively from Amazon. Thus, you, Mr. Brown, are solely responsible for steering a significant portion of my book budget to Amazon. I hope they appreciate you.
Keep writing. I look forward to reading more of those stories bouncing around in your head.
I shall keep buying your books when they come and also audio book version. I must say you have done well job and even raising the price wont affect your loyal readers. Keep up the great job
You have a intriguing plot line that keeps me looking for your next production. The cost is an issue but to be honest it is a function of novel length. The $10 novellas with only 380 pages, no matter the author, are just poor value for money. I’m sure there is a point where price elasticity meets your needs and the markets. Enough of this, how is #13 coming along?
“The $10 novellas with only 380 pages, no matter the author, are just poor value for money”.
So, Paintings of Van Gogh should be valued by their size… a small one will not be worth of, let’s say, 1m$.
And a 380 pages extension book by Shakespeare is not worthy 10$ too.
Try to write a book, let alone 12, and then come back to say that your work should be valued by #pages.
No offense.
PD: I do not like K Unlimited. I’m not a writer and I do like the feel of paying for a book. And 2,3,10$ is really a tiny amount of money for a great work that will make me enjoy reading it.
Best regards,
Ryk – I have no problem with your point on how Kindle Unlimited works to the disadvantage of the author. I too would remove my work from the borrow/read for free program if faced with the loss of livelihood. Your Frontiers Saga is, in my opinion, an exceptional work of both time and effort and I am very happy you have put yours into it.
Please – for the love of god – continue to write it! LOL
Ryk: I will gladly pay the extra to insure that you will continue writing with the same incredible quality and creativity that I have discovered in “The Frontier Saga”. I really have enjoyed the read and am looking forward to many more. I am at episode 7 and trying not to binge read to 11.
Ryk,
I will gladly pay more for you books with out a problem.
What a wonderful, intelligent series of books! I too will be more than willing to pay xtra for future books.
I really like your series and look forward to all 75! Too bad I cannot have them now….. Would it help to contact Amazon and voice a complaint about their new program? I can understand the dilemma, counting on book sales can be tough when trying to make a living. Look forward to Book 13, hope it comes soon.
Commenting on this post, and the previous one. – I’ve been a pretty strong critic of your writing since the first book. You’ve gotten _so_ much better. I’ll be happy to pay another dollar for your next few books, even if they take longer to get finished. Just make sure you get _even more_ retentive editors to give them a once over. 🙂
Hey Ryk, awesome work, really enjoying the series an looking forward to the next.
What I would say is I discovered your work through Kindle Unlimited. I completely understand its a business for you, but leave at least the first 3 on kindle unlimited. I would never have found this series without it and I’m sure many others won’t either. I have no issues whatsoever with paying for your books going forward. In fact I’d happily have paid after Nathan took command… 🙂
When is episode 12 coming out on Audible ?
I need a good holiday syfy fix……
When is episode 12 coming out on Audible ?
I need a good holiday syfy fix……
Hi Ryk. I understand your dilemma. Staying on the ball with the project while at the same time trying to figure out how to make the math work is not an ideal situation. What made me a reader was the Unlimited feature and the high amount of reviews. You are definitely getting a bucketload of reviews on your account through Kindle Unlimited which will hopefully bring you more readers in the future. So those to things reviews and no risk made me an initial reader. What made me a fan is your ability to write and deliver. I don’t know why but episode 11 was not available on Kindle Unlimited last week so I purchased it for 3.99 (episode 12 was this week so I don’t know what happened). That being said I had no problem with paying the 3.99 last week and would have paid 3.99 this week as well. If Amazon could allow you to list a certain amount of books in the reading library and then the rest would be paid, that would be enough for me. I would easily have paid 2.99 or 3.99 for each book even from episode 6. I was already hooked by then and I am the type of reader that paid an arm and a leg for hardcovers in the old days when you had to wait 1 year for a paperback so for a die-hard fan of a series, you just had to bite the bullet and take the hardcover. In my mind 3.99 is not much for 500 pages of good yarn. But on the flip-side, I don’t always take the initial jump into an author so an initial incentive is always a great way to get new readers on board. If you would keep the initial 3-5 books of the series in Unlimited, that would be enough for initial readers to get hooked and after that have no issues with paying for the rest of the series. For my part I don’t care if you charge 9.99 for the last 3 books. I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to burning through all those books in the past 2 months and can’t wait for the conclusion to this chapter.
