There are many areas where one can absolutely rely on Mark Williams for keeping one abreast. None more so than when it comes to the health of the e-book market, and the scale of the significance of Kindle Unlimited in particular.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
This month, Williams notes, sees a hugely significant milestone. After October payouts, the payout pot will have surpassed $5 billion. This month's payout alone looks set to be around $66 million. Interestingly, the Amazon piece, written just under four years ago in November 2022, that informed me KDP Select launched in December 2011 celebrates the $2.2 billion it had paid out at that point. Which means the past four years have seen well over double the payout of the first eleven years. Surveys continually remind us just how large a portion of a successful indie author's salary KDP Select tends on average to be, but amidst the hype over other formats and fashions, it's easy to forget just how big those figures are.
YouTube Enters the Audiobook Space
Even older as a digital media site than Kindle is YouTube. But it is only now that the video platform has announced that it is looking to enter the audiobook fray. Of course, there already are many audiobooks on YouTube. As Jane Friedman has commented on the announcement, some indie authors have reported significant ad revenue from having their books on the site. And the site is infamous in literary circles for the prevalence of narrations of books that are of, shall we say, questionable provenance.
It seems that the form of the audiobook offering, due in 2027, is not yet decided. The Wall Street Journal announcement (behind a paywall unfortunately) reads to me like it is unlikely to be part of a bundle with the YouTube Premium subscription, which comes in at $15.99 a month, but I may have misread and it is clear options are open. Also uncertain is how payments to creators would work.
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
If you’re an ALLi member, head over to the SelfPubConnect forum for support from our experienced community of indie authors, advisors, and our own ALLi team. Simply create an account (if you haven’t already) to request to join the forum and get going.
Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Center.
