Welcome to 2022 and MORE Reading with Kindle Unlimited!

Image by Ri Ya via Pixabay

And here we are, already sighting the end of January in a brand new year. How did that happen?  

Well, there have been issues: health (meh…), slothfulness (definitely). I’ve written a couple of articles for the Medium digital platform since the New Year, but the current Mystery novel, so close to its ending, is still tapping its foot in frustration. Then I was distracted.

Yes, I know, shiny things… tiny minds… But this one I thought I’d share.

I’m an author, which means, by default, I am a reader. Over the years my purchased reads have fallen into two distinct categories: paper for non-fiction – it’s much easier to add Post-It notes to numbered pages than attempt to do the same digitally – and ebooks for fiction, which I can carry around with me and read in bed without my hands cramping or my arms falling off due to the weight. But I’m a slow reader, and I’ve never subscribed to Kindle Unlimited because I don’t read enough to warrant the subscription. Except, today I just did.

The UK Amazon store is offering two trials: two months for free, or three months for 99p. I’ve plumped for the three months. Will I cancel on the subscription date in April? Probably not. Even if I run the paid subscription for a further three months (£7.99 per month) that means I’ll get six months of KU reading for just over £4 a month. I’m from Yorkshire; we think about these things. Besides, I pay more than that a month for the ebooks I purchase.

Will I now splurge on a mass read? Probably not. There are time, concentration, and thinking considerations. What I will do is look at the more expensive novels – on principle I do not buy an ebook with a price tag equating to its hardback. As I’ve said, I’m from Yorkshire. But I don’t mind borrowing them. So why don’t I borrow them free from the local library? Because I only own a Kindle and not a tablet, and municipal libraries in the UK offer ebooks only in ePub format. I am not reading a novel on my laptop sitting at a desk I’ve sat at for most of the day.

I also intend trying out books which come with audio narration. Yes, I’ll need my laptop, but I can lie comfortably on the bed or even do housework jobs. We shall see.

Doubtless many readers will be rolling their eyes at my finally climbing another digital rung, though if you are like me and have been thinking about a KU subscription but not bothered to act, you have until the 31st of January to grab the extended trials, otherwise the usual one-month free kicks in.

Enjoy your reading, no matter how you do it.

Moving #Historicals to #KindleUnlimited:

Now the paperback of Pilgrims Of The Pool has been out a week, and before I make decisions on my next writing project, I'm turning my attention to housekeeping, both of the physical type in the space I refer to as my office and my digital backlist.

While I've been concentrating on Contemporary Fantasy, and to some extent my shorter Chillers, I've allowed my two Historicals to moulder somewhat unloved. Both Hostage of the Heart and Beneath The Shining Mountains were originally listed by mainstream publishers and became my digital test pieces when their rights reverted. They have served me well, but they could do being highlighted to a fresh audience. I like the covers, and there's nothing wrong with the content. They just need a bit of a push.

So, for the first time with any title, I've removed both from multiple distributors and given exclusivity to Amazon for 90 days minimum. They have entered the realm of page reads within Kindle Unlimited.

To leave them there without food or water will be to see them fade into more obscurity. So I've started a regime of promotion. I'm using small steps, starting with Twitter and FBook postings, followed by author cross promotions, before considering paid adverts probably with AMS initially. The trick is to discover what works to raise their visibility. As happens with these things, doubtless it will prove to be a mix of all three.

I'll keep you posted.