It’s January 17th, the 17th day of the year. Today’s color is Black, and the card I pulled this morning is The World, upright. A very positive omen on this gray and dismal day. Fullfillment, achievement... Success. It makes sense, but more on that in a bit.
This winter, aside the Christmas, has been remarkably warm. (Not that we've concluded Christmas yet.) I like living where there are distinct seasons, so the loss of one is keenly felt. And, since the winter is nowhere near over, it also means that while wet and cold, there is nothing to do outside. You can’t really garden or enjoy the ground beneath your feet. You just have to sit inside, like the twins in the Cat in the Hat. “Too cold to go out, too wet to play ball.” Nothing to do but be inside. And that's at least produced something.
I do have several irons in the proverbial fire as it were. The first of which will be released this Friday, January 20th, on Kindle Vella. Kindle Vella is an Amazon platform for serial stories. Authors can release “episodes” of between 600-5000 words per episode. Some episodes are free (as my first episode will be on Friday), but there is always a price. Amazon allows people to purchase episodes with a currency called tokens.” Paid episodes have to be purchased for a minimum of 50 tokens, and you buy those directly from Amazon.
It’s a similar set-up to Wattpad, really, and Amazon is big on crushing competitors, as we know. That said, Amazon has also eased up a bit on their Kindle Vella requirements for writers. Part of the reason we didn’t even consider Vella was due to the stance that once in Vella, you’re done. It can never be released anywhere else, even on Amazon, ever again.
To me, that seemed ridiculous. If I finish the story, I should be able to bundle it together and release it as a whole. Additionally, the readers of ebooks and the readers from Vella are going to be people who really prefer two different types of platforms. And both platforms are equally valid.
Now, however, Amazon has declared that 60 days after removing your story from Amazon, their exclusivity rights end, and the story can be republished in any form. So, that’s our plan. Publish the episodes on Vella, and then once the story is done, turn it over to the readers at large.
First, I have to get through this story first, though. Right?
So, that’s the big news. There are other things to talk about at other times, and come back Friday for the big release of “Fire in the Mountains” by Caitlin Roisin I look forward to sharing it with all of you again!
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