If you love to read books on your Kindle app, you’ve probably heard of the Kindle Vella. It’s not a type of Kindle reader, rather, it’s a type of Kindle subscription service where you get access to series. So as a reader, you’ll get more content in addition to the catalogue you’d get on Kindle Unlimited.
For authors, it’s a great way to publish content regularly without actually writing a whole book. In this post, we’ll share what a Kindle Vella is, how it works, and everything you need to know.
What is Kindle Vella?
Kindle Vella is a Kindle platform designed specifically for serialized stories. Here, you can read books in bites or episodes. It’s great for authors who like to write but are overwhelmed by the sizes of actual books. So here, they can share episodes with their readers via the Kindle mobile app and web app.
Kindle Vella is similar to Wattpad and WebNovel and it’s no surprise that Amazon is exploring this particular publishing method. Since countries like South Korea and Japan heavily engage with similar platforms, it might be an attempt to further expand their market reach.
How Does it Work?
Since it’s targeted at mobile readers, a story would be broken down into several chapters or episodes. The author would then release these chapters over a specific period. As a reader, you purchase each chapter which could range from 500 words to well over 5,000 words.
Usually, the authors ensure that the first three chapters are free so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you. If you find it engaging, you’d have to pay to access new episodes as they are released. These releases could be daily, weekly or even monthly. So you have to follow the story or author to keep track of when a new release is due.
Another interesting feature is that it works like a social platform. So you can like stories and even ‘Fave’ them. Recently, there’s also been comments so you can leave comments for each episode.
As an author, you can also give more perspective to your work by leaving a note at the end of every chapter. Your readers can find your story under featured stories, recently added, regularly updated stories, trending stories, completed stories or even popular tags.
There’s a leaderboard and the frequently ‘Fave’d’ stories end up here where they are recommended to more readers. There are also categories and genres where they can streamline their search.
What Countries is the Kindle Vella Available in?
If you’re looking to read and explore serialized stories, you can access these stories from anywhere in the world. However, to authors and publishers, at this time, you can only publish if you reside in the US. Also, residents have to publish these stories in English.
How Can I Publish on Kindle Vella as a Non-US Resident?
Unlike the regular KDP account where you can simply add your foreign bank details, with Vella, you need a verifiable US address. So we recommend;
- Using the address (with consent) of a close relative who lives in the US. You would also have to change the address of your Kindle publishing account to this address as well.
- Generate a legitimate virtual office from online sites for a monthly fee and use this address.
Does it Work with the Kindle E-Reader?
Since this service is only available on the Kindle mobile app and web, unfortunately, it isn’t accessible on Kindle devices. This might be because Kindle readers don’t regularly connect to the internet. If the Kindle Vella requires a constant connection to get new stories and episodes, it might seem counter-productive.
Although Amazon might be looking for a workaround for Kindle devices, we will be looking out for whatever updates they come up with.
Kindle Vella Pricing
The first few episodes of Vella’s stories are always free. However, to unlock more chapters or episodes, you need tokens.
Now one token can unlock 100 words – which means if you need to read a 1,000-word episode, you might need 10 tokens. The price of these tokens varies based on how many you purchase. The more you purchase, the lesser it’ll cost.
For example, if you purchase 200 tokens at $1.99, you’re purchasing one token at $0.01. However, when you purchase 1700 tokens at $14.99, it means you’re purchasing one token at $0.0088 which is way cheaper. So we recommend purchasing more tokens at once.
As an author, you get 50% of the amount spent on your stories. So it might not be a great deal for you when your readers buy more tokens as a bundle because you’ll be getting less money per word.
Wrapping Up
Kindle Vella is a great way to read bite-sized stories in your spare time. It’s also a great way to earn by sharing content at your own pace. If you’d want to see how it works in real-time, simply visit Kindle Vella to get started.
