An Update on All the Madness

TL;DR Updates

Last updated: Sept. 18, 2023

The next series being pulled from KU:

Oct. 9, 2023:  Earth Magic Rises, which includes the books: Bones of the Witch, Ashes of the Wise and Heart of the Fae.

Thes books are already available on all retailers, and my store; you can find links on the individual books:

• Mermaid’s Return: Returning, Falling, Surfacing
• Rings of the Inconquo: Born of Metal, Metal Guardian, Metal Angel
• The Scented Court: A Blossom at Midnight, A Memory of Nightshade, A Daughter of Winter, A Prince of Autumn

If you’d like the explanation of why I am pulling out of KU, please read the Update on All the Madness from June, below.

June 2023

Oh my goodness, there is SO much happening behind the scenes right now! Deniz and I had guests for 8 weeks so my work hours were drastically cut back, which was good timing since Nicola was working with the A Prince of Autumn manuscript. We had a lovely time with our guests but I knew a storm was brewing. I underestimated the fury of that storm, haha.

I’ll share some fun vacation photos in another post, but I want to make some important announcements here about my author business. I’ve been paddling madly since our guests left, and looming over my head is that very logical voice saying: “You haven’t told your readers any of this yet. Don’t let it go much longer!” So this is my attempt to catch you up on all the things…

A Prince of Autumn

We are on track for an early release, as the manuscript is currently being proofread. What remains to be done for this glorious last-book-in-an-epic-series is: the final edits, the artwork for the hardcover, the formatting with beautiful botanical illustrations, then uploading to ensure readers can order print copies asap. With Daughter, readers who wanted the print versions had to wait an unacceptable amount of time, due to multiple delays. I will do my best not to have a repeat this time around!

Big Changes For My Tiny Business

Meanwhile, my little author business has reached a critical point in its history… the point where Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited exclusivity—which has been a great program for building my readership—is no longer working for me, at least, not as an “all in” strategy.

What does that mean? Well… being the clever multi-billion dollar empire that they are, Amazon really takes to heart Bezos’s mantra of “Your margin is our opportunity.” Basically, Amazon has figured out ways to steadily decrease authors’ profits while increasing their own. This has been achieved in various ways:

• Organic reach has disappeared. It used to be that there was a carousel of other books like this one, which was free for my titles to appear in, and a great way for readers to become aware of similar books. It has been replaced by ad (paid) carousels.
• Product pages used to show other books in the same series, and/or other books I had written, but that free space is gone now too. Instead, book pages are stuffed with ads for books I didn’t write—ads that I can’t afford to compete against (if I bid high enough, I could push those other books off my pages).
• Amazon is increasing the price of the KU membership, but not passing anything on to authors. In fact, the value of a page read has gone down over time. Page reads are determined by a magical formula that Amazon doesn’t share with authors. Basically, it’s arbitrary what my KU titles will make in any given month.
• Amazon got rid of bonuses that I used to qualify for.

To sum up, if authors don’t advertise (heavily, see many dollar signs), they won’t be visible.

Amazon takes a percentage for publishing titles and also charge a fee to deliver files to devices. That hasn’t changed. However, they are now charging increasingly expensive rates for advertising on their platform. A few years ago, a click from a reader might cost me $0.10. Now it’s closer to $1.00. When making $1.50 per book (which is what an average length novel makes in KU, versus making about $2.60 for a sale of the same title at $3.99)… well, it just isn’t sustainable.

I am grateful for the way I’ve been able to nurture my career using their tools. But Amazon is run by Amazon; their sand-box, their rules. They have to take care of their company, and I have to take care of mine… which means that in order to survive, I have to change something. That said…

Titles Will Be Leaving KU

I have always known that a time would come when I would need to find more ways to share my work with readers. It appears that time has come. If you’re a Kindle Unlimited reader, don’t worry, I get it. I have a KU membership too, and I appreciate that not everyone can afford to buy the number of books they like to read every month. For now, the majority of my titles will remain in Kindle Unlimited. This will be a slowish transition.

