Authors unhappy with Kindle Unlimited

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Only in the broadest possible sense. There is, I think, a qualitative difference in the KU model.

Sure, I accept your argument. Just wanted to make the point that writing has always - at least in the sense I described - been a "competitive sport". If you write a thriller, you need to give buyers a reason to buy your thriller rather than all the other thrillers out there.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sure, I accept your argument. Just wanted to make the point that writing has always - at least in the sense I described - been a "competitive sport". If you write a thriller, you need to give buyers a reason to buy your thriller rather than all the other thrillers out there.

Good example right there.
Why should I pick one hardass ex-cop/ex-soldier/spy/whatever over another?
Or one determined murder detective over another?
Plot, setting, cover, blurb, sample...
"Stock it and it will sell" stopped working a while back.

[burnafterreading]

my few thoughts:

1 - everything is a zero-sum game, the entire planet, but it's not all that relevant

2 - every market or industry is competitive, there's no such thing as a not-competitive industry (except a dead one)

3 - it's entirely possible to have a subscription-plus-individual set of customers, like every muppet that has cable TV and then adds on a movie pack AND goes out to the theatre

4 - buying Author X's thriller book doesn't preclude one from buying Author Y's thriller book, so i don't think KU is really going to be THAT negative

5 - on the flip side, it might actually bring in more people, those who hesitate paying $7.99 for a single ebook, but can see the benefit of paying $9.99 and get access to many such books. their read rate might make the math work out positively, so books that don't sell due to being $$$ might start to see traction


i won't buy KU simply cuz i don't want a Kindle that can't read epubs, and in my case the business case only makes sense if KU doesn't disappear after 8 months and if access isn't limited to books that would normally sell for $4.99 or less.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by burnafterreading

if access isn't limited to books that would normally sell for $4.99 or less.

That's pretty much what it is. There's a few small presses involved, but mostly it's just DIY publishers at the moment. I did hear Macmillan were planning to dump their back catalogue on subscription services to squeeze a bit more profit out of them (like the old remaindering), but you'll never get big corp publishing new releases on there.

Scribd has a few big publishers on their service though. Don't know about Oyster, never looked.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

That's pretty much what it is. There's a few small presses involved, but mostly it's just DIY publishers at the moment.

Mostly, but certainly not exclusively. There's a fair number of commercially-published books available. Eg the whole "Brother Cadfael" series is available, as are all the "Harry Potter" books.

[burnafterreading]

but it's for USA-only. so really, for a METRIC assload of us it's a non-issue...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by burnafterreading

but it's for USA-only. so really, for a METRIC assload of us it's a non-issue...

No, it's available in a number of countries. The UK, for example.

[burnafterreading]

really? cuz it says for US customers only, and on the Canadian page there's no mention of it and impossible to find the program.

edit - yeah, interesting. .co.uk has it but .ca doesn't. thumbs-down on amazon for not providing a service i wouldn't use anyways :P

[Janet54]

I have a great ebook Library here in Oklahoma City. They get alot of the new releases and big authors. I read 1-2 books a week. I also use Scribd. Between those two it is rare for me to buy a book anymore. I do have a handful of authors that I buy new releases but they can be counted on one hand and only release a new book every few years.

I do have a KU account as well but rarely use it. I most likely will close it down soon. With the plethora of books available from authors I have read and like, it just does not have an appeal for me.

[Catlady]

I'm tired of self-proclaimed authors whining about how everyone mistreats them.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, it's available in a number of countries. The UK, for example.

And Spain. Different books, of course.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by HarryT

In a sense, writing has always been a zero-sum game, in that many people will decide to buy a book, and the book they choose to buy is the "winner" compared to all the "losing" books they don't buy.

Well yes, and no (said in my best Richard Harris voice).

Perhaps there are some who are just going to buy one and only one book, but that's certainly not the way I buy. I buy my books in batches, so it's pretty rare for me to try to choose between two books. Usually, my choice tends to be is this new author worth buying, rather than should I buy this book or that book.

I think his point is that KU truly is a zero sum game. There is only X dollars in the pot and it's divided by the number of titles read.

[murg]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Perhaps some day we'll have a thread called "Authors are really happy about _________."

Nahhhhhhhh.

It would be a very, very short thread.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

John Scalzi made an interesting point about the Kindle Unlimited subscription model.

With KU, ebook sales are a zero sum game for authors - one author's success means less money for other authors, since authors aren't paid a fixed sum per read, but a proportion of a fixed monthly pot of money.

This sort-of makes sense, since Amazon has a fixed amount (per subscriber) coming in to pay authors with from the KU subscriptions. But is it a good deal for authors?

Now this is a major issue...

We base the calculation of your share of the KDP Select Global Fund by how often Kindle Unlimited customers choose and read more than 10% of your book, and Kindle Owners’ Lending Library customers download your book. We compare these numbers to how often all participating KDP Select titles were chosen. For example, if the monthly global fund amount is $1,000,000, all participating KDP titles were read 300,000 times, and customers read your book 1,500 times, you will earn 0.5% (1,500/300,000 = 0.5%), or $5,000 for that month.

Because how does Amazon know if someone has read more then 10%? The way I read is I download, put the eBook into Calibre, side load, and read with the WiFi off. Even if I had a Kindle, the WiFi would be off and thus, no way to track my reading. So even if I finish the book, Amazon has no way of knowing that I've read more than 10%. This 10% is garbage and it's not fair for the authors as there is no way to 100% reliably track this 10%.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Because how does Amazon know if someone has read more then 10%? The way I read is I download, put the eBook into Calibre, side load, and read with the WiFi off. Even if I had a Kindle, the WiFi would be off and thus, no way to track my reading. So even if I finish the book, Amazon has no way of knowing that I've read more than 10%. This 10% is garbage and it's not fair for the authors as there is no way to 100% reliably track this 10%.

Perhaps you should reconsider then? If you know that your practice is depriving the author of compensation, then how is that any different than pirating the book?