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lost wages. Plus, this is a full-time author who has no other income coming in besides her books.</p><p id="cf8a">It’s just really hurtful.</p><h1 id="7eea">If you are looking to save money on books, there are better ways.</h1><p id="ca32">For starters, many authors on Amazon — including the one that I alluded to above — enroll their books in KDP Select.</p><p id="809b">This only costs you $9.99 a month, and you can read all the books in the program. Plus, writers get compensated for pages read. For my pen name, I actually make more money being enrolled in KDP Select than I do with actual ebooks purchased.</p><h2 id="a502">If the book you want to read is not in KDP Select, you can try the library.</h2><p id="516a">The library has a ton of options now… not just in-house books.</p><p id="6301">I personally use the library app to download ebooks and audiobooks and it is a great option. If you want to be in the habit of returning books, then this is the correct place to do it.</p><h1 id="928b">Remember that there is a writer on the other side of those words.</h1><p id="cfd0">It really pains me to see this because I know how much work writing a book takes.</p><p id="88c1">Writing is emotional labor and time-intensive. For many, it is a full-time job. The bulk of these writers is self-published. They do not have big publishing houses and advances behind their name.</p><p id="2ebc">They are a one-person team, hustling to make a living from their work.</p><p id="a885">Can you imagine eating a full meal at a restaurant and then asking for your money back? Can you imagine seeing a movie at a movie theater and then complaining to get reimbursed? What if you worked a full day’s work and then your boss decided to just not pay you?</p><p id="f0c9">It may seem harmless, but it really isn’t.</p><p id="de66">If you like an author’s work, do not steal it from them. Support them.</p><p id="98a4"><b>Wait! Did you like this story? </b>I

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f you want to read more like it, you can <a href="https://medium.com/@jennybravobooks/membership">sign up for a Medium Membership</a> for only $5. It helps support me and other writers like me!</p><p id="a6d4"><b>Jenny Bravo </b>writes books and helps other writers through trial-and-error. She’s on Instagram (<a href="http://www.instagram.com/jennybravobooks"><i>@jennybravobooks</i></a><i>) </i>and Twitter (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jennybravobooks"><i>@jennybravobooks</i></a><i>). </i>You can hang out at her website, <a href="http://www.jennybravobooks.com./">www.jennybravobooks.com.</a></p><h2 id="2dd5">Like this post? Read more like it here:</h2><div id="c472" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-i-am-scaling-a-profitable-kdp-business-this-year-f4d94bc2db1c"> <div> <div> <h2>How I Am Scaling A Profitable KDP Business This Year</h2> <div><h3>I am finally creating the money-making author business of my dreams.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*6yUKPLkenpIApJyJ)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="2d03" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/5-unorthodox-tips-i-use-to-write-more-in-a-day-a0714beda3cd"> <div> <div> <h2>5 Unorthodox Tips I Use To Write More In A Day</h2> <div><h3>These may not work for you, but they definitely work for me.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*-fKFcANeSmdBYI6t)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

This New TikTok Trend Is Damaging Your Favorite Authors

PSA: Think before you return

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

My pen name’s Instagram page has exploded with posts about Tik Tok’s new trend of readers returning books on Amazon.

A recent post said, “Support Indie Authors & Don’t Be a D*ck. DO BETTER.”

Amazon readers are reading books all the way through & then returning them.

I think, for the most part, this is not to intentionally hurt authors.

But the truth is that this does hurt authors. Especially indie authors.

First, let’s start with how much money is made on a single Amazon ebook.

Depending on how much an author charges, they either receive 35% or 75% royalty on that book. The 70% royalty is available for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99.

So, if a reader buys a $3.99 ebook, reads it, then returns it, you are essentially stealing $2.79 from that author.

Now, that may not seem like a big deal. But what if this happens more than once?

An author that I follow reported that she had 150 ebook returns on one of her full-length novels that costs $3.99.

That is $418.50 of lost revenue for this author.

Not to mention that because of this book’s high rate of return, Amazon flagged it for suspicious activity. The author then had to wait at least two days for the book to be available for purchase again.

So, that is additional lost wages. Plus, this is a full-time author who has no other income coming in besides her books.

It’s just really hurtful.

If you are looking to save money on books, there are better ways.

For starters, many authors on Amazon — including the one that I alluded to above — enroll their books in KDP Select.

This only costs you $9.99 a month, and you can read all the books in the program. Plus, writers get compensated for pages read. For my pen name, I actually make more money being enrolled in KDP Select than I do with actual ebooks purchased.

If the book you want to read is not in KDP Select, you can try the library.

The library has a ton of options now… not just in-house books.

I personally use the library app to download ebooks and audiobooks and it is a great option. If you want to be in the habit of returning books, then this is the correct place to do it.

Remember that there is a writer on the other side of those words.

It really pains me to see this because I know how much work writing a book takes.

Writing is emotional labor and time-intensive. For many, it is a full-time job. The bulk of these writers is self-published. They do not have big publishing houses and advances behind their name.

They are a one-person team, hustling to make a living from their work.

Can you imagine eating a full meal at a restaurant and then asking for your money back? Can you imagine seeing a movie at a movie theater and then complaining to get reimbursed? What if you worked a full day’s work and then your boss decided to just not pay you?

It may seem harmless, but it really isn’t.

If you like an author’s work, do not steal it from them. Support them.

Wait! Did you like this story? If you want to read more like it, you can sign up for a Medium Membership for only $5. It helps support me and other writers like me!

Jenny Bravo writes books and helps other writers through trial-and-error. She’s on Instagram (@jennybravobooks) and Twitter (@jennybravobooks). You can hang out at her website, www.jennybravobooks.com.