Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs.
So, I had (and have!) so many questions about indie publishing. The wonder and the curse of publishing in 2026 is that there are so many options. So many paths you might take, tools. you might use, ways you might go about the whole thing. That's freeing and paralyzing at the same time…because how are you supposed to know what's "right" even when you just mean "right for me"?
So, I ask questions. I reach out to other writers and ask what they do and why they do it the way they do. Sometimes those answers mean I try what they were doing, sometimes they don't.
For example, SEVERAL romance writers advised me to go with Kindle Unlimited since so many romance readers are book gobblers and they LOVE those one-fee services. They say I'm shooting myself in the foot by not having my book available in that program.
But I hear from so many other writers that KU is a worse and worse deal for writers every year. I mean, I know "the house always wins" but do they have to win by such a LARGE margin? Makes it so some of us can't afford to play at all. I'm not willing to let Amazon exploit me for their profits if I'm getting so little in return.
So, I asked a lot of questions, and settled on what they call "going wide" which basically means that I'm not enrolling in KU or any other exclusive agreements, but am making my books available broadly.
Is it a good idea, going this way? Time will tell, I suppose. All you can do is keep asking questions and making the best decisions you can with what you know at the time.
I took all mine off KU. I rarely make a sale anyway, and it seems KU only benefits authors who sell in volume, like Freida McFadden.
ReplyDeleteI hear about more and more people dropping KU.
DeleteHave you heard of the romance readers day. There's a day where a bunch of romance authors make one of their books free. There are hundreds of books on the site, and you'd get lots of downloads. Now, the free part is the issue, of course, but you use it to publicize the rest of the series. I don't know, it's a thought if you haven't heard of it before.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that one specifically, but I do see different kinds of bundles and deals all the time. On my list to check out!
DeleteI have an up and down relationship with KU. It let me get a few more readers and reviewers, and having my books in KU allows me certain sale and promotion offers. But I don't know that it's benefiting me nearly as much as promised.
ReplyDelete"Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic." — Robin Sharma
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge international blog hop
Different writers tell me they've found it helpful. I'm all for everyone doing what works for them!
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