Breaking News for Publishers and Authors

I thought I'd let you know that this information will be in my next SharingwithWriters newsletter. I thought you might want to know about it before the issue's August release.

In the News:  The LA Times reports on that Amazon.com may be testing a new feature based on Scribd’s subscription model. For $9.99 a month what once showed up on the site as “Kindle Unlimited” would allow those who sign up to choose an unlimited supply of books including some well-known ones like Water for Elephants—a full 600,000 choices (many from smaller publishers) as well as thousands of audio books. It appears this program is still being tested. The LA Times does not say  how authors would be paid their royalties, presumably because “Amazon…did not return a call seeking comment.”  (See the flash below posted on 7/18 am.)

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FLASH! In my next day's e-mail box came this notice directly from Amazon: "KDP Select authors and publishers will earn a share of the KDP Select global fund each time a customer accesses their book from Kindle Unlimited and reads more than 10% of their book-–about the length of reading the free sample available in Kindle books-–as opposed to a payout when the book is simply downloaded. Only the first time a customer reads a book past 10% will be counted."

FLASH #2: If your e-book is already on Kindle's Select program, it will automatically be part of Kindle Unlimited. And, yes, it may feel a bit chintzy not to pay authors upon download, but I get that it's a hedge against cheating.  And, yes, I still think this is a coup for authors selling e-books on Kindle!

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .