Yep, it’s here. You can now sign up for Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, their new service that grants access to 600,000 e-books and several thousand audiobooks for $9.99 a month.
Kindle Unlimited will add new challenges to negotiations between Amazon and publishers. Books published by HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster aren’t offered and those from Penguin Random House are notably absent. But what’s in it for indie authors and those published by small presses? And how can YOUR books be there? Like recent articles we’ve done, Getting Your Book on Scribd and How to Get Your Book on Oyster it’s important to know your author options.
So here’s all you need to know: As an indie author, the only way you can get your ebook into this program is by enrolling in KDP Select. If your books are already enrolled in KDP Select, they are automatically included in Kindle Unlimited. KDP Select is a viable program for many authors. It requires exclusivity on Amazon.com (you’ll get kicked out if your ebook is found on say Barnes & Noble or Kobo sites). For some authors that’s a problem. For others, who are earning 90% or more of their sales on Amazon anyway, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.
But from a customer’s perspective, is Kindle Unlimited a great deal? Price-wise, it’s similar to Oyster ($9.95 a month for access to over 500,000 titles) and Scribd ($8.99 a month for access to 400,000+ titles). The audiobooks on Kindle Unlimited are a plus, if you’re into audiobooks.
But it’s also twenty bucks more a month than Amazon Prime, and Prime comes with free shipping, their free lending library (a book a month) and lots more perks… Might Amazon be competing with… Amazon?
So tell us, will your book be available on Kindle Unlimited? Will you subscribe? Let us know with your comment below. We’ll be subscribing (as we must with all these new toys, to see how they work for folks!) — We’ll share more of our thoughts — and yours — in an upcoming post.
Dessutom kan onlineapotek erbjuda lägre priser än traditionell besök apotek, eftersom de har lägre driftskostnader.
I just published my first book on Amazon, and decided to join the KDP Unlimited program. My book, “A Collection of Poems, Ramblings, and the Like from an Insignificant Speck of Dust in the Universe,” got a huge boost as soon as joined, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. I would definitely recommend using the service if you’re planning on just selling on Amazon.
Thanks for weighing in, Ralph. Agree it’s a very useful tool for self-published authors. Continued success to you!
Discover why over 6500 eBook publishers are already using this tool to crush it on Kindle.
It allows you to create; format and publishing kindle books to the live marketplace all within one central control panel. No need to learn weird coding, or risk losing files, or waste days going back and forth with the Kindle approval team. In fact, you don’t even need MS Word to create your books anymore! With kindle direct publishing you can easily publish your books and reach millions of readers while maintaining complete one central control panel.
If you are confused or concerned about the potential impact of Amazon’s new ‘Kindle Unlimited’ program for eBooks, a full report will be featured in the next issue of Self-Publishers Monthly, expected out August 1. Visit http://www.selfpublishersmonthly.com to preview.
Wonderful – Thanks for the link!!!
I have one of my Little Miss History series books in KDP so it is included in kindle select. Now am debating whether to convert more of my paperbacks to ebook or wait to see how this program works out.
Exciting! Keep us up to date on your results. But either way would get those paperbacks up as ebook options – extra attention and sales for you as an author never hurts 🙂
Hi Shari,
Thanks for keeping us in the loop. I have several books already in KDP so they are automatically part of the new Kindle Unlimited program. You’re right that it is a price consideration for readers to enroll.
Thanks, Flora! That reminds me, I have to go enroll now so we see how it works, too!
My newly released thriller, THE MEMORY BOX, is enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program and it has been downloaded everyday in the last week. Don’t know what that means as far as royalties go. Will see.
Interesting! Great news and we’ll be watching this closely 🙂 Thanks for the intel, Eva.
Interesting, but don’t know if this works for me. My true crime e-books, sec. ed. BOUND TO DIE, was Book Hub’s Spring 2014 Best Seller, and continues to plug along, but I think sales are mostly from Amazon but publisher also uses Sony, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, Google, itunes, Kobo, Nook, Omnlit, e-Sentral & the Book Hub Wedsite. (Checks come directly from publisher with origin unspecified.) Incidentally, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this book with Santa Cruz, CA publisher Dan Haldeman, of Book Hub, Inc.
Anna Flowers