This isn’t the first time I’ve written about KU, and I doubt it’ll be the last. If you missed my post way back in 2018 about why I publish wide, you can read it here.
Let me save you the trouble of leaving nasty comments: yes, I’ve heard all the arguments. KU is the future. KU is where the readers are. KU is the only way to make a living as an indie author unless you’ve already got a mailing list the size of a small country. And my personal favorite, which is, “You’re just being stubborn.”
No, I’m not. I’m being deliberate.
I’ve been publishing wide for over seven years now. I’ve written over a dozen books that are character-driven, don’t include popular tropes, and come out at a pace that doesn’t impress the Amazon algorithm. That’s not accidental. That’s a strategic, creative, and ethical decision.
So, let’s talk ethics first, shall we?
Kindle Unlimited . . .
Requires Exclusivity
To be part of Kindle Unlimited (KU), you have to enroll in KDP Select, which requires your book be exclusive to Amazon. This means you can’t have your ebook available anywhere else—not on Kobo, B&N, or even in libraries. For me, this is a deal-breaker. I want my work to be accessible to as many readers as possible, across multiple platforms.
Discourages Competition by Having a Set Pot
In KU, authors share a fixed pool of money based on page reads. The more authors join, the less there is for each of us. This system discourages competition and undermines the value of individual works. For authors who aren’t yet massive names or who don’t have a huge following, this model doesn’t fairly reward them for their work. It turns writing into a race to the bottom. Perhaps worse, it means authors aren’t encouraged to hype others.
Treats Indies Worse Than Traditional Publishers
Traditional publishers don’t have to worry about exclusivity. They can have their books in KU without locking their work to Amazon. Indie authors, however, are required to sign away their rights in order to participate. This doesn’t feel fair. Why should one group of authors receive better treatment than another?
Enables scammers
KU’s royalty system is based on page reads, which has created an environment ripe for manipulation. Some authors engage in unscrupulous practices, like book stuffing or uploading AI books to inflate their numbers. Remember that set payout? The more fake books in KU, the less real authors make.
Devalues Books
But KU is doing something more insidious than enabling scammers. It’s teaching readers to think of books as something to be consumed, skimmed, and moved on from. Not something to be bought, owned, or valued.
When every book is part of an all-you-can-read buffet, the incentive to slow down, engage deeply, or re-read fades. Why bother when you can just grab the next dopamine hit? I don’t want to write disposable fiction. I don’t want to train readers to treat stories like snacks. And KU, by design, encourages a shift from depth to speed, from appreciation to consumption. That’s not something I want to be involved in.
Limits Accessibility to Marginalized and International Readers
There are entire countries where Kobo reigns. People who literally can’t afford $12 a month for books and rely on their local library matter. Exclusivity doesn’t just limit my reach—it limits readers’ access. By pulling my books from these platforms and restricting them to Amazon, I would be closing the door on readers who need access the most. Accessibility is important to me, and I can’t justify taking that away.
And as far as what I write?
KU Doesn’t Fit My Books’ Audience and Voice
Kindle Unlimited was built for volume. It rewards rapid releases, short attention spans, and high-consumption readers who are there to binge. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s your thing.
It’s not mine.
I release a book every other year, if I’m lucky. I write upmarket, character-driven science fiction that cares more about internal conflict than checking off trope boxes. I don’t write page turns, in the page-stuffing, dopamine-hit sense of the word. My work doesn’t lean on familiar beats. I don’t build to a cliffhanger every 2,000 words just to keep someone turning pages. I write to explore, to complicate, to bother you a little—intellectually or emotionally, I’m not picky.
But KU isn’t built for that. It’s built for speed and sameness. And that’s not a criticism! That’s the design, and it works great for commercial fiction.
The problem is, when someone tells me I have to be on KU to survive, what they’re actually saying is, at best, “I don’t actually have any idea what you write.” At worst, they’re claiming, “Your work should be different. You should write faster. You should simplify your voice. You should be more like everyone else.”
But I won’t do that. More factually, I can’t. Written-to-market books just aren’t my skill set. And at the end of the day, Kindle Unlimited isn’t for me. Am I leaving money on the table? Maybe. But I write books that need space to breathe, and KU’s fast-consumption vibe just doesn’t fit. I like having my work available everywhere, and that’s how I want to keep it.