Amazon, in what it described as a "difficult decision," is winding down Kindle Vella and shutting it down completely in February 2025. When the company launched the serialized story platform in 2021, it said Vella was a way for readers to discover new fictional stories and a new way for authors to earn from the Kindle Direct Publishing service. But it hasn't caught on as it had hoped, Amazon explains on its website, and it has decided to throw in the towel three years after Vella's debut. Authors can only publish stories on Vella until December 4, which is also the last day readers can purchase tokens. While readers will no longer be able to purchase tokens after that, they can continue using those tokens to unlock episodes until the program closes in February. The good news for those who've been following specific authors or stories on Vella is that they won't lose their access to whatever episodes they've already unlocked even after the platform shuts down. They can always read the stories they've purchased in their library in the Kindle app for iOS and Android, though they can no longer open them on the web. Any token they don't use by February will be refunded. Responses to Vella have been pretty lukewarm since it became available. Some authors liked the fact that they could use it to earn money from unfinished stories, while some readers said they'd prefer getting a whole book instead of paying for installments. Personally, as someone who follows a lot of indie... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-10-29 12:00:30 UTC ]
Frustrated by a lack of opportunity for indie authors to showcase their work, two Florida writers open a bookstore of their own. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) is to launch a new campaign aimed at bookshops during the London Book Fair. Called Authors for Bookstores, the campaign will launch at the Indie Author Fringe Festival, which will be held on 17th April at Foyles’ Charing Cross Road flagship. ALLi... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo’s president has launched a Twitter tirade about why indie authors should beware of Amazon’s supplier negotiation tactics. Michael Tamblyn, president and chief content officer of the Canada-based ebook company, took to social media today (17th October) to warn self-published authors in 32... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Lee Child has come out swinging in the manner of Jack Reacher on The Passive Voice website... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independently published authors have responded with caution to Amazon’s launch of its new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than a thousand readers have signed a petition in support of Amazon in its dispute with Hachette. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid the excitement of BookCon, self-publishing took center stage at the Javits Center in New York City on Saturday, as uPublishU offered up a day packed with programming targeted to indie authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With a debate brewing about how much indie authors can, and do, earn, PW asked Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, to weigh in. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo America is expanding its offering for indie authors, introducing Author Hub. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The rise of programmatic advertising has wreaked havoc across digital media, giving media buyers far more leverage while pushing down the value of publisher inventory. It has also torn apart the traditional ad network business, which is one reason Federated Media, today announced it would stop... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you've bought quite a library of Kindle books for yourself, you might have a chore scrolling through the lot to find the one you want. Thankfully for Android users, you can now organize your reading material into Collections with a new Kindle app ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Summer’s winding down, but there’s still time to score free ebooks for any vacation reading. In this video, we’ll show you you where to go online to get free books, which are often classic novels now in the public domain. You’ll want to start with Project Gutenberg’s site, which offers the most... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you rely on a Kindle (or Kindle app) for reading, you probably know that it supports not only ebooks, but also PDFs. In fact, if you've done your homework, you also know that your Kindle (or Kindle app) has its own email address, meaning you can send any PDF straight to your device just by... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new Kindle app from Amazon will help blind and partially sighted people to access 1.5m titles... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German self-publishing platform XinXii, which allows indie authors to sell their titles through mobile ebook shops, has gone live in Russia. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For a limited time, you can score a free copy of "Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing," by Jon Reed. Read it on your PC, your Kindle, or any device that can run a Kindle app. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indian consumers haven't been cut off from Amazon's world of ebook goodies, but their experience is about to get a lot more native with the launch of a local Kindle Store. The prices of over a million books are now available in rupees, and if you're in need of hardware, the latest bare-bones... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon on Thursday released updates to the Kindle app for iOS, along with the Kindle Cloud Reader Web app. The updates add in support for children's books. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As we saw the iPhone 4's release, a massive bump in screen resolution means that plenty of apps need to be updated to fully take advantage of all those extra pixels, and today has seen a few big name ones get optimized for the new iPad's Retina display. The biggest of those is Amazon's Kindle... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last April, Amazon announced the Kindle Library Lending program would let Kindle users borrow books from more than 11,000 U.S. libraries. Today, the program officially launched at all participating libraries. Users can search their local library's website, and when they find a book, they can... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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