Kindle Vella: Amazon's New Platform by L. A. Kelley

Kindle Vella – Amazon’s New Platform

Recently Amazon announced a new platform for English language authors in the U.S. to sell serialized stories. It’s called Kindle Vella.  Although not yet open to readers it’s currently available for writers to upload their material. The release date for readers is July.

But what the heck is it?

Authors release installments, either on the Kindle Vella app for iOS or Android, or on the Kindle Vella website. Word count for each installment ranges from 500 to 6,000 words. In other words, a story is told chapter by chapter or episode by episode. The first three chapters or episodes are free for a reader. After that they have to pay in tokens to access more.

 A what?

A token. The number of tokens required to unlock an episode will depend on the length. Authors are paid based on the number of tokens spent by readers to unlock them, and authors will earn half of what readers spend. There is also mention of a mysterious launch bonus based on customer activity and engagement, but I can’t figure out how much this mysterious launch bonus is.

Please don’t tell me an author is paid in tokens

No. Cold, hard cash, but bear with me. This gets complicated. The cost of tokens depends on how many bought. Readers will be able to get tokens at different price points depending on the number.  Buying 1000 tokens at one time gives a better price than 100. After purchasing tokens a reader can then “buy” an episode. (Remember the first three are free). According to what I’ve been able to figure, Amazon expects the average cost of an episode to be low, around 15 cents. If you have a 20 episode story at 15 cents an episode, that would net $3 every time a reader finishes all the episodes.

 Whoo-hoo, I earn $3, right?

Not exactly. Tokens will be available through mobile channels (like Apple) that charge a fee. That fee will be deducted from any revenue, so that $3 will be less depending on how much the reader paid for the tokens. The 50% royalty may end up being closer to 35%.

Also, Amazon can change token pricing at any time and will probably offer free tokens to entice readers to join. Any episodes bought with free token won’t earn squat. Since this is a new platform, there’s no way to know how much money authors can expect to make, or which genres will do the best.

Rules for Kindle Vella

Of course there are rules. There are always rules. Authors can’t submit stories or episodes that have already been published in book or long-form content, no matter the language. Using a current or previously published book is a no-no, even if it’s broken into different episodes and the original wasn’t written in English. However, Kindle Vella episodes can be put concurrently on a different site. For instance, you can put serialized episodes on your website at the same time as they appear on Kindle Vella, but only if you charge for them. If you want to eventually publish the episodes together as a book, the episodes must be removed from Kindle Vella first.

What are the steps to upload a story?

It’s pretty easy, especially for self-published authors familiar with using Kindle Unlimited. The following is required:

    Story title

    Author name

    Description

  Image: Think book cover without a title. Amazon will automatically crop it into a circle, so make sure it’ll look good round.

    Story categories (Like Young Adult or Romance)

    Tags. You can add up to seven. Each tag will also have a landing page with all the stories using the same tag.

   Create and publish the first episode, by either uploading a .doc/.docx document, or typing directly into their online editor.

So, do you get to engage with readers?

Kinda sorta. Readers follow stories and are notified when the latest episode is released. They can crown one weekly “Fave” for the story enjoyed most. “Faves” also have an expiration date. Readers have to unlock (purchase) at least one new episode a week to “Fave”. Amazon will highlight the most “Fave” stories in the Kindle Vella store. Remember, this is only for readers who paid for episodes. Those who used free tokens or read the first three free chapters won’t be able to “Fave”.

Readers can’t leave comments, neither can authors. However, authors can leave an “Author’s Note” at the end of an episode to share thoughts or give a hint to the next episode.

To Kindle Vella or not to Kindle Vella?

This platform seems geared toward people who read on their smartphones rather than an e-reader and prefer short installments offered frequently. It’s not required to offer a new episode each week, but you’ll lose the audience if not. If you think this is something for you, check out the Kindle Vella website.

L. A. Kelley writes science fiction and fantasy adventures with humor, romance, and a touch of sass. She lives her life as a serialized adventure, but, so far, no one has paid her any tokens to read more.