Recently I started thinking, and thinking, and thinking some more. Rarely does something good ever come from me thinking so much, but there you have my over-thinking self being an over-thinker.
But when I make a decision, I stick to my decision most of the time and I'm pretty quick about acting on it.
Last night I posted a question on Twitter about "going wide"* and pulling some of my back list out of Kindle Unlimited** (but not the Kindle bookstore).
* "going wide" means widespread distribution
** future references as KU
Today I went on Facebook and asked how many of my friends use readers/reading apps other than Kindle. My personal page was more forthcoming than my author page. But it was also revealing.
Some of my own friends told me privately that they would buy/read my books if they were offered other places than Amazon.
So, I have started on the process of removing the books from the Kindle Unlimited Program that have not been performing as well in the present as they did in the past. They just aren't getting read, even with marketing them.
ALL BOOKS WILL STILL BE AVAILABLE ON KINDLE. So don't freak out. This move means about half of my catalog will be available on sites like GoogleBooks, Apple Books, B&N, Overdrive (used by libraries!), Kobo, etc.
So, I'll talk about the books that are leaving the KU program first, then which ones are staying, followed by my plan for future titles. And the one book that is making things complicated.
The books that are leaving:
The Secrets Between Us
- leaves KU - Oct 23
- goes 'wide' - sometime shortly after Oct 23. Most likely the following week on the 29th.
The Enchanted Forest Series
Into the Enchanted Forest
- leaves - Oct 30
- goes 'wide' - in Nov. Most likely on the 5th.
The Cursed Garden
- leaves Oct 6
- goes 'wide' - In Nov. The week after ITEF
Ander and the Cocky Dragon Slayer
- leaves Dec 12
- goes 'wide' - shortly after that in Dec.
The Magic Chronicles
Half-Moon Manor
- leaves Nov 20
- goes 'wide' - In Dec.
Keeping Secrets
- leaves - Oct 30
- goes 'wide' - After HMM
I'm working on keeping all of the connected series together.
But what about their series?
The Enchanted Forest and Magic Chronicles will still have their other stories released, but they will be released wide when they are finished.
On to the other books.
The Hastings Siblings will remain in the KU program until the fourth and final book is released. Aiden's book will be in the KU program for 1 or 2 KU cycles (about 3-6 months I believe) before the whole series is removed (based on program dates) and the series is released 'wide'. One book per week is the plan.
The Jane Austen Variations fate is currently undecided. As of right now, Persuaded is remaining in the KU program. The upcoming First Impressions (Pride and Prejudice) is planned be released into the KU program, but it is currently in planning stages so things might change.
The Bookworm Next Door Series is remaining in the KU program indefinitely. I'd prefer it since the bulk of the concluding portion of this series are mostly short stories. However, I am going to look into if the Complete Collections can go 'wide' while the others remain in KU.
- Yes, I am still working on the College Years. -
Finally, the Joelee Mayes titles will remain in the KU unless the collections can go wide. I'd also like to note, I may reconsider this stance is I'd asked to distribute wider by readers who want to read these stories.
Future books beyond the ones already laid out?
Those will vary. Shorter works are most likely to be Amazon Kindle/Kindle Unlimited only. It will also depend on the series.
Longer works will depend on how well wide distribution will work for me. If nothing moves, I might return all titles to KU and pull them from the other stores. I might give Amazon KU an early release for a KU program cycle before going wide, so that KU readers can have a chance to read it before it gets removed from the program. That is my current plan at least.
That is it is. If you made it this far, thank you! This post ended up longer than I intended.
If you have any questions feel free to comment, message me through the website, comment on a FB post, or find me on Twitter. I'll admit my Instagram is getting pretty neglected.