October 10, 2014
Broken World and Shattered World on Kindle Unlimited
Just a note for anyone who might be wondering.
When I first published my books, I put them on Amazon Select. This is a special program Amazon has that allows your books to be part of the Kindle Unlimited program, as well as other special promotions. Because of this, I wasn’t allowed to put them on B&N or any other ebook retailer for at least 90 days.
As we all know, Broken World did amazing on the select program. It was a tough call when my 90 days were up, but ultimately I decided to pull my books from select and make them available on B&N, Kobo and Google Play. But doing this meant that people enrolled in Kindle Unlimited could no longer borrow my book, which would cut down on my royalties. I had hoped to make up the difference on other retailers, but I didn’t. As of Monday I’d sold 0 books on Kobo and Google Play, so I pulled them from those retailers. I have made a little over $10 on B&N.
Because of this, I’ve decided to put my books back on the select program. The borrows I had on Kindle Unlimited were pretty significant. Last month they accounted for more than $500 of my royalty payments, which there’s no way I’ll be able to make up for with the way my sales have been on B&N. I know a lot of authors get upset by the monopoly Amazon seems to have on ebooks, but I’ll be honest. There’s good reason for it. Amazon is thinking ahead. They’re creating programs for Indie authors that no other retailer is, which is why so many authors are willing to put their books on Amazon alone. Bottom line: it’s worth it.
So, I’ve made the decision to pull all my books from B&N and go back on the select program. Probably for good. I apologize to anyone who only owns a Nook. Trust me, I get it. My first ereader was Nook, so it annoyed me when authors only put their books on Amazon. But I get it now, and unfortunately this is the right call for me.
