Abandonment Issues

2023-06-08

While there may be a lot of arguments for leaving Amazon's cruel embrace, one reason not to leave seems to be getting ignored. Readers.

I've heard all the arguments for writers to “go wide,” to step away from Amazon's exclusivity requirements and leave the Kindle Unlimited catalog. A different audience, diversification of revenue streams, protection against future negative actions, upside potential, taking a moral stance against late-stage capitalism.

They're all good reasons and very easy reasons to support, if your writing has not taken root in the Amazon ecosystem.

But what if it has?

From my perspective, the decision to leave Amazon carries two significant burdens.

The lesser one, financial.

Over 60% of my revenue comes from KU. As a full-time, self-published author with a significant catalog, that's a lot of money. I could afford to drop that without sacrificing my family's standard of living in the short term. Good financial planning over the years would let us carry on for a few years, barring an overwhelming tragedy.

The greater burden is one I wouldn't have to carry, which makes it all the more onerous for me to consider. That burden would fall to thousands of readers who rely on KU to provide them with the books I produce.

While that's self-aggrandizing to a certain extent, consider how many times have authors “screwed over their fans” by signing restrictive deals with publishers, by taking actions that cut their existing audience out of the picture by one action or another.

I understand that being exclusive to Amazon cuts out a lot of potential readers. Readers I do not have at the moment and who may or may not even like my work and be willing to support it.

For me, the idea that I might be serving some greater moral good by casting off Bezobub's Golden Shackles falls flat when I think of the thousands of readers who like and use KU, who rely on it to provide them with reading material they enjoy at a price they can support.

So, no, I won't be leaving KU unless/until it becomes untenable. There are two sides to audience loyalty, and I'm going to continue to hold up my side of the bargain.

As always, your mileage may vary.