Let's get right to this headline, shall we?
Kindle Unlimited is a fantastic program for readers. You pay a monthly fee and read as many books as you'd like that are also enrolled in the program. And there are a lot of books to choose from. It's no wonder the program is so popular.
For authors, however, Kindle Unlimited is more complicated. While I won't go into all the nitty-gritty specifics on how the program works on the back end beyond saying exclusivity contracts are involved for the digital distribution of an author's title (unless there's interest in me talking about such things in another post), I will settle to say some make good money with the program and will never leave, while others don't and/or wouldn't touch it with a nine foot pole.
For a long time, this program worked for me to have the EH series enrolled. While not numbers I strove to achieve, I made good money that ensured the series continued and other books were also published. However, over a period of time I was noticing the KU program no longer working for the series. I did many things to try and change this, hoping it was just me making a marketing mistake and everything would return to normal. This wasn't the case.
Because of this, I've made the decision to pull the series from KU in July. I don't do this lightly. I can assure you this decision weighed heavily on my for some time. However, it needed to be made to ensure the series continues to prosper so future books can be brought to life.
So, if you're in the middle of reading the series through Kindle Unlimited or had planned to pick it up through the KU program, now would be the time to grab the books you haven't yet. Even if you don't have the time to read them immediately, so long as you have them in your library by the time they leave KU, they will remain in your list until you remove them to make room for other books.
With this all said, not renewing my contract means I have more freedom to distribute the digital books. They'll go to other retailers, such as Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc, I can sell them directly, be able to do more giveways, and they will finally be available to libraries. So, if you utilized KU to save money (because, trust me, I know just how taxing books are on the wallet when you read a lot) there will be alternative ways for you to not worry about that extra strain, while still directly supporting me.
And speaking of support, thank you. From messages, to discussions, and even the bits of fanart I've been shown, waking up every day knowing people love my work is an uplifting feeling as well as motivating to continue.
Happy reading, my dragonlings!