KU readers eagerly awaiting A Prince of Autumn will be able to read it in Kindle Unlimited, it just won’t remain there forever. KU is a strategy, one I appreciate having access to. I’ll use it when it makes sense.

I will always let you know when a title will be leaving Kindle Unlimited, to allow ample time to consume it before the last day. With that said, consider yourself notified of the following:

• A Blossom at Midnight will come out of KU on July 2nd.
• A Memory of Nightshade will come out of KU on July 8th.
• A Daughter of Winter will come out of KU on July 10th.
• KU readers will be able to borrow A Prince of Autumn in Kindle Unlimited on launch day and for a few days after. Once you’ve borrowed it, you can read it at your leisure, even after the title is removed from KU. So make sure to borrow it asap! 
• All of the Rings of the Inconquo books (Born of Metal, Metal Guardian, Metal Angel), including the boxed set will be coming out of KU on June 27.
• The Earth Magic Rises books, including the boxed set will be the next to come out of KU, on October 9.

All titles will remain on Amazon for purchase, but will become available on many other retailers, and also in my direct store. This is not a decision I’ve made lightly. I’ve been exclusive to KU for almost 8 years. I wouldn’t leave unless I felt I had to. Which leads me to the next announcement.

I’m Opening a Store!

For those readers who want to, you’ll soon be able to buy books (and other fun stuff) direct from me! I’m SO excited about this because we both benefit. I can offer you great value while not losing anything to Amazon’s hungry-hippo system. Readers will be able to support me directly, and in turn I’ll be able to serve more readers better… my way. I also won’t have to wait two months to get paid. Yay! I won’t have to sell nearly as many books (or put nearly as much money into ads) in order to make enough to support my family, and that is great news.

The other benefit of hosting a direct store is that my titles will stay off the radar of pirates. Just yesterday I had to send about 15 takedown notices to pirate sites to take down my titles which they were selling illegally. Pirates comb the bestseller lists on the retailers and steal what they think they can make a buck with, but they don’t comb small direct stores. Long term, I’m hoping a direct store will be a more sustainable way for me to be able to keep writing.

The store isn’t quite ready for you to see, but it’s getting there, and it’s very pretty—if I do say so myself. I’ll be doing a reveal soon, and I’m as excited for that as I get whenever a new story releases. Stay tuned for opening day!

French Translations Are Coming

Alongside learning about all the platforms readers use outside of Amazon, and building a direct store, I’m also preparing to launch my first titles in French, starting with the Mermaid’s Return titles, and Born of Water. I’ve ordered redesigned covers of the Mermaid’s Return stories for French, and I’ve gone back and polished those stories again, to make them shine. I can’t wait to share them with French readers. Of course, getting new covers designed for French will mean an update for the English covers too. Fresh covers are always super exciting.

If you’re a French speaker/reader, and you’d like to join my beta reading team, please write to me at abby@alknorrbooks.com.

Pretty Little Mermaids

I’m finished writing the manuscript of Cobalt, Pretty Little Mermaids Book 0, the cover of which I shared recently. If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is, in all its yumminess.

This is a novella length prequel to my new siren series (written in the same universe as Elemental Origins, and with the same mermaid mythology I developed for Mira and Targa).

Stay tuned for a release date!

FEWF!

I feel busier now than ever. I’m excited and nervous about all the changes, and a touch overwhelmed by the learning curve. I have questions that can only be answered in real time. How is all this change going to affect my workload? What will readers think? Will the wider world of readers—beyond the Amazon ecosystem—love my stories too? Enough that I can make this work? Will readers be comfortable buying direct from me? I know that some will and some won’t, and I’m okay with that. Just know that I will do everything I can to keep readers happy while ensuring longevity for my business and my career as a full-time storyteller.

Questions? Concerns? Ideas? Never hesitate to reach out to me. I always love hearing from readers. You are the sparkle in my mermaid tail, the flame in my magi palm, the fairy sitting on my Wise shoulder. I love you much.
See the contact page to get in touch.