I’m biting the bullet and . . .
am taking my chances with Kindle Unlimited!
“Why? Why, Christa?” you might be asking.
It’s a smart business decision and the truth is, Kobo banned my single title forbidden romance, so I can’t reach readers there, and I received the bulk of my sales for Tough Luck in the first few months after release anyway.
My fans who downloaded through Barnes and Noble, iBooks (and maybe even Kobo, if you picked it up in the first week before it was banned), already got their copies of Tough Luck, and sales were great up until July 31. These past few weeks though, sales have plummeted and the trickling downloads at Barnes and Noble and iBooks have declined to the point where I told myself if I ever reach that number for any thirty-day period in the first year after publication, I would take my chances with Kindle Unlimited. Since this book is a single-title novel, the risk is minimal. Besides, my bestie thinks this is a good move for me and she often knows what’s good for me before I do!
I’ve heard lots of good things from authors who go all-in with Kindle Unlimited and I’ve also heard the horror stories. It’s one e-book and it’s barely going to squeak me $25.00 over the past 30 days outside of Amazon, I keep telling myself. It’s priced at $3.99, so there’s room for improvement. I’m doing this.
Being that it’s a single title and the higher price may be hindering new-to-me readers from downloading, I have little to lose. I know Kindle Unlimited has readership, on the basis that authors claim they are all-in and make a living off of it. Now, “a living” might differ from you to me, but quite frankly I just want my story read, and wouldn’t it be cool to see how many pages are being read real-time?! I have $75.00 to lose (over the 90-day period that I’ll be locked in), but I think that’s a risk worth taking because I could be missing out on an amazing opportunity. I’m not one to leave a stone left unturned. I think IT’S TIME!
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If you’re a new follower of mine, you might not know that I was not a big fan of Amazon when they opened up Kindle Unlimited. I felt like they had ripped the rug out from under my feet and buried my books in the slush pile overnight. (My books ALL went from the top 20,000 down to the top 200,000 LITERALLY overnight. Thirty copies of each book a day turned into three copies, if I was lucky.) I was beside myself. I worried that my books would never recover.
Luckily, my next release was a hit with Barnes and Noble and it continues to carry me with its awesome rank to this day (a year and a half later).It took me some time to regain traction with Amazon, but I think I’m finally back to where I want to be. As a writer and publisher I do understand that Amazon is going to continue to shift and change in any way it needs to stay competitive and drive up profits (much like Facebook and all the other social media giants). I’d like to share in that growth and so here’s to dipping my toe in the Kindle Unlimited pool. I hope you’ll support me in my decision!
AUTHORS: Are you locked in with Kindle Unlimited or do you plan to be? If so, why? Any recommendations for someone ready to take the plunge? This is unchartered territory for me and your advice is appreciated!
Readers, do you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited? How’s that experience been for you? Have you discovered any new authors through the program? How did you find them?
Please share your opinion and experience(s) in the comments below!
Christa Simpson 