Introducing Ream: An Exciting New Serial Fiction Subscription Platform

Ream = Patreon + Kindle Vella for fiction authors. This is the real deal.

Due to the positive experience I’ve had with Kindle Vella (i.e. bonus payouts), I’ve been expanding my horizons and investigating other serial fiction platforms. If you’re curious about my Kindle Vella experiences, bookmark the following Medium stories:

Serial fiction platforms promise more control (and royalty $) to authors. Many have non-exclusivity rules, meaning, it’s possible to simultaneously post your serial fiction on multiple platforms at the same time. This will help you gain more audiences, while allowing readers to read you on their personal reading app of choice.

I’m very excited to describe a new serial fiction platform that I’ve just joined. Enter new contender, Ream (technically, Ream Stories).

What is Ream?

I first heard about Ream last November when I attended the 2022 20BooksTo50K writing conference in Las Vegas. Ream is a writing platform developed by two indie authors who are also 20Books attendees: Michael Evans and Emilia Rose.

As explained to me by the CEO Michael Evans, they’re attempting to create a writing platform with authors in mind. They created a subscription-based writing platform that feels like Patreon + Kindle Vella. Authors release “stories” by chapter. They can choose how to release those chapters to both paid and free readers. The frequency of release can change by subscription model. And they can set up differently priced subscription models, with different perks at each level.

Right now, readers sign up for a specific subscription tier and pay monthly. Authors earn a certain percentage of each subscription (more on that later), which can be 2–5 times what authors can make from traditional or indie publishing.

Genres on Ream

Emilia Rose is a hot selling steamy romance author who makes over $100K annually in just subscriptions. She is a co-founder of Ream and the very first author to beta test the platform. She has hundreds of paying subscribers already.

Steamy romance is a special fiction genre for Ream. They’ve used Emilia’s experiences to design a unique experience for this type of fiction author, relaxing many of the content rules that other platforms block. Ream provides detailed guidance on what kinds of steam and content are allowed on their platform. They are very upfront with authors on what they do and don’t support.

However, Ream supports a number of genres. As they are brand new, I don’t know the current numbers, but a search of their active authors reveals multiple fiction genres. Their current CEO, Michael Evans, looks to also be planning non-fiction content on the platform.

Current Shortcomings and Strengths

Ream is brand new, and as such, they have some limitations. For instance, the reader experience is not optimal. Right now you can only search by author name and not genre. So you have to know who you want to follow in advance. There are also no features to recommend other authors on Ream based on the current authors you read. It’s clear that, as an author, you have to already have a following and guide them to your Ream profile.

Another important shortcoming is, when you first sign up on Ream, you have the option to be either a reader or a writer. But you can’t be both under a single account. This is one of the features they’re enhancing.

Finally, one of the other things I don’t like so far is the platform assumes a weekly publishing schedule. Anything less frequent can be accomplished, but it has to be done manually. I’m OK with that for now, but I’d like to see options for once very 2 weeks, every X day of the month, etc.

On the other hand, one aspect I like a lot about the platform that goes a long way for me personally is Ream is very transparent with authors about where they are right now, what features they do and don’t have, and where they’re trying to go. I’m getting tired of writing platforms that make promises and then under deliver, or make promises that are misleading.

Overall, I believe in both the people and the platform, which is a winning combination for me as an author. It might take some time for this platform to get going, but I can be patient since I’m diversifying my serial fiction platforms, a strategy I highly recommend.

Becoming an Author for Ream

Authors are allowed in on a limited basis right now to avoid overwhelming the new platform. I was asked to attend a one on one call with their CEO prior to processing my application to ensure all my questions were answered and to give me a full understanding of where they are and intend to be. They want serious authors who will stay with them, not high turnover rates. They need a sustainable author base to be successful.

He spent a full hour with me demo’ing the platform, explaining how payments work, and answering every question I could throw at him. When I started creating my profile, I got a good feel for how the platform is designed for both readers and authors. I realized quickly that he was 100% transparent about everything, and what he told me about the platform’s capabilities checked out.

In addition, upon being “whitelisted” (allowed to create my author profile), I was sent a lengthy handbook written by the CEO about all the ins and outs of Ream, as well as best practices for a subscription model mindset. This kind of support is really outstanding.

Payment System

Ream exclusively uses Stripe to pay authors. You are required to sign up for a Stripe account and attach to it before you can release your first story. Then you can use Stripe’s settings to determine the frequency of your payments (which are largely driven by when your readers subscribe and pay).

Payments are pretty simple. Every subscription is costed on a per transaction basis (meaning, each monthly subscription payment has a cost associated with it). There are fixed transaction fees and variable fees. These equate to ~3–5% + a static fee of $0.30, then Ream takes a flat 10%. Therefore, depending on how you price your tiers, you should expect to take home 75–87% of that revenue. That royalty rate is pretty astounding, assuming you have the numbers.

In the handbook, they lay out all the math and decision points so you can make informed choices about your own subscription model tiers. The one requirement? You have to charge a minimum of $3 per month for each tier. But you can charge whatever monthly amount you want, and create different perks per tier. Although there aren’t any “free” tiers, you can release chapters to the general public for free for each one of your stories.

Where to Go From Here

If it seems like I’m gushing about Ream, I am. I’ve never signed up for a platform with such great support. I’m seeing support response times within 24 hours, with a genuine intent to help you solve all your Ream problems. They also have a regular podcast, office hours, the ability to sign-up for one on one sessions with the Ream support team, a Facebook group, and more.

This really does seem like the real deal.

If you’d like to become an author for Ream, sign up here (note: this is an affiliate link): https://reamstories.com/create/octoberjin

You can also check out their podcast here: https://subscriptionsforauthors.com/

If you’d like to get a peek at my Ream author profile, take a look here: https://reamstories.com/octoberjin