Support for Indie Authors discussion
Archived Marketing No New Posts
>
How do you use KU?
date
newest »
newest »
I dl it while it is free, them "shop" my kindle AP for something interesting to read
I don't have a KU account, but if I did, probably would do the same.
Well, if you downloaded and never read, no one got paid anyway, but you did give them a slight ratings boost. But I thought you were limited to ten books out at a time?
10 books at a time, but it's super easy to put a book back so you can borrow another.
I always grab with the intent on reading them all. I usually read most of these books before swapping for others (90% of the queue). Once in a while I'll grab 3-4 at a time and later wonder why I grabbed certain ones, only because they aren't usually what I read & then those get swapped back out quickly. Others sit in line for months before I get around to them, but I refuse to swap them because I really want to read them.
I just signed up for KU, because in some cases, that may be more advantageous to the author than buying the book.
I used to read every book I downloaded - or read it enough to know I didn't want to read it.I have less time now that I'm writing, so I have my ten books checked out, and any others I might want in my wish list.
I'll get around to them...
Matt wrote: "I used to read every book I downloaded - or read it enough to know I didn't want to read it.I have less time now that I'm writing, so I have my ten books checked out, and any others I might want ..."
And this is the reason I haven't signed up yet. I'm lucky if I have time to read 2-3 books each month and I've already got a huge backlist to get through.
This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are paid for books downloaded through KU - I'll make a concerted effort to actually read them so that the author gets paid.As an author myself, I'd certainly appreciate that if readers did it for me. I just published my first novel earlier this week, and was pleasantly surprised to see my numbers on KENP go UP UP UP. Somebody's reading my book through KU. :) Woot!
April
April wrote: "This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are paid for books..."I actually just got out of Select and went wide, just because wasn't getting that many borrows but only have been published since May. I will also keep that in mind when I go to borrow the next book that that author needs me to finish it up, ha! The one I'm currently reading I had gotten out before July 1 so they got paid past the 10%, but now will have to read even faster!
Nancy
April wrote: "This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are paid for books..."April, have you converted your profile to an author profile? I went to look at your book ...
April wrote: "This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are paid for books..."Did you write "Vulnerable"?
Owen wrote: "April wrote: "This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are ..."Hi, Owen. Yes, I wrote Vulnerable. I released it on Tuesday on Amazon KDP Select.
B.R. wrote: "April wrote: "This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are ..."Hi, B.R. No, I haven't converted my profile to an author profile. You mean here, on Goodreads? No, I haven't. I'll have to figure out how to do that.
April
B.R. wrote: "April wrote: "This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are ..."Any pointers on how to do that? :)
April
B.R. wrote: "April wrote: "This is a really good topic. I've been guilty of downloading KU books and then getting distracted and not reading them. But now that I understand how KENP works - and how authors are ..."Hi, B.R. - I filled out the application for an author page. Thanks for letting me know.
April
April wrote: "Hi, Owen. Yes, I wrote Vulnerable. I released it on Tuesday on Amazon KDP Select..."Thought so. Nice cover. Just finished it. :-)
Owen wrote: "April wrote: "Hi, Owen. Yes, I wrote Vulnerable. I released it on Tuesday on Amazon KDP Select..."Thought so. Nice cover. Just finished it. :-)"
Hi, Owen. Thanks for the comments on the cover. I made it myself. I wasn't planning to do my own cover, but it just worked out that way. I was thrilled when I found this photo of the model - she fit my mental image of Beth perfectly.
What do you mean, you just finished it? Do you mean you READ it?
April
April wrote: "Hi, Owen. Thanks for the comments on..."I did. Nice debut. Keep up the good work.
Owen wrote: "April wrote: "Hi, Owen. Thanks for the comments on..."I did. Nice debut. Keep up the good work."
Thank you, Owen!
April
Welcome. (Always happy to discuss books via PM, although the value of my opinions is dubious.)
Speaking of the KU borrowing thing, have you found it to be worth your time/money? Especially if a lot of the books sit in the queue for months. For me, I tend to download a lot of free samples, and even those sit on my kindle for months.
Denae wrote: "Speaking of the KU borrowing thing, have you found it to be worth your time/money? Especially if a lot of the books sit in the queue for months. For me, I tend to download a lot of free samples, ..."Hi, Denae
I know what you mean, both about KU books sitting idle on my Kindle and free samples sitting idle. But now that I'm a published author myself, and now that Amazon is paying authors for KU downloads by "the number of pages read," my own behavior has really changed. Now, I'm making a point of reading my KU downloads, because I want to the authors to get paid for their work.
