Is Kindle Unlimited Worth It?

Now, as someone who's been curious about Kindle Unlimited since it was introduced in 2014, I feel like we should discuss it and figure out whether it's worth it or not for authors. I've read from different authors that the whole idea of it helps their books and then I've heard from other authors that it doesn't help them.

Kindle Unlimited is when readers pay a set amount a month and they can read as many books as they like, as long as the author has their books in the Kindle Unlimited program. Amazon says that the program allows readers to, "Try new genres, discover new authors, and dive into new adventures with unlimited access to our wide and varied selection of books."

Some advantages of Kindle Unlimited are that traditional publishers such as Harlequin don't place any of their books in Kindle Unlimited, so it's only self-published books that are in the program. This means that self-published authors aren't competing with big book sellers. Authors also get paid slightly more if someone chooses their book to read and gets more than 10% through it in the program. Amazon is a huge company, so is also a strong platform for exposure for books.

The drawbacks to an author using Kindle Unlimited are that authors can't place their books for sale on other websites such as Kobo or iBooks, but they can still sell paperbacks through more that just Amazon. Amazon can also change the rules of Kindle Unlimited for an author at any point, and you have to stay in the program for the first 90 days.

There you have it. Kindle Unlimited may be enticing to a reader, but is it worth it for to an author?