To Kindle Unlimited or to Not Kindle Unlimited....That is the Question.

There's been a lot of chatter about Kindle Unlimited since it was revealed a couple of days ago.  For just $10 a month, you can read all you want for free!

Sounds like a great deal, right?

Well, it might be depending on your reading habits.

I know my own personal opinion on this new service.  But my point here is not to stand on a soap box one way or another.  My goal is to give you some facts about Kindle Unlimited so you can make an educated choice.  Because this really is having an impact on the world of Indie authors.  

Please keep in mind, there are two very different thing happening here.  One is on the reader side.  The other is on the author side.

So let's start with the reader side.

First off, Kindle Unlimited is a very new service.  From what I can see, there's not much available that I either haven't read already or isn't already offered for free.  From a financial perspective, I can see that I need to be very, very careful to make it worth my while.

For instance, I haven't read "Alpha" by Jasinda Wilder yet.  Nor have I read "Shame on Him" by Tara Sivec.  (Don't judge.  They're on my TBR)  "Alpha" retails as an ebook for $5.99.  "Shame on Him" for $3.99.  So if I purchase those on my own, I've spent my $10 already.  

However, you can't get "Wife Number Seven" by Melissa Brown through Kindle Unlimited.  So if you wanna read it, you still have to pay $3.99.

By my totals so far, I've purchased 3 books.  I'd say for the average reader, that's probably about accurate for the month.  Either way, I'm spending $14 for the month.  So far, it makes no difference if I enroll in Kindle Unlimited or not.  And I suspect, for the average reader, the number totals will vary by a few cents months to month.

Now, from the author perspective.  Here's where it gets interesting because Kindle Unlimited has changed all the rules.

In order for an author to post a book on Kindle Unlimited, they have to join KDP Select.  It stands for something that I can't remember.  But what it stands for isn't the important part.  The important part is, if an author enrolls a book in KDP Select, they are no longer authorizing that book to be sold anywhere else other than Amazon.  That's the contractual requirement.  No Nook, no iTunes, nothing.  It must be sold EXCLUSIVELY by Amazon.

Initially, that might sound shady, but it is business, after all.  It's common practice to try and drive the other guy out of business.  So I don't feel bad for Barnes & Noble.  I do, however, feel bad for the reader that still prefers their Nook and can no longer get some great books because of their choice of ereader.

The other interesting fact is that if a reader does not read past 10% of whatever book they have chosen, the author doesn't get paid.  

Why is this a huge deal?  

Think about it.  How many of us are serial one-clickers?  We see "free" and we click on it, only to have it sit on our device for months and months before we finally end up reading it?  I'm not an author.  But if I was, that would really suck.

It appears Kindle Unlimited is already making an impact on sales.  Several authors I have spoken to are freaking out because their sales have dropped significantly since KU launched.  Even new releases that have been highly anticipated and people have been waiting for aren't selling the way they should.

Case in point, "Sex Unlimited: Volume 1" by Kathryn Perez hit that coveted best seller category within the first couple of days.  There has been a ton of buzz about "SU: Volume 2" and people have been waiting for it to be published.

Well, here it is. Close to 24 hours after release, and "SU: Volume 2" has barely broken the top 1000 list.  

Same issue with "Wife Number Seven".  People have been pimping it for days and counting down.  It hasn't yet broken the Top 1000 by the time this blog published.

I'm not saying these numbers are being skewed by Kindle Unlimited.  And let me make my disclaimer here....I haven't spoken about the sales to either Kathryn Perez or Melissa Brown. These aren't bad sales numbers at all.  They are just surprising to me when taking into consideration their previous new releases and current pimping trends.  (Updated on  July 21, 2014....as of this afternoon, Ms. Brown's book is now ranked #292 in sales and steadily climbing.  Way to go!!)

(By the way, you can get "Sex Unlimited: Volume 2" by clicking here.  It definitely lives up to the kind of writing I expect from Ms. Perez.  And it's only $0.99.  You can get "Wife Number Seven" by clicking here.  I'm dying to read it after talking with several friends who say it is like nothing they've ever read.)

My point in all this?  Before signing up for Kindle Unlimited, you have to ask yourself 3 questions...

1)  Is this actually going to save me money?
2)  Who is actually going to make the money with this deal?
3)  Do I care who makes the most money with this deal?

The answers are going to be different for everyone and that's ok.  Some are going to really like Kindle Unlimited.  Some aren't.  But at least you can't say you didn't know.

Happy Reading!