Publishing My First 3 Episodes On Kindle Vella

Summary

Crystal A. Walker has published her first three episodes on Kindle Vella, a new serialized storytelling platform by Amazon, and discusses the potential risks and benefits of using this platform for writers.

Abstract

Crystal A. Walker, a self-published author, discovered Kindle Vella, Amazon's new platform for serialized fiction and non-fiction. She has published the first three episodes of her story, taking advantage of the platform's Beta phase where initial episodes are free to readers. Despite the uncertainty of the platform's success, Walker appreciates the commitment it enforces for regular writing and the potential for early adoption benefits. She notes the ease of publishing on Kindle Vella and the direct reader engagement, similar to her experience on Medium. While acknowledging the challenges of marketing and the risk of the platform being too new, Walker remains optimistic about the potential for both storytelling engagement and passive revenue.

Opinions

Walker views Kindle Vella as a solution to her struggle with completing full-length books, as it allows her to publish in smaller, more manageable episodes.
She expresses concern about the marketing aspect of self-publishing, having realized its importance after her first book did not sell as expected.
Walker appreciates the cost-sharing model of Kindle Vella, which gives writers 50% of the royalties from tokens spent by readers.
She sees the requirement to regularly release new episodes as both a challenge and a motivator to stay committed to her writing projects.
Walker is cautiously optimistic about Kindle Vella's potential, recognizing both the risks of its newness and the benefits of being an early adopter on a platform backed by Amazon.
She values the direct interaction with readers, which she compares to the engagement she experiences on Medium.
Walker is pragmatic about the initial lack of revenue from her first three free episodes, focusing on the satisfaction of writing and the possibility of future earnings.

Only time will tell if my risk will pay off

While doing some Medium reading, I came across an interesting article about Kindle Vella. I scratched my head, utterly confused because I’m already a self-published author on KDP, but I had no idea what Kindle Vella was.

It turns out that Amazon is trying to get a slice of attention by writers by providing a platform for serialized storytelling. For me, this is a very convenient solution to one of the major problems I have been having: Finding the desire to finish another next book.

I published my first book, The Queen’s Awakening: Retribution, and am nearly done with the follow-on to it, The Queen’s Awakening: Vengeance. It has taken me years to get this far. It took everything out of me to write, format, design a cover, layout, world-build, edit, and find beta-readers to keep the costs down. On top of that, I finally needed to muster the courage to hit that “Publish” button.

For weeks, I was on Cloud Nine because I can finally claim, “I’ve written a book!” Then reality set it: No one seemed to be buying it. Little did I know how much marketing was going to be involved with self-publishing a book. I took a few steps back, tried to market a bit, and even put a short book teaser on YouTube. Regrettably, I fear it was too little too late.

I have other story ideas lined up, but I have not been making any progress because writing an entire book is a significant project. Feeling like I have been getting nowhere, I’ve shelved it and turned to write on Medium, where I feel like I get small wins by publishing a few articles a week. After stumbling on Kindle Vella, I feel like I can do the same thing by posting small bits at a time.

Kindle Vella stories — fiction or nonfiction — are broken down into chapters or episodes ranging from 600–5,000 words. The platform is in Beta at the time of this writing, and readers can read the first three chapters/episodes of any story for free. After that, readers will need to purchase tokens to read additional ones.

The number of tokens a reader will spend on the episode will depend on how many words is in it: The longer the chapter, the more tokens it will cost to read. However, the writer gets 50% of the royalties of the tokens spent by the reader. In a way, it’s a lot like the cost-sharing that Medium currently has.

There are more details on Kindle Vella’s site, such as how much it costs for tokens, guidelines, and payments. There’s also information on how to post onto Kindle Vella, which I have to admit: It’s extremely easy.

Because the platform is in its infancy, a lot remains unknown if this will be a platform worth publishing on. However, I feel some noteworthy positives and negatives to point out with the brief time I have spent on it so far.

I like to end with positivity, so I’ll start with the cons first:

Cons

Since it is currently in Beta, it’s too early to tell how well Kindle Vella will shake out and could be a bit of a risk for writers.

The platform has some limitations right now, such as no special characters are allowed and images.

You must finish your work. It’s one thing to write a book and have it shelved for a while before you dust it off and return to it. However, your readers will expect your story to be released regularly to stay engaged. For me, this is almost a benefit because it has forced me to commit to finishing the project and makes me write more frequently. The last thing I’d want is to disappoint potential fans!

Pros

If this takes off, you could already be ahead of the game before it gets flooded with new writers.

Consumers want to read shorter content and not buy an entire book, making it an excellent platform for readers.

Amazon is one of the top distributors for self-publishing, making it pretty convenient for consumers.

Writers can have direct commentary with readers; Much like Medium.

Image captured by author Crystal A. Walker

I published three episodes of a story on Kindle Vella. Because Amazon is currently trying to attract more readers, it offers the first three chapters/episodes to read for free. As a result, none of these I presently released will generate any revenue for me. That’s okay, though! I’m here to write, and I consider making any money a side bonus. However, I know many writers feel differently. I will provide an update if I believe Kindle Vella is something to consider for passive revenue.

In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy this small win that I finally dusted off a story I have been dying to tell. Hopefully, it will give me more confidence as a storyteller and keeps me motivated to keep writing.

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