If Amazon would remove the exclusivity requirement to be in Select/KU, then I would probably remain enrolled. However, that requirement alone puts me at their mercy. In the past, I have been comfortable with that, as Amazon’s actions have always logical and in line with my goals. But the sloppy, haphazard method in which they have implemented KU and the way it is being flooded with short garbage and hacked up novels guarantees its eventual demise.
I am taking a bit of a gamble, here, as I do currently make a significant amount of revenue from KU. However, I have no guarantee that Amazon won’t drop the payout rate further. (In fact, they have already demonstrated a tendency to do just that.) Given that it takes time for all my titles to cycle out of KU (remember, each one is enrolled for its own individual 90-day period), if I didn’t pull out now, I ran the risk of the payout rate falling below $1 per read before I could get out of Select/KU.
As of this writing, Episodes 11, 1, 3, & 7 have all had their 90-day period expire and are no longer enrolled in Select/KU. Episodes 4, the Omnibus (1-3), & 5 will drop out of Select/KU in December. Episodes 10, 12, 9, 2, & 6 will drop out in January, with the last episode (#8) dropping out on February 5th. At that time, I will either put them all up for sale through Apple, Google, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, or re-enroll them in Select/KU all at once. (Making it easier to pull them all out at once in the future.)
While it bothers me that I will lose the discovery factor that KU provided, it continues to be too big a risk to continue to take. I greatly appreciate everyone’s understanding.
Ryk
As a avid reader of GOOD SyFy stories, I can say honestly that I would pay any increase you see fit. You are that good in my opinion. And as a Retired US Navy Chief Petty Officer, I will tell you that a prime rule in the Navy is that the Chief is ALWAYS right. So keep writing those excellent episodes and we will keep buying them.
I, as well as many others, have gotten caught up in this series of books. Being an Audible customer, I bought all 11 books in the audible format and am awaiting the 12th. I like this story as well as the narrator and hope that the books will continue to flow. I will buy the books in whatever format it becomes available.
While looking for the 12th book, I come to find that it is not available in Audible and is not listed in the soon to be published section of that website. I began to wonder if Ryk’s disagreement with Amazon is going to affect the rest of the series within Audible now that the company has been taken over by Amazon. Reading Ryk’s comments about the money side is a dimension I have never considered. I, as an end user, want my books to flow as quickly and as cheaply as I can read them; however, in the end, I am a fan and am willing to spend the dollars. I believe the dollars are few for the hours of enjoyment this material has provided me.
Ryk, you sound like you have your battle lines drawn and I wish you the best of luck in whatever your business decision. All I want to know is should I wait for another Audible release or do I have to buy the hard copies through another source? This stuff is good and I need to finish the series as soon as it is released.
My pulling the series out of Select/KU should not effect the audio books, as those rights are owned by Tantor Media. I have no control of the speed at which they produce the audio versions, however, in their defense, they are usually quite prompt. I approved the cover art for the audio versions on Monday, and I was told that production begins Jan 5, and they are to begin shipping soon after.
If Tantor buys the rights to the second series, I will set the release timing up so that ALL versions come out simultaneously. (If Tantor doesn’t buy the rights, I’ll produce them myself.)
Thanks for the response. I will follow this website and plan my purchases accordingly. I also have been spreading the word to friends who are science fiction fans as well. I am suprised that few of them know about this work and I have enjoyed enlightening them about it.
In my opinion, this series is on par with what I consider classics like The Lost Fleet and Star Force. Thank you for being a big entertainment contributor in my retirement years.
Michael
It is going to be one of those things… I am paying for unlimited because such a large percentage of the books I was buying anyway were in Unlimited (including yours), as the better authors pull out of the program the 10 bucks a month will be less attractive and I will consider dropping it. Amazon seems to have made an interesting platform that lets new authors end run around publisher roadblocks. There are a lot of authors that I have really enjoyed that came thru the self publishing route. It seems like a way for a newer writer to make some money while honing their craft, and you can see some impressive development as well.
