

Kindle pushes “Special offers” to users, which is a pseudonym for advertising. Amazon’s platform and the user base behind it is successful at continuously attracting publishers and authors, which in turn keeps the reader base satisfied. This model seems to work best for well know, established authors, but amateur authors can also take advantage of the amazon platform to self-publish books. Rather than accept the usual publisher royalties (on average 15%), authors can now choose to self-publish on amazon’s platform and keep all their profits sans amazon’s 30% fee. The amazon platform has shaken up the publishing industry in the last decade. Revenue model benefits established authors Amazon now has the power to reportedly ask up to 40-50% from certain books or publishers. However, a currently strong user base forces publishers to continue to publish e-books via Amazon. Amazon had to make it attractive for publishers to join their platform in order to maintain their growing user base. While it is uncertain what the initial commission from publishers was, we can speculate it was low while its user base was low. Amazon then lost a high profile battle with publishers and moved to its current agency model, in which Amazon gets a commission. Publishers disliked this model for fear that it would cannibalize sales of hard-copy books. Amazon would then sell them at a discount to set reader expectations of lower prices for e-books.

#Is kindle direct publishing worth it series#
Pathways to a Just Digital Future Watch this tech inequality series featuring scholars, practitioners, & activistsĪmazon started off its sale of e-books by buying books from publishers at wholesale prices. Forbes estimates that roughly 20 million Kindle devices were sold in 2013. The value offered to Kindle users gave amazon a significant user base. Additionally, Amazon ensures that the price of the Kindle device does not interfere with direct networks effects by foregoing profits and selling the device at cost. This is direct-network-effect gold, for as more of your friends own Kindle books, you have better chances of reading books for free.
#Is kindle direct publishing worth it for free#
Users can read Kindle e-books for free by borrowing another user’s books (free for up to 14 days!). While the Amazon Kindle provides the value of content and convenience to readers, the perks do not end there. The Amazon Kindle is a device that allows you to carry a multitude of books with you, and provides the ability to shop a virtually all-inclusive library of titles with the click of a button. Gone are the days in which you had to buy space-inefficient, heavy paperback books at a bookstore, or online only to wait days for delivery. Amazon kindle has captured the hearts of book lovers worldwide.
