Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Kindle Unlimited for Readers - A Cozy Choice?

Ah, a new buying choice for avid readers -- Kindle Unlimited. All the books...well not all the books, you want to read for only $9.99 a month. Let's see, $9.99 times 12 months is about $120 a year. Hum.

The program lets you download 10 books at a time on up to six devices. Those devices don't have to be Amazon devices, as their Prime program requires.The books go off devices at the end of the 30 day period so basically, you've rented the books.

So far, so good, maybe. But what about book choices? One reviewer of the program said he checked his wish list of 75 books and only found six matches.

An interesting fact -- of the 600,000 choices, around 500,000 are indie books, self-published like mine and three other CMM authors.

I checked Cozy Mystery Magazine authors for the KU program and  found three listings, all for Linda Kozar -- "Misfortune Cookies," "A Tisket, A Casket," and "Dead As A Doornail." All fun reads and normally priced at $0.99. If you were to get even seven more books in this price range you'd break even. If any of the other books you want are priced above $0.99 you may come out ahead. But what if you wanted to reread them as so many of us do? Sorry.

For authors to be enrolled in  Kindle Unlimited they must UNenroll their books on all other platforms like Nook, Kobo, and Smashwords, which includs Apple iTunes. For me, this is not an option. I like the fact that readers can purchase my books on any site they like and download it on any device they may own.

For some starving authors another cold hard fact is royalties are earned only if a reader reads at least the first 10 percent of the book. Great incentive to write good novels, but unnecessary since Amazon and many other sites allow refunds for unhappy readers.

For the first month, Kindle Unlimited offers a free trial. And I would add for some authors the program has offered wonderful exposure. If it offers more incentive for readers to discover new authors, I say give it a try. Then please let us know how it works for you.


See you in my books!

~Nancy Jill


Nancy Jill Thames was born to write mysteries. From her early days as the neighborhood story-teller to the Amazon Author Watch Bestseller List, she has always had a vivid imagination and loves to solve problems – perfect for plotting whodunnits. In 2010, Nancy Jill published her first mystery, Murder in Half Moon Bay, introducing her well-loved protagonist, Jillian Bradley, and whimsical Yorkie, “Teddy.”

When she isn’t plotting Jillian’s next perilous adventure, she travels between Texas and California finding new ways to spoil her grandchildren, playing classical favorites on her baby grand or having afternoon tea with friends.

Member of Leander Writers’ Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW CenTex Chapter), and Central Texas Authors

To learn more about Nancy Jill's books, please visit http://www.nancyjillthames.com

8 comments:

  1. Nancy--Interesting article. Thanks for sharing. My books, formerly with Spyglass were returned to me and the other authors recently and I indie-published three of them just last week under KDP Select. My caveat is that whenever I indie-pub, I check that box for a limited time--three months--at which time I will opt out of KDP and publish on Smashwords. Things are always changing on Amazon and authors need to keep up with how these changes affect them. Thanks again:)

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    1. You're welcome, Linda. It looks as if KU is here to stay.

      ~Nancy Jill

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  2. Good information. However, this wouldn't be an option for me as I will actually be offering my own books (paperback and e-books) for sale on my new website clragsdalebooks.com once it goes live. I will also be using all the other publishing outlets as well Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords (Who distribute to Kobo and Apple ITunes). Besides, I have some really loyal Nook readers who supported me as a new author. I'm doing well on Amazon, but I just can't see cutting those fans so I can make a little money. Besides, your right Nancy, readers should be able to buy the books where they want to.

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    1. Cindy, I believe there will be even more choices for readers in the future!

      ~Nancy Jill

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  3. Very informative, but don't think it is something I'd be interested in. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. I agree that cutting out the other outlets doesn't work for me. This month I've sold more on iTunes than Amazon, and almost always sell more at B&N. As a reader, it's an interesting idea, though. Basically a pay library. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Beth, I'm glad you're getting those sales outside of Amazon - it would be a shame to miss them!

      ~Nancy Jill

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  5. Debbie, can you imagine even having enough time to read ten books a month?

    I certainly can't!

    ~Nancy Jill

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