There is also a goodly amount of schlock. Some of the stuff on amazon should have remained unpublished. The rating system is a problem, 4-5 stars can be completely meaningless.
Oh well, it is your responsibility and right to manage your distribution, I will continue to buy the releases as they come out.
I called Audible tonight. They had no information as to when Book 12 was going to be available, or even if it would ever be available. There is little info at the call centers beyond what one can find online themselves.
I hate to wait. Book 12 is not listed in their 60 day projection so I bought the kindle cloud version for 3.99. I intend to finish the rest of the series with kindle cloud. I have to change my view of Audible. I don’t think I will buy a long series through Audible again unless I can purchase the entire series.
Suprise suprise. Audible has now made a place holder for book 12, expected to be released soon. I didn’t see that coming. They seem to be 4 months behind the book release schedule. Now I have to decide to buy a second copy through Audible now that I bought and read the book through the Kindle Online service.
Audible charges about 12 dollars a book and Kindle is at 4 dollars assuming it will be offered through their cloud reader. How does an auther make a living at 4 dollars a book? Is the volume of customers for Science Fiction that high?
Ryk, I think we all understand you made a business decision on Select and I for one will not fault you for the decision – it is very understandable. I know Amazon gets a lot of flak from authors over this program and that to is understandable. I am glad you have not adopted some the strategies other authors have, such as writing shorter books re-purposing material, etc.
Keep up the good work, we’ll keep buying them as they arrive
Mike
I’m hooked, and have been since I read book 1, therefore I’ll pay whatever is necessary, and follow wherever you decided to publish.
So Ryk, stop worrying, and get on with feeding the habit you’ve created in me 🙂
Janek
I just read this last post, and although have received a number of solicitations from Amazon kindle unlimited so far I have declined — I read an average of 3 books per week and usually just search for new authors, and once I get hook on a creative/prolific author i’ll follow them. The price of a digital book does not concern me very much — I’ll look forward to your next books in this series — take care and keep up with the creative juices… DA
Ryk,
The fact that you debated this makes you a better man and author than most. I love your books and will continue to purchase them. Please take time for yourself. Cranking out a book every 10 weeks with the number you are planning seems like alot. I would hate for you to burn out and have the series suffer.
Todd
I love the series and have been happy to pay for it, even though I’m a KU subscriber as well. I’d also be interested in the idea of paying a few extra dollars for an “early release” of a given episode, even if only a week or two early. I appreciate your decision, as this is how you put food on the table for your family, so keep on trucking!
Okay, fine, I’ll be the lone voice of dissent. 😉
I’ll pay for #13-#15 to finish this arc, but probably won’t pay for anything coming in the future. It’s NOT because I don’t love your stories, because I DO! It’s simply because there are SO MANY good books available via KU that I no longer need to pay for any single book.
I’ve only been a KU subscriber for two months but I can’t ever imagine dropping it. I was spending $20+ a month on Kindle books in the past but there are so many *good* KU books available there’s no way I could ever justify giving it up.
While you may now make $3 each for 60,000 readers, you’re missing out on $1 each per million(s) readers. (Numbers pulled out of my hat just to make the point that there will always be a zillion times more KU subscribers than RB readers.)
The problem is not only the payout price, but also the fact that Amazon requires exclusivity, and is offering me nothing in return except a lower payout rate. How is that a smart business move? The fact is that in order for Amazon to ever make KU a profitable business, they have to eventually push the payout rate down to 50 cents a read or less. Combine that with the fact that they pay the same for a short story as they do for a full-length model, and you have what will ALWAYS be a losing proposition for the Author.
While I understand that as a reader all the free books appeal to you, but AS a reader I don’t believe that you are thinking this through. Digital publishing already forces writers to produce work more quickly in order to maintain their visibility and make a living. Regardless of how good a writer might be, writing (and publishing) more quickly makes it more difficult to produce quality, error-free work. I often find myself abandoning possible changes to story threads that might have made the book better due to lack of time. I don’t know that the change would have been for the better, but I’ll never know because I didn’t have the time to fully explore the idea.
Digital reading has already given you books for a mere fraction of what they once cost, and yet you demand that you get them free, and that we who write them for you just shut up and take it?
