Allie, will your book be in KU or not?
It’s… complicated.
Cross-posted to my website.
Not a Strong Enough Word has a cover!!! Well, it has had a cover for a while now. But it’s officially out in the world, which means ARC applications have officially opened and pre-orders have officially started and… AHHH.
But the number one thing I am getting asked after my post about Amazon a few weeks ago is, “Allie, will you put Not a Strong Enough Word in Kindle Unlimited?” So let’s talk about it.
But first…
You know what one of my favorite things to do is? Grab a coffee and head to the library. I love to browse the stacks, check on my babies—because my local library ALWAYS carries my paperbacks!—maybe find a new favorite book or set up somewhere to work. The library was one of the few places we felt safe bringing our kids during COVID, where they could play and explore with clean spaces and masks. When my local library emailed me to say they were carrying The Write Place, I cried tears of pure joy.
In short, I love my library. I love all libraries! There is a gorgeous library in downtown Lake Geneva that we love to stroll through when we visit, too. Libraries are one of the last public spaces where it’s acceptable to hang out and not have to buy anything.
But, this administration has now cut funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. These free books we love? Yeah, it takes money to keep that running.
The American Library Association has launched a new campaign to help libraries. I urge you this week to get involved, either with this campaign or with your local library. Check out a book. Ask them what they need. Participate in a program. Spread the word. Volunteer. It doesn’t have to be something huge! Even something small can make a big difference in your community. Let me know what you choose to do in the comments!
Will Not a Strong Enough Word be in Kindle Unlimited?
The short answer is… probably. Eventually.
The long answer is, unsurprisingly, more complicated. (That’s what makes it the long answer.)
So here’s the thing. I know we all want to stick it to the ‘Zon. I get it. I do, too. But there truly doesn’t seem to be a self-publishing option that isn’t owned by a billionaire. And there certainly isn’t an option that’s owned by a billionaire that treats indie authors better in terms of exposure and royalties. Yes, there’s that pesky exclusivity clause, but everything is a trade-off. That’s kind of how life works. And while I’d rather not have to make my e-books exclusive to Amazon in order to be enrolled in KU, that is where my readers are. There is no guarantee that switching to a service like Kobo+ will mean that my readers will follow me over there.
And that is, at least partially, because I have spent two years cultivating an audience of KU readers. All of my e-books have been available there. It’s expected that they will continue to be there. And, frankly, most readers are not a part of the online book community. They aren’t necessarily seeing conversations about boycotts and going wide. They’re just reading their books and being happy. I envy them, to be honest. So I can scream about the virtues of going wide until I’m blue in the face, but the very real possibility here is that I just… go blue in the face. I don’t find new readers, or make up the difference in income because we are living in a time when policies are causing unemployment and fear of unemployment, tariffs and other issues are driving the cost of basic necessities up, and we are all trying to spend less to weather the storm.
Which means that Kindle Unlimited could be an important way for readers to still enjoy books without having to spend more money for them. Before you can say it, YES, libraries exist. But books don’t just magically appear in them—especially indies. It takes strategy and a readership that is willing to request books and funding to purchase them. If you read my coffee break, you know this is jeopardized. And don’t even get me started on book bans that will affect what books libraries are able to carry. That open-door romance I write? Yeah..
This is all not even mentioning the amount of time and ad spend it takes to cultivate a wide audience. Time and money I do not have between teaching full time, parenting two small kids, a husband in grad school, and life. Not to mention writing more books.
So, I’m going to pose a compromise. From now until May 21, my e-book will be available for purchase directly from me. It will not be on KU, as it will be available on my website. You can pre-order it now from me (for a dollar less than on Amazon!) and it will be emailed to you on May 14. You can read it on any e-reader or app. International readers can order through me, too! (I checked!) And if you’re in the US and know you want a signed paperback, you can order both together for a special discount.
On May 21, I’m taking the book down off my site and enrolling it in KU so readers can have access there. That date is not firm; if tons of people are buying the book from me, that’s obviously the ideal situation and I’ll leave it up on my site for longer. But it has been my experience that this is about when the hype dies off and KU readers start picking up.
I’m hoping this is the best of both worlds. It will give people a chance to support me directly if that is what they want to do, but it will also give people a chance to meet Scarlett and Ryan who might only be able to afford KU right now. And maybe, this combination will give me enough to be able to afford writing the next one.
So, what are you waiting for? Pre-order Not a Strong Enough Word today!
Not a Strong Enough Word has a cover! Isn’t she GORGEOUS?! Lorissa really knocked it out of the park with this one. (As she always does.) I’m obsessed. This photo is a mock-up, but I cannot wait to hold this baby in my hands.
You can pre-order it now! From my site or from Amazon!
You can also apply for an e-ARC! Applications close April 1.
Looking for something to read while you wait for Not a Strong Enough Word? Try these!
A sequel twelve years in the making….
Peter Green has led a charmed life. Born to be Hollywood royalty, he’s a leading man with a heart of gold. All that’s missing from his life is love. But he gave his heart away twelve years ago and he doesn’t want it back. When a PR disaster on his mother’s latest film hands him his dream role, it feels like fate. The movie is shooting in Crane Cove, the hometown of the love of his life. There’s just one tiny problem: she hates him. Good thing he’s not too proud to beg for a second chance.
Sybil Morgan has spent the last seven years hating Peter Green. Ever since he was thrust back into her life when their best friends got married, she’s done everything she can to avoid him—even ignoring him when they sat next to each other at Thanksgiving. Now that he’s starring in his mother’s movie, he’s going to be spending more than a few days in town this time. Sybil is sure she can stay strong and resist his charms, but after getting an offer she can’t refuse, she’s spending a lot of more time with him than she planned and she’s not sure how much longer her resolve can last.
But with chemistry this undeniable, will they be able to keep things strictly casual? Or will Sybil’s carefully guarded heart be on the line again?
She reaps the dead.
He’s trapped in darkness.
Together, they’ll ignite a love that defies death itself.
Grace is not just grieving—she’s reaping souls as a Grim Reaper.
Haunted by her past and the death of her best friend, she hides behind her duties, refusing to let anyone close. But when Malcolm, a demon fighting his own inner darkness, crosses her path, she’s faced with something even more terrifying than death itself: the possibility of feeling alive again.
As desire blooms between them, their connection threatens to unravel the boundaries between the living and the dead, pulling them into a fight for their souls-and the fate of the afterlife.
Will Grace embrace her feelings, or will she choose the safety of the shadows she’s hidden behind for so long?
Breaking, Gracefully is the first book of the Afterlife Duet, which will have a HEA.
As always, your support means so much to me. Even if you have somehow found this site without having read a word of my books, I’m so happy to have you here. I truly want to hit the sweet middle of the Venn diagram where my books are where people want them to be, they’re easy to promote and accessible, and I’m making enough money to continue to do this author thing for a long time. So, here’s to trying something new and seeing how it goes!
Happy reading,
Allie