Once upon a time there was Kindle Vella (KV or Vella). And in days it will be gone.

With Vella Amazon thought it could put books in competition with streaming/binge-watching. It didn’t work, or they didn’t work out the kinks in time.

Kindle Vella was a way to publish a book, in episodes, with basically no book design knowledge, and no publisher needed, and no agent. There are (soon to be were) problems. Some of them include (in no particular order):
~No publisher or agent needed means (meant) anyone (in the USA only) could publish anything regardless of quality or entertainment value. “Books” were over-represented in erotica and poetry, one of which sells well, and one of which doesn’t, but neither gave the Vella platform a broad appeal. More literary writing got lost or passed over.
~The episodes were priced by length at first, so there was no way to gauge how much a book could cost the reader, which could be a lot more than a print copy, and certainly more than a Kindle/eBook.
~Many books were begun, but never finished (Amazon wanted a lot of content quickly, and didn’t care), or published so irregularly readers lost interest.
~Authors made money on the number of clicks/episodes bought. All books published had built in free episodes to “draw in” the readers. Authors took these free episodes and used them in KV groups to game the system: they made deals to click on fellow members’ titles, in trade for clicks back, and all those who did it on a regular basis made a monthly bonus from Amazon, often enough for a car payment or more. But they weren’t actually reading the books. Amazon tried to crack down on this in many ways, from lowering the costs of the episodes, making more free episodes, and trying to freeze out authors working in packs to game the system. Groups sometimes got into squabbles as members came to depend on the bonus income, and angry with anyone who seemed to flout any of Amazon’s many rules, and could get the bonus-ride ended.

Other issues:
~Though the upload space had a basic spell-check function, there was no editing function, not even an AI model, and the books I read episodes from could have benefited from editing and proofreading.
~The episodes were long thin scrolls, designed to be read on a mobile phone. It didn’t catch on as a comfortable way to read.

In my humble opinion as a person who wants to see authors succeed, the lack of quality control, though it felt freeing to some authors, ultimately did them a disservice. Many authors, as part of their evolution, don’t write a good first draft, and this doesn’t mean the story wasn’t engaging. It means, absent the chance for an edit and a proofread, the authors lost the opportunity to learn and grow, and lost potential readers who might love their stories.

KV was presented to authors as a way to give authors more control over their literary lives. It didn’t deliver, though the bonus ride was sweet for some. It also seemed, in the KV groups, that it was a world run primarily by entrepreneurial women, and I thought that was awesome, but as the bonus program started to become less secure, and Amazon caught on to people gaming the system, many group leaders became harsh rulers, which I found unappealing. What had originally been nurturing groups and empowering for authors became, “Don’t you dare lose me my money!” Scarcity makes people competitive and angry. Bans from groups were frequent and left authors with no way to earn on their books. And, soon, in mere days, KV and the books will be gone.

If you publish through KDP/Amazon, in paperback, you have a much better chance of your book sticking around. True, you won’t ride the bonus wave of KV, but that was an artificial construct anyway. If you publish through Ingram too, your books can be ordered by libraries and indie bookstores, as well as being ordered online at sites like Abe Books, Thrift Books, and Barnes and Noble, among others. And, frankly, if what you write is important to you, worth your time and effort, it deserves an edit and a proofread. KV lead authors to believe that an edit is not needed, but it is if loyal readers are what you want to collect.

I would expect a lot of authors are scrambling post KV. It’s a cautionary tale.

As you head into the new year you may be feeling some frustration from trying to get published with your book. I’m sure for a lot of folks KV seemed like the answer to the “wait and wait and try again” of traditional publishing. But there are other options too. Today self-publishing and partner publishing are both legitimate book publishing options. When a few million books are published each year, it’s going to be tough to land that traditional deal. Traditional publishing doesn’t have to hold you back.

Did you publish with Kindle Vella? Did you not, and feel like you missed a chance? Are you tired of waiting to get chosen by a traditional publisher? Has your book been sitting with an agent for over a year?

Maybe talk to me, or Dave. We did Kindle Vella. And we do this. It costs you nothing to talk to us, and find out what we can do for you. Sign up for a date today, and hold your book in your hands this year.