The Oyster is my World

Remember libraries? Remember taking a stack of books home and perusing them over the three weeks you were allowed to have them out? Remember forgetting to renew them and being charged a fine?

Printouts of my library book list stuck to the fridge with a magnet helped a lot in curtailing the fines, but sometimes I just told the librarian I hoped they’d use the (not insignificant) funds to buy more good books!

My library habits have changed in recent years. I now have more books than I can read on my Kindle… and keep purchasing and downloading more! It’s unlikely I’ll ever run out. I also have an eye disease that has affected my vision. I find it very difficult to read paperbacks for pleasure anymore.

Amazon introduced Kindle Unlimited about a year ago. For $9.95/month, you could “borrow” a wide variety of books. Authors who enrolled in Amazon’s exclusive program were paid a flat rate per borrow. I chose to put my Riverbend novellas into this program, and many people have borrowed Secretly Yours and Pinky Promise since they released.

However, Amazon has changed the payout structure for authors, which is certainly within their rights to do. Authors will now be paid by the number of pages read in a borrowed book. Honestly, this is likely to be more fair as, in the past, borrows were all paid out equally regardless of book length or retail price. My novellas, though, will see a disadvantage.

I love being an indie author because I can shift with the tide. I’ve made the decision to remove both titles from Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program. The books will remain for sale at Amazon, but will also be available on Nook, iBooks, and Kobo over the next few weeks.

What does this have to do with libraries? I’m still interested in subscription services such as Kindle Unlimited, so I’ve pushed the button to make my Farm Fresh Romances available on Oyster. As the Riverbend novellas come out of Amazon’s exclusivity program, they’ll be available on Oyster as well.

One more thing: if you’ve been putting off purchasing Pinky Promise, the price will soon rise from 99¢ to $2.99, so you might not wish to delay.

I’m really excited to see how Oyster works for me and for my readers. Have you ever looked into using them as an e-book subscription service? Why or why not?