**This post orginially appeared on dvmulligan.com on 7/23/15**
On June 15, Amazon announced changes to the Amazon Kindle Unlimited book borrowing program. If you're read The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing, I am not a fan of Kindle Select, which the program that allows self-published authors to be part of Kindle Unlimited. Changes to the program only further my sense that this program is BAD for indie authors. We can't let Amazon treat us like second-class citizens. Read on for more information.
From the start of the Kindle Unlimited program through the end of June, authors were paid based on the number of "borrows" of their books, and a borrow "counted" when a reader reached 10% of the book.
Effective today, they are now paid based on pages read. Why is this bad?
1. Amazon no longer tells authors how many people are actually reading out books. This information is important. Authors need to know if people are finishing the books! This basic information is no longer provided.
2. Amazon is not telling authors how much they can expect to be paid. For years, authors using Kindle Direct Publishing and other indie publishing outlets offered our books through those storefronts with a promise of a fixed royalty rate based on sales price. But now authors have no idea what they will make if someone reads a book via Kindle Unlimited.
Many authors are panicking over this massive change. People are expecting to see their income cut by 90% after Amazon cheerfully announced (though they hid it behind some math) that one "page" of a book is worth .57 cents. Not 57 cents. Just more than one half of ONE CENT.
Personally, I think this is all the reason authors need to pull out of Kindle Unlimited--and therefore Kindle Select--entirely. What better way to send a message than to stop sitting back and accepting whatever lousy terms Amazon is offering?
Some authors, it seems particularly authors of Erotica who make most of their money through Kindle Unlimited borrows, are committed to Kindle Unlimited and are asking Bezos to change the policy. Here's what they want:
1. For Amazon to tell them how much they're actually going to be paid. Amazon did this for years (and continues to do it with paid sales) based upon a fixed royalty rate.
2. For Amazon to give them basic information about how their books are selling and how many people are reading them.
Indie authors, we need to stick together, and readers, we need your help! Please like, share, and comment on this post. You could even send an email to jeff@amazon.com and give him a piece of your mind.
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