Happy New Year!

 

I hope you are all looking forward to 2023 as much as I am.

 

And speaking of the near-to-long-term future, there’s a bit of housekeeping I would like to discuss with you all.

 

The TL;DR is this: I’m planning to transition my books away from Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program (not Amazon, just the KU program) so that I can list them on other platforms, such as Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Apple Books, and others. I do not have a specific date for this change over yet, but once I do, you all will be the first to know.

 

Here’s the longer explanation, for those interested:

 

Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program is awesome. With it, readers can pay a monthly subscription fee and read as much as they want from the books that are listed in the program (all of mine are). With a structure like this, Kindle Unlimited gives readers access to all kinds of books in a very affordable way. I myself had a Kindle Unlimited subscription for a long time and I discovered a ton of new authors that way.

 

There is a downside, however. For me to have my books available in Kindle Unlimited, Amazon requires exclusivity. That means that as long as my books are enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, I cannot list them for sale anywhere else. That greatly reduces the number of readers who can discover my books. Despite Amazon being so massive, there are still many book lovers (and horror lovers) who get their ebooks from other websites. Barnes & Noble and Kobo are two of the biggest examples that come to mind.

 

To be honest, it was always a part of my plan to eventually “go wide” to all the other storefronts that are available for selling ebooks. But when I started publishing my books, there was so much to do, it was all brand new to me, and it was a ton of work, so I decided to start out exclusive to Amazon so that I didn’t overwhelm myself with all the intricacies and details of listing my books on a bunch of different storefronts. But that was several years ago, and I like to think I’ve gotten a better handle on this whole publishing endeavor. It’s time for me to cast my books far and wide to allow for as much access as possible.

 

So what does this mean? Here are some potential questions and their answers:

 

Are you removing your books from Amazon?

 

No. My books will remain for sale on Amazon. They will only be removed from Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program.

 

When will your books be transitioned away from Kindle Unlimited?

 

I don’t have a specific date yet. When I do, I’ll let you know ASAP so that, if you want, you can “borrow” the book and have it on your device.

 

Will your books that I borrowed via Kindle Unlimited vanish from my device when you transition away from the program?

 

No. Any and all books of mine that you’ve downloaded through the Kindle Unlimited program will remain on your Kindle forever until you “return” them.

 

This is a key point. Even after my books transition away, you can still read the books through the program at any time in the future, and as many times as you want, provided you don’t “return” them after you initially “borrow” them.

 

I don’t have the budget to pay for books outright, and I’d like to continue reading your books even after you transition out of Kindle Unlimited. What options do I have?

 

I am planning to make my books available in libraries as digital ebooks that can be borrowed. This is done through programs such as Overdrive/Libby, Tolino, Hoopla, and others. Many of these apps are compatible with Kindle devices, meaning the library’s ebook copy of my book can be transferred directly to your reading device.

 

This is actually a big motivator for me. I’m a huge fan of libraries and I use my own public library very often. Significant portions of my Rand Casey series were written inside my local library. It would mean the world to me to finally make my books available in their system. Unfortunately, with Amazon’s exclusivity requirement for books listed in their Kindle Unlimited program, I cannot do that.

 

Will Rand 5 be available in Kindle Unlimited when it’s released?

 

I’m leaning toward yes. However, after the first 90 days, it’ll be time to list that book on the other retailers as well, meaning it’ll have to leave Kindle Unlimited. But, as I said above, as long as you “borrow” it when it’s available in the program, you’ll have it forever until you return it.

 

I hope that this email is clear and that my reasoning makes sense. If you have any other questions about this, please don’t hesitate to hit reply and ask me. I read all replies, and I personally respond to them all.

 

And again, I hope your 2023 is off to a fantastic start.

 

— Rock