No offense, my friend, but you’re not the kind of customer I want, since you don’t value my work enough to pay three measly dollars for it.
You read *way* more into my comments than was there — I create content for a living and want people to pay for my stuff, too. I don’t expect people to work for free. But the times, they are a changing, and one can either fight a losing battle or figure out how to work with the new system. That KU requires exclusivity wasn’t known to me and for *that* reason I can see your move might make sense.
*Might.* Because Amazon sells about 65% of all ebooks and if I were to bet I’d say that will increase to 80% within the next 5 years. Whether we like it or not is irrelevant. It is what’s happening. So does it make more sense to work with them and get exposed to (a lot) more readers?
And I am *exactly* the kind of reader you want because when I find something I like I spread the word. I don’t know any family/friends who are on KU so they pay full price. I’m not picking on you — I don’t buy Harlen Coben books anymore, or Robert Crais, etc. Because while I love their books, there are enough good books on KU that I don’t need them. I *want* them (and you) but I have a finite amount of money and KU gives me the biggest bang for the buck.
I’m not trying to insult you, but I stand by my original assertion. A customer that expects to get what they want at whatever price they want to pay for it is not the kind of customer ANY business wants. I doubt very seriously that Amazon will ever gain more of the market share than they already have, in fact, I expect them to lose market share, which is exactly what they have been doing. Bezos himself has said that he does not expect Amazon’s dominance to last, and is surprised that it has lasted as long as it has.
Whether we like it or not IS relevant. I am not forced to succumb to Amazon’s whims. Nor am I forced to bend to those of readers who are not willing to pay for the products they consume. I have other options, and I choose to exercise those options. My goal is not to make as much money as possible, nor is it to reach every possible reader. My goal is to find and connect with a ‘true’ and ‘loyal’ readership that appreciates my work enough to ‘pay’ a ‘modest’ fee. I believe that something of value (as judged by the individual) is worth paying for. As long as I make enough to meet the financial needs of my family, I’m happy. If I can do that without participating in Amazon’s ludicrous idea of a subscription service, I’m even happier.
I expect that your mantra of ‘the times they are a changing’ is wholly inaccurate in this case. Amazon is only trying to squash the competition before they can get a foot hold. Subscription services for content will never be a good ‘financial’ deal for the creators of that content. It’s only value is for new authors seeking to find a new readership. (Again, I stand by my assertion that they are trying to connect with the wrong readers, but again, that is their right. However, it is up to me, as the creator of a product, to decide what payment I am willing to accept for that product. It is not up to the reader, nor is it up to Amazon. The market also has a say in the price that I am able to charge. Currently, the market does not favor subscription services, as most people also feel that value is worthy of payment.
Quite simply, “Show me an all you can eat buffet, and I will show you a place where the food sucks.”
Ryk,
So, given everything you have said in this post about Amazon, which distributers are you planning on using instead of them? Also, what advice would you give to an aspiring author on where to market their new books? Start with Amazon, and then move on, as you have done? Or, start with someone else right out of the gate?
Any feedback you can provide me would be a big help with this crucial decision.
Thank you,
El
I’m not pulling the books OFF of Amazon, (that would be financial suicide) I’m only pulling them out of the Select program, which in turn pulls them out of the Kindle Unlimited program. My complaints is not with Amazon itself, as I think they are quite good at what they do. It’s their implementation of Select and KU, and their requirement for exclusivity that I object to.
For now, I am selling through Google and Apple. Soon, I will also put them on Barnes & Noble and possibly Kobo. But they will remain available on Amazon, as they are by far the biggest market out there. I just no longer choose to be exclusive.
As a new author, Select and Kindle Unlimited can be a fantastic tool to gain readers. I would put new stuff into Amazon and enroll it in Select (which automatically puts it into Kindle Unlimited) and leave it there for probably a year while you write more stuff. Once you have a decent collection of books available, then start branching out to other vendors. Others may disagree for various reasons, most of which are good, that’s just what I would do. In the end, you have to do what you feel comfortable with, and some people feel very uncomfortable with all their eggs in one basket, regardless of the advantages.
Generally, I have no problem with Amazon. This time, however, I think they missed the mark by miles.