Why I Won't Be Publishing to Kindle Vella
Several months ago, Amazon released news of their new Kindle Direct Publishing platform: Kindle Vella. It’s specifically for episodic storytelling, and like competitors WattPad and Radish, and it’s aimed at a younger target market.
The launch was (and is) a hot topic within the self-published author community. I was super excited to try episodic storytelling as an alternative to the flash fiction I had occasionally written on Instagram.
Details regarding Vella were spotty and hazy from the start. Then, this week, Amazon put out an announcement regarding the rules surrounding content posted to Vella. Keep in mind that authors get ZERO upfront payment for posting their work to Vella. In fact, you have to give away the first three episodes of a story for free. On top of that, these newly-posted regulations impact your intellectual property rights to your own work product!
I may not actively practice law anymore, but let me tell you… I’m still a lawyer! When I read the new regulations, I screamed out loud, “Oh, hell no!” So, what’s got me so angry?
Here’s the word from Amazon:
If you wish to incorporate your Kindle Vella content into long-form content (e.g., a book) in any language, you may do so providing you follow these requirements:
In order to publish a completed Kindle Vella story or group of episodes as a book or other long-form format, the last episode must have been available to readers in the Kindle Vella store for at least 30 days. You can see the latest publication date for episodes on your Story Manager page.
A book or other long-form format containing republished Kindle Vella content must contain a minimum of 10 episodes. Individual episodes may not be published as standalone content outside of the Kindle Vella store.
A Kindle Vella episode may only be republished in one book or other long-form format (i.e., you cannot publish Episode 10 in two different books).
What does all this mean? Well, it means that Amazon gets to dictate what you do with your own work, and according to these guidelines, there is no specific expiration date on their claims over your work. Plus, if you post there, you give up these rights to your work FOR FREE.
I want to preserve the right to pull my own work off a distribution platform. I want to be able to publish my own work in any format I please, at any time I please. Freedom and flexibility are two of the main reasons I decided to become a self-published author instead of seeking a traditional publishing deal.
I removed my work from Vella, and I won’t be publishing there. Good luck to everyone who does. All I can say is… read the fine print.