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MIcrotransactions of the very worst kind, with no more guarantee the novel will get completed, than on a free site.
Worse it's an awful attempt from Amazon to replace the free sites like BCTS, with P2R> (Pay To Read Next Chapter) content.
Just Like Kindle Unlimited was an attempt to replace Public Libraries lending Digital copies of Books they have bought, with a subscription service.
No surprise this is restricted to USA on launch, as that country is far more likely to accept P2R> content than the rest of the world.
The reason we are willing to accept that BCTS novels (or novellas) may never be completed. and let's be honest there's more incomplete novels here, than completed ones, is that on top of it being a very niche site, the content is provided for free by the authors.
Kindle Vella FAQ extracts
1. What kind of content should I publish?
To provide the best experience for readers, Kindle Vella stories should be written specifically to be released in a serial format, one 600–5,000 word episode at a time. If you have a story in this format that is available elsewhere, you can also publish it with Kindle Vella. To ensure a good customer experience, Kindle Vella does not accept content that's freely available.3. How do I earn royalties through Kindle Vella?
You earn 50% of what readers spend on the Tokens that are used to unlock your story’s episodes. You’re also eligible for a launch bonus based on customer activity and engagement. To make it easy for readers to find stories they love, the first few episodes of every story are free. The number of Tokens needed to unlock an episode is determined by the episode’s word count at the rate of one token per 100 words. Tokens cost $2=100 Tokens, with the typical bulk discount, rates $10=1,100 Tokens.
TLDR:
To force the mark ("ContentConsumer") to pay for your pre-existing content, remove ALL free copies, and sell the same content as microtransactions instead.
Basic cost is around $0.50 per 5,000 word chapter, and unlike the normal Kindle split of 70% for Publisher (or Author), 30% for Amazon, this is a 50%/50% split.
To see BCTS promote a service intended to replace all such free sites, is really disappointing, sure just like with Kindle Unlimited the site can keep it's Standards with DopplerPress, but nothing stops ANY author from cutting out the original site/publisher entirely.
I will never pay subscriptions for what should only be provided by Public Libraries Digital Lending Services (Kindle Unlimited).
I have never supported microtransactions in gaming, and refuse to play (or buy) any game that sells them.
I will now refuse to read (or buy) microtransactions any fiction either (Kindle Vella).
Play/Read (or Buy) means
I don't even consider microtransaction infested content worth pirating.
Your content simply ceases to exist for me, the moment you added microtransactions.
Even if I already owned it for years, like with Fallout 4, Skyrim SE, add microtransactions, and I remove that content from my life forever.
This is a depressing start to my day
I don't understand?
I've not seen any announcement about BCTS moving to a pay per page model or anything related to the Amazon service.
Can you explain where and when this was announced?
Samantha
PS
The main reason for me not publishing my work on Kindle is 100% down to the terms and conditions that Amazon impose. They screw most authors in the same way they do with their employees. IMHO, both Authors and employees are expendible cannon fodder.
Every time
Every time I find what might be a new revenue stream for my endeavors, someone jumps to the conclusion that this is going to be the end of the free site. How?
How does money coming in from somewhere else destroy the willingness of people to post their stories for free on BCTS? Or my willingness to host those stories and even borrow tens of thousands of dollars over a period of twenty two years now in order to keep doing it?
Talk about a depressing start to a day!
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Exploring alternate revenue streams is good
and I applaud you for that.
Pay per Page/Chapter isn't for everyone and personally, I try to avoid having anything to do with Amazon. That is just me being a grumpy anti-establishment old codger so it can be ignored.
I'll continue giving $50 or more per month as long as I can.
Keep on trucking and stay safe.
Samantha
I'm missing a good bet.
Dumb bet, (33622 words) my best received work (currently 53,314 hits and over 400 kudos) would net me $3.36 per read. Assuming that the 410 readers who gave kudos read the whole thing, I could have made $1378.50 with that story; even more counting those that might have started it but didn't finish.
But since I don't pay over $4 per ebook that I buy, it seems a bit unreasonable for me to expect readers to pay $6.72 per read for my work. That's OK, I'll get around to putting it on Smashwords, probably asking $2.49 which will net me $2.12 per copy. (Smashwords distributes to about 16 retailers.) Modest, but more reasonable.
No, I won't get rich with that. I know I won't get anywhere near the 53K readership the hits might indicate, or even the 410 that kudos suggest, but that's OK, I write for a hobby. My efforts on Smashwords (in two different genres) provide some pocket change. Though I only have 11 books up, so I can't expect much more than that. I'm happy with it.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
Perhaps
a less inflammatory explanation of kindle vella would help both authors and readers decide if they wish to participate. I know I could investigate it at amazon but since it has raised as an issue here it might be good to set the record straight here.
Short plain vanilla explanation of Vella
The way Vella works is the first three chapters of a serial are free to read, after that, you will require tokens to read more. Tokens nominally cost one cent each and a serial installment costs one token/100 words to read. Currently, Amazon is giving tokens away to get people to use the platform. Revenue is shared 50/50 with posters with a three-to-four-month lag.
Vella is one of three similar programs out there and is very similar to a program I designed back in the 1990s called StoryDime that never got implemented due to programming problems.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Thanks Erin
Is there any indication when you start a story that it is completly written as I see your first entry is from the blurb here? I do foresee this format being littered with abandoned stories. Knowing that it is all written may be an incentive to start a story.
Just like here
It's up to the author to do or not do.
Kevin has the first three books completed in his saga. I'm one of his editors.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I explained it simply in my TLDR section
I never looked at the this post again until now, it was getting me down to much, but to repeat my
Whatever Amazon may. or may not be doing currently with introductory freebies, is frankly irrelevant.
This is what they say to sell the idea to Authors/Publishers, and I should have provided the links to the sources, as you have to look for how to publish books on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Publishing to find them, someone looking on the user facing page will not see these links.
Kindle Vella - KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Publishing
Kindle Vella - Royalties, Reporting, and Payments - KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Publishing
Finally though I say, Amazon's intent is clearly to replace sites like BTCS, it doesn't mean they will actually be successful.
This marketing to is aimed directly at existing authors, and makes clear, that just like with Kindle Unlimited, Amazon is directly targetting removing the best existing, and already completed free work, and trying to place it all behind microtransactions.
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