Is KU about to be KOed?

For those of you that don’t know what KU (Kindle Unlimited) is, it’s a buy-in program through Amazon that allows people to get “free” books every month to read at their leisure. It’s great for those that can’t afford to buy e-books straight out. Most people that do this program believe that they are still supporting authors that have published their works on KU. Well, I’m here to give you the latest drama, and the TRUTH about KU from the side of Authors.
You may have noticed that more and more books are being pulled from that platform. Or maybe you haven’t yet. Don’t worry because you will. More and more authors are pulling out of KU, seeking instead to go wide and get compensated fairly for their work. One author stated:

You may be thinking that this author is “selfish”. Well, you are intitled to you WRONG opinion on this matter. KU pays an author about $0.01 per 1,000 pages read. PAGES! Most books are only 200 pages long. Some bigger ones are around 600. NONE ARE 1,000! (**EDITED: Was informed that Authors receive about $0.004 per page, and about $0.40 per 100 pages. This has not been completely confirmed as I am just sharing the information I was given. That math doesn’t quite math to me, but I just want to share what was told to me). That means that an author is not being compensated AT ALL for their book being read on KU unless dozens of people all read at the same time. Think about that for a moment. How long do you think it takes an author to write a book, edit, format, and then publish? How much do you think all that costs (because I promise it is NOT free).
Here’s a little perspective: My last novel (The Witch’s Soul) is about 110,000 words long. It took me 3 years to write. 3 YEARS! And that was only to write the rough draft. It took another year of personal editing, and then $150 for my professional editor. $150 for my cover (because I got it on sale), and then $50 for formatting. I charge $5.99 for an e-book. Do you know authors have to pay separate for e-book covers? So, let’s add another $50 to that.
How about something shorter? My Last Novella (Love & Camo) took me 6 months to write. It’s only clocking in at about 26,000 words. $100 for editing, $100 for cover, $50 for formatting. IT’S A SHORT READ! I charge $2.99 for e-book.
So, you may be thinking that is a lot of money for an e-book. OK… don’t forget that often, authors will run sales on their books for $0.99. Have you ever seen the dashboard for an author on Amazon? Have you ever seen what it looks like for them to price a book? NO??? Let me show you!

You see, when we price out our books, Amazon has stipulations. I can’t ask for 70% royalty when my books are on sale, or priced under $2.99, which is why many authors price their books at that price. Also, where are the non-royalties going? Amazon is a multi-billion dollar corporation. Where are the royalties for digital content going?
But, we aren’t talking about e-books, we’re talking about KU. KU… the platform that does NOT allow authors to have their e-books available anywhere else why under KU contract. That means that I could not make a single penny for my book on KU, and I still can’t put it on Nook, or Kobo. I can’t have it offered for e-reading through libraries, or apple books. ONLY KU.
Do you see where I’m going with this? Authors are tired of not getting compensated for their hard work. Because writing books is HARD. Getting reviews for said books is HARD. Amazon doesn’t do sh!t to help with any of that.
Did you know?
When a book reaches 50 reviews on Amazon, the algorithm starts promoting a book across the platform (making it more visible to potential readers). When your book reaches 100 reviews, Amazon puts it on the fast track of visibility, regardless where it ranks.

Most of my books only have about 5 reviews… 5!!! And I know more than 5 people that have read them! That’s the kicker! All of these people are upset with authors pulling their books, or not having them available for less money, BUT THEN DO NOT REVIEW!
You want authors to feel heard? You want them to be treated fairly in Amazon world? REVIEW!
It’s really not hard. You click “write a review”, pick a star (cuz no one really cares if it’s 1 or 5), then say, “I liked (hated) this book“. It is really that easy.

So yes… more and more authors are dropping from KU. They’re going wide. You’re going to have to start looking out for sales if you want a “free” book from your favorite authors… especially if you aren’t doing your task of leaving a review.

I said what I said. Thanks for coming to this episode of Book World Drama!