This will work if the stories are engaging. On another page Amazon very specifically forbids the dumping of PD texts or chopped up previously published stories as serialized episodes. They also demand exclusivity, as usual. So, if the stories are unique, new & engaging, people will come to read them.
This format (first five free, unlock to read the rest) is already used by tapas.io. The Korean webtoons.com allows access to all but the most recent episodes, charging desperate fans a premium to get an early peek. So worldwide, pay per episode has already been proven to be lucrative.
In Japan, there is an entire industry based on text only serialized novels. Like Wattpad, but originally for cellphones before the iPhone changed things.
http://syosetu.com is the most popular. All the content is free, and publishers snatch up the hottest titles with book deals to spin off published books (usually called light novels), then manga, then anime.
As for padding, each episode is 600-5000 words. The more words, the more it costs to unlock. Obviously, authors will want to pad thinking this will earn them more money, but people will grow tired of those tactics quickly if the stories don’t offer a good bang for their buck. A writer might do better with shorter episodes with cliffhanger hooks.
It looks like the proposed prices are reasonable, too. I’m curious to see if this takes off.
What I’m not certain of is how long one has to keep the stories on Vella. Also, when is Vella going live? You can submit episodes now, but at this point you’d be queuing up episodes for that future day with no pay. The upside to that is that you’d have content ready for the reading whales who love to experiment with new toys right out of the gate.
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