Hi, fiction lover! Recently, I came across a very exciting video from The Home Boss. It’s called “Short Reads on Amazon: A New Income Stream I Did Not See Coming.” Wow. This opened my eyes! Well, I knew that people were publishing short stories and novellas on Amazon, but I never really knew how it could work in a business model. If you’re at all interested in Kindle short reads, read on to find out how this could work for you in your author ecosystem! ✏️
What are Kindle Short Reads?
Kindle short reads sound simple enough, but did you know that the word count ranges? Kindle short reads can be anything between 1 and 100 pages. Can you imagine downloading a book and then realizing that it’s only one page?
Kindle does the hard work and lets us know the estimated reading times. So if you’d like, you can see that it’s a “15-minute read” rather than a short story that is ten pages long.
Amazon has been pushing short reads quite a bit. We can see that with The Time Traveler’s Passport series, which has been pushed on the Kindle store and made free for Prime users.
The key is this: there is a demand for Kindle short reads! Readers are hungry for stories that they can digest in a single sitting. For a lot of people, a novella, novelette, or short story is the answer.
The Magic of Kindle Short Reads
How it Felt to Discover Kindle Short Reads
So, a lot of the magic lies in the way that readers devour these short works of fiction.
For those enrolled in KU, it can be a great way to rack up reads.
But for others, pricing a short read lower can be lucrative as well, especially if it’s a reasonable ask and there is demand. Romance is always a big one with these shorts, but other genres are seeing success too. See The Time Traveler’s Passport that I mentioned before!
And a lot of that magic lies in the author. If you are able to pump out these stories, that’s all the more opportunity to build your backlist!
With more stories on the market, more opportunity arises for readers to follow you and become your biggest fan.
Novellas, novelettes, and short stories are great at hooking attention, too. They can be an opener for the novel that you want to direct people to! Something I’ve been thinking of is creating a Kindle short read that can act as my lead magnet!
The ideas are definitely spinning!
Explorations and Closing Thoughts
Me Thinking About What’s Possible Now
So, are you thinking of taking the leap and publishing a Kindle short read?
I want to know all about it if you do!
Honestly, this is not a new concept, but it’s new in that it’s gaining so much traction and visibility, especially front and center on the Kindle webpage.
Whether you want to do romance, or whether sci-fi or fantasy is more your speed, I believe that you can find success in Kindle short reads.
Take a look at the video I linked above, and feel free to form your own opinion on whether it’s right for you and your author path. After all, every path toward publishing success is different.
Did you enjoy my insights into Kindle short reads? I had tons of fun writing this post. Follow me on my blog for more posts about writing, fiction, and fandom!
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