An alternative to Kindle Unlimited that helps everyone winI’m going to be brutally honest and say something that might not be super popular.
I most definitely am in this business for the money. That’s not to say writing isn’t my passion. It is. I’ll be cranking out stories until my great, great, great grandchildren pry my ergonomic keyboard from my cold, dead hands. But publishing…well, publishing is another story entirely. Publishing is hard. Time consuming. Sometimes soul crushing and disappointing. If it didn’t help put braces on my kid’s gnarly teeth, groceries in my fridge, and a roof over my family’s head, I wouldn’t do it. So, it was ultimately the decreasing revenue I was earning in Kindle Unlimited (KU) that prompted me to pull my books from the program a few years ago. While KU is great for readers, it’s not always kind to authors. For more background, Romance Rehab did a great article about why so many authors are pulling their books from KU. But the three factors that prompted my decision were:
But even though I’m not planning to put my books back into the KU program unless some changes are made, I do think subscription-based reading programs can work. I understand we’re living in hard times and the cost of buying every book you want to read can become unaffordable quickly. This is especially true for romance readers, who are typically more voracious than any other genre fiction readers. (Seriously...y'all are amazing.) Which is why I made all of my books available to Kobo Plus subscribers. Advantages of Kobo Plus For readers:
For authors:
With all that said, I’m not here to lead some kind of anti-KU revolution. If you’re an author or reader who enjoys the program, use it! You do you. Like I said, these are hard times we’re living in, and since there’s hardly a damn thing worth watching on TV anymore, get your books (legally) wherever you see fit. (Kind of off topic: Don’t forget about libraries, either. They’re awesome, and authors get revenue there, too, because libraries buy their books at a markup.) No judgement here. I’m just saying that KU isn’t the only game in town anymore, and the more open-minded we all are, the more reading options we’ll have going forward. Because at the end of the day, authors will go where the readers are. When it’s been made clear that readers are enjoying Kobo Plus, more of them will join the program. Finally, at the risk of sounding totally self-serving, well-paid authors are happy authors—and happy authors are more willing to keep cranking out the books you love and publishing them for your enjoyment. Just sayin’… 😊 Anyone interested can get their Kobo Plus subscription of choice here.
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