As a voracious reader, I think KU is a fantastic value. If you actually read what you download, then it's a fantastic return on one's investment.
April
April wrote: " If you actually read what you download, then it's a fantastic return on one's investment."I'd agree on that and I am flipping more pages in my KU borrows as well. I actually was lucky enough to find that KU on July 15th was at a good discount. I got an entire year for nearly 1/2 off (about $5 month). Super excited about that!
James
James wrote: "April wrote: " If you actually read what you download, then it's a fantastic return on one's investment."I'd agree on that and I am flipping more pages in my KU borrows as well. I actually was lu..."
Wow, James! That was an incredible deal! I didn't know they offered discounts on KU. You really lucked out!
April
Think I'm keeping the subscription for now, but I'm pulling my book out to market it elsewhere this September. I'm selling more paid copies. It's a mixed bag. There are definite pros and cons to the program.
Jolie wrote: "Think I'm keeping the subscription for now, but I'm pulling my book out to market it elsewhere this September. I'm selling more paid copies. It's a mixed bag. There are definite pros and cons to th..."Hi, Jolie. It's the opposite for me. My KU "pages read" traffic is four times my direct sales.
I love KU, because I love knowing how many pages were actually read. Not just downloaded, but READ.
Can you be part of KU without being in KDP Select? Does anyone know? Just curious. At some point, I need to branch out to the other retailers. Right now I'm in KDP Select.
April
For your book to be in KU it has to be exclusive with Amazon in KDP Select. Of my four books, I have only one in KU. The rest I distribute through Smashwords to other outlets.
I had KU for a short time. I kept not liking my choices. After all, it's not really "free;" you're paying a monthly KU fee and then limiting your choice in books. This obviously works for a lot of people, but it's not for me.
April wrote: "Jolie wrote: "Think I'm keeping the subscription for now, but I'm pulling my book out to market it elsewhere this September. I'm selling more paid copies. It's a mixed bag. There are definite pros ..."It's funny how mixed it is. I just started about two months ago and only have two titles. I'm planning on finishing this series and then maybe trying again with the next, but I write scifi romance so far, and it's not a huge share of the romance market. And the KU titles available in my subgenre are sparse. I'm thinking people who read this sub actually seek it out and buy. THat's my theory anyhoo. I could be wrong. lol
And okay, that wasn't the quote that was supposed to happen. I'm talking to myself. It's over.
I used to be a die-hard Kindle Select author, but I don't like their exclusivity. I'm considering taking my one title out of it when the time is up. I wish Amazon didn't make it exclusive, otherwise I would have all my titles in it in a heartbeat.
Jolie wrote: "And okay, that wasn't the quote that was supposed to happen. I'm talking to myself. It's over."I'll talk to you. : )
Ava wrote: "I used to be a die-hard Kindle Select author, but I don't like their exclusivity. I'm considering taking my one title out of it when the time is up. I wish Amazon didn't make it exclusive, otherwis..."I think it's a policy that will have to be revisited over time, because the most successful authors will never sign ovrt exclusive rights. That effects their selection big time.
I think there is something to be said for using it as a project launch vehicle. Getting your name out there using the new releases list in KU, and getting that first title read. In the readers hands. The sales for the second all flow from that.
As a reader, the concept is my idea of Mecca. Books to download indefinitely. Watch out. You won't see me for years. Really think genre matters on KU too.
I read most of the titles I select although doing my own writing it is over a period of time.
I borrowed a book that I really wanted to read, but sort of lost interest after the beginning and didn't want to hurt the author's way of being paid, so I went through the pages all the way to the end so they'll get paid. Win/Win? Now that I know how it works, if I know I can't get to it or don't really want to, I'll flip through to the end. They'll never know. I also went back in Select this week as I didn't like being wide like I thought I would. I did get to permafree my prequel short story while doing it, so got that out of it.
I know there is another string about the new KENP change (how many pages are read). Here is that string:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/12074072-amazon-paying-for-pages-read-only
I was thinking about a different-ish topic yesterday: how I use my Kindle Unlimited (KU) account. For the most part, I use it like the "free" Amazon user does... collecting a number of books and not always reading them.
With the new change, collecting/not reading means the author gets paid nothing.
How are other people using their KU accounts? Are they doing the same thing or are they reading everything they borrow until completion? Am I just now a KU jerk?
I have another KU question/idea set, but I want that to be different so I'll make another post.