Austenesque Lovers TBR Challenge 2023 discussion

I know we have a lot of great authors in JAFF with their books in KU. My best friend who is a published author was looking into KU and she found that authors get financially penalized if their book is returned only partially read. Is this true?!

Does that mean when I’ve borrowed a book and changed my mind for whatever reason I’ve been hurting authors? This really bothers me and seems very unfair.

There had been a post on another one of our threads and someone itemized how authors get compensated on KU. If I recall correctly it is according to pages read...?

Sam wrote: "There had been a post on another one of our threads and someone itemized how authors get compensated on KU. If I recall correctly it is according to pages read...?"

Yes, this is a separate question as I stated about if they are penalized for book returned I read or partially read. I couldn’t remember where the original discussion was or I would have posted it there.

I don't think they are penalized, they just don't get the 'full' amount., but according to algorithms and how many pages read.

Someone posted awhile back that Amazon had changed its policy and now compensated authors for rereads, up to a maximum number of pages reread in a single book. I looked on Amazon and it didn't say that. Am I missing something somewhere?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/pride...

I just came across this post on Facebook, which may answer these questions.

Thank you. I asked Sarah about the author penalty. Sometimes I just am not in the mood for a book I borrowed and sometimes I just don’t like it. I would hate to be costing the authors money.

Sam wrote: "https://www.facebook.com/groups/pride...

I just came across this post on Facebook, which may answer these questions."

Sam, can you please summarize this for me? I don't have a facebook account.

I will try to copy some of the text

Sarah Courtney
For purchases, authors keep 70% minus the download cost of the book, which is pretty cheap, like 20 cents or so depending on the size. So on a $5, the author is probably keeping about $3.30, give or take a little. A $3 book, on the other hand, might be more like $1.90.
KU is a little more complicated, because the payout amount gets calculated every month based on how many subscriptions there are and how many total pages read. A page total gets announced every month, and that's what the author gets paid. It's usually around $0.004 per page (it did dip below that in July I believe). At that rate, a 100 page book earns about 40 cents. A 300 page book earns $1.20. So for KU it depends a lot on how long your book is. My books range from about 250 to a little over 400, so how much I earn per book is going to depend a lot on the length of the book and the monthly rate.
In general, per book, I make more from a direct sale. But a lot more people read my books on KU than would buy them, so KU is worth it even if the per-book total ends up being less. For some of my favorite authors whose books I want to own, I'll read a book on KU first, wait a few months, and then buy the copy to keep. Then they get paid twice!


is it true authors get penalized if a book is returned to KU partially read? I’d hate to hurt authors.
Reply
Sarah Courtney
They shouldn't, they would just get credit for whichever pages you read, so they'd get credit for half the pages. Definitely better than none! And of course if you return it because you're not in the mood or something and then you try it again and finish it another time, they'd get credit for the remaining pages then.

question- I was wondering this myself! If you use KU is it more beneficial to an author to leave it in a borrowed status? Or return it? If I like a book should I buy it when I return it?
A-leaving it borrowed doesn’t make a difference. We only get paid if you actually read it. We only get about $.004 per page you read, so if you love a book and think you’ll re-read it, it benefits the author to buy it.

Q-Does it only pay per page once? If I re-read a previously borrowed KU book, does the author get paid again?
A-I don’t think so. I think it’s still only once per KU account, but I’m open to someone with more up to date info to fact check that for me.
A-No, just the first time.


A- There is a theory, not confirmed by Amazon, that if you borrow a book on KU, read it, return it, then buy it, those KU reads won't count if they're in the same pay cycle. So if you get it in KU but decide you love it and want to buy it, ideally you'd wait a month or two before buying it.

Thank you Sam!

Yes! Thank you.

Glad it helps to answer your question.

This was very helpful.

Thank you, it’s so helpful !

I have a question about Free books. How are the authors compensated? Does the author get anything when Amazon offers it as FREE?

A book I was looking at is a free offer at this moment in time. However, it is also KU. Which will benefit the author the most? Taking the free offer or reading it in KU?

Good question Jeanne. I can post it on FB and get author feedback, if that is OK?

Thanks, Sam, as I don't have Facebook. I want to assist authors with the best offer.

I have started reading books in KU [if available] even though I may have the ARC. I hope that benefits the author.

Also, since authors get paid by the page, I always back up to the cover page and read to the end and page to the very end so they get credit for all the pages.

No problem!
I posted it and it will show up after being approved.
I will let you know what answers it gets.

Thanks, Sam. You're the best.

Here is one answer:
S Neha Author
It is most probably the author who has put it for free for a certain duration. I believe if you read first and then buy it "for free" the author most probably would get KU compensation

Heather Moll Author
So reading it in KU will get them .004-ish cents per page you read. Which is not as much as buying it outright when it’s not free, but it’s better than nothing.

Heather Moll Author
When an author sets up a free promotion on Amazon, we don’t get any royalties. We’re doing it for the promotion and to try to find new readers who will buy our other books

That lets me know which way to go. I want to help the authors with the best plan to pay them. Thanks, guys.

Author Iris Lim
If you have KU, it would be best for the author if you read it through KU so the author can get compensated ☺️ But I also choose to put my books for free ever so often (I get nothing from the download) both to try catching the attention of new readers and to thank loyal readers for their support. Buying multiple books a month is not always a financial option for everyone, and I understand that completely.

J. W. wrote: "That lets me know which way to go. I want to help the authors with the best plan to pay them. Thanks, guys."

Someone on the thread asked which book you specifically looking at?

It was one I had just read as a WIP on FF and was now published. It was also a free offer. The author was Lorena DiChiara and the book was 'It Could Never Be!' This time. I've thought about this for some time and just never asked the question.

Thank Jeanne, one poster was very interested in this info....

Thanks, Sam. I just wanted the best practice that would help the authors. It's a tough business out there.

I hope one day a new company can get built up that can compete with Amazon and still boost independent authors, but not break our pocketbooks.