Kindle Unlimited is the Only Thing That Keeps Me in the Game

My KDP royalty checks are pretty pitiful--generally less than $10.00, and usually less than $5.00. Really. Hence, the name of this website.

But at least I get a check every month. And it's not derived from sales; it's due to Kindle Unlimited. I'm not a Kindle Unlimited member myself, because I'm no longer a voracious reader. In fact, I purchased a book a couple of months ago that sounded really interesting, but I've yet to crack it open. Sad for an author, I know.

I asked Google how much a KU membership costs--$11.99 per month. That's not bad. We pay more than that for some of our streaming platforms and they're pretty useless, unless one likes watching the same three or four good series over and over. I believe we're on our third go-round of The Sopranos right now.

The advantage of KU for indie authors like me is that members don't have to be hesitant to take a chance on an unknown quantity. There is no limit to the number of books a member can borrow, so if one doesn't work out, nothing lost. Just move on to a new book.

Some independent authors reject Kindle Unlimited, but I don't understand their argument. So, my ebook isn't available on other platforms? The majority of books are obtained through Amazon, no matter what anyone tries to tell you. 

"Well, I'd be missing out on sales!" Not me! Sure, I'd prefer sales, but that's just not happening. 

I compare KU to giving away my book for free. I've done that via a few methods--FreeBooksy, Voracious Readers Only, a Storygraph giveaway, among others; and I paid for the "privilege" of doing so. What did I get for my $$? Well, nothing. Certainly no reviews. At least with Kindle Unlimited I earn a few pennies, instead of spending multiple dollars. 

And while it doesn't happen often enough, I also get readers. Spoiler alert for authors giving away books: Most of them are never read. I caught onto that fact early on, after nobody (out of thousands of free book grabbers) managed to leave a review. What are the odds that one person out of thousands wouldn't write a review? The "official" estimate is that between 1% and 5% of readers leave a review. I believe the 5% number is inflated. But even using 1% out of roughly 2,500 readers, that means I should have averaged 25 reviews, not zero.

I like being read. If you don't like being read, just tuck away your manuscript on your hard drive. Because chances are that if you publish, at least one person is going to read it. 

Fun facts:

Why Absolute Zero is Rare

Personal Network: Most self-published authors tell their spouse, parents, or friends. Just one or two pity-purchases or support-buys push the number above zero.
Author Purchases: Authors often buy at least one "author copy" from platforms like Amazon KDP or IngramSpark to see their work in print, which sometimes registers as a baseline sale depending on how the platform tracks it.
Accidental Discovery: Global retail platforms (like Amazon) occasionally pick up an obscure keyword or a stray browse-node, leading to a random stranger stumbling upon it.

According to my KDP report, I've accomplished ZERO sales this month. Yay for me! But at least I've gotten some KU reads.

 

(Still under $10.00 in royalties, per my norm.) 

I'll take it. 

If I chose to be a snob and eschew Kindle Unlimited, my imaginary career wouldn't even be imaginable. 

Where's the fun in that?