Kindle unlimited

Vegangoth

I accidentally bought a years worth of kindle unlimited (don’t ask lol) are there any LNs on there?

SomeOldGuy

@vegangoth Search didn't come up with any JNC books on Kindle Unlimited, but there does seem to be some stuff there.

Personally, it's not interested me, because I have about 70% of the time necessary to read what I've paid for, so why should I rent additional stuff?

LegitPancake

Don't believe any of the LN publishers participate in it. Some Kodansha manga are available there though, like Shaman King. Also there are some original English "light novel" authors that publish through KU.

admin

Putting your stuff on unlimited usually requires exclusivity to unlimited/amazon, with the exceptions only with the giant publishers (who I think amazon gets to pick which books they want on the service).

Since it'd be a pretty horrible decision to lock any of our content to amazon only, we've never put any of our stuff on unlimited.

I've considered maybe throwing so older, finished titles on there (Daimaou, etc) and see how they do, but only as an experiment.

Geezer Weasalopes

@admin said in Kindle unlimited:

I've considered maybe throwing some older, finished titles on there (Daimaou, etc) and see how they do, but only as an experiment.

That'd kinda be like what Jim Baen did over at Baen Books, when he created the Baen Free Library, so if you aren't familiar with that experiment you might want to mosey on over to their site and read up on the results.
It's only kinda the same thing, but that's the closest analogue I'm aware of.

HarmlessDave

@weasalopes said in Kindle unlimited:

@admin said in Kindle unlimited:

I've considered maybe throwing some older, finished titles on there (Daimaou, etc) and see how they do, but only as an experiment.

That'd kinda be like what Jim Baen did over at Baen Books, when he created the Baen Free Library, so if you aren't familiar with that experiment you might want to mosey on over to their site and read up on the results.
It's only kinda the same thing, but that's the closest analogue I'm aware of.

One thing the Baen has done is make volume 1 of some series available free while keeping the rest paid. That might be worth trying instead of an entire series.

They've also made some stand-alone volumes free too, I think mostly by more successful authors like David Drake as a way to hook you on that author.

Geezer Weasalopes

@harmlessdave said in Kindle unlimited:

@weasalopes said in Kindle unlimited:

@admin said in Kindle unlimited:

I've considered maybe throwing some older, finished titles on there (Daimaou, etc) and see how they do, but only as an experiment.

That'd kinda be like what Jim Baen did over at Baen Books, when he created the Baen Free Library, so if you aren't familiar with that experiment you might want to mosey on over to their site and read up on the results.
It's only kinda the same thing, but that's the closest analogue I'm aware of.

One thing the Baen has done is make volume 1 of some series available free while keeping the rest paid. That might be worth trying instead of an entire series.

They've also made some stand-alone volumes free too, I think mostly by successful authors as a way to hook you on that author.

My understanding is that Baen had a number of titles where there wasn't enough demand that they were aware of to justify a new print run, and Jim had the thought of creating digital versions and making them available for free and see what happened. This was early on in regard to online publishing.

What they discovered was:

There was a sufficient upsurge in queries concerning purchasing print copies of those specific titles to justify doing a reprint; folks read the free digital version and wanted to have a physical copy.
There was an upsurge in interest in other works by those same authors. All things being equal, those authors who had works in the Baen Free Library had an increase in demand for their other works that wasn't matched by those authors who didn't have works included. People took a chance and read the free volumes and then said, "you know, I like this person's writing style, I'd like to read more of their stuff, sufficiently that I'll purchase copies of their other works."

The change was statistically significant; it was clear that it did have to do with making those titles available for free, and it had a sufficient positive impact upon their financial bottom line to more than offset the expenses of setting it up.
Over the years what they have in the Baen Free Library has changed; the number of volumes stays pretty constant, the precise titles vary (although some titles have remained in it all along.)

HarmlessDave

@weasalopes - kind of like how catch up months here get me to buy a complete series :)

Thanks for the details, I think it's been a decade since I last checked out the free library since I just buy what I want from authors I like. I should see if they've added books from authors I haven't read.

Travis Butler

@harmlessdave said in Kindle unlimited:

@weasalopes - kind of like how catch up months here get me to buy a complete series :)

Thanks for the details, I think it's been a decade since I last checked out the free library since I just buy what I want from authors I like. I should see if they've added books from authors I haven't read.

Last time I looked, it seemed like the number of titles had gone way down since the early days. The impression I got was that the experiment was being wound down.

Geezer Weasalopes

@travis-butler said in Kindle unlimited:

@harmlessdave said in Kindle unlimited:

@weasalopes - kind of like how catch up months here get me to buy a complete series :)

Thanks for the details, I think it's been a decade since I last checked out the free library since I just buy what I want from authors I like. I should see if they've added books from authors I haven't read.

Last time I looked, it seemed like the number of titles had gone way down since the early days. The impression I got was that the experiment was being wound down.

There's a number of things Jim did that his successors have been shifting away from a bit.
There hasn't been a Baen CD since his death.

I have to admit I don't spend as much time at the Baen site as in days long past.

Travis Butler

@weasalopes About the only thing I read these days from Baen is the Vorkosigan books; Liaden was the other big Baen series I read, and they've been losing my interest since Dragon Ship.