Kindle Vella, I see what you did there Amazon!

Kindle Vella, I see what you did there Amazon!

Amazon just started a new service called Kindle Vella, you know, like Novella? It’s a platform where authors can release serialized stories one episode at a time anywhere from 500 – 15,000 words long. Right now I am working on three books at one time. Am I crazy? Pretty much. Doing one book at a time was hard enough, but I just got three ideas at once and had to go with it.

One of the books is a follow up to Sawyer’s Run which will be called Finn’s Descent. This will be a story about Sawyer’s little brother. I got the idea shortly after finishing the first draft of the aforementioned book while I was talking to the guy who ran the snack bar way down at the bottom of Carlsbad Caverns. I’ll leave the rest of the details a mystery for now.

Another book I am working on is a non-fiction book about an unsolved murder on the Appalachian Trail. It will be called A Deadly Walk In The Woods. I found out shortly after my first overnight backpacking trip with Sawyer that the place we camped for the night was just a short distance away from a man who had been found a few years earlier strangled just feet off the trail. Whoever killed him had made a half-hearted attempt to cover up his body. This happened in 2011 and remains unsolved to this day. Due to the proximity of where I stayed and the murder scene, I’ve always been interested in this case and would like to see it solved. I petitioned the FBI (since it happened on Federal land) for the details in the case under the FOIA, but they denied me as the case is still considered active. I’ve done a lot of research and this would have been handy but I won’t let it stop me.

The final book I am working on is a memoir of the first year of our full-time RV life called Tales Of The RVidiots: Year 1. I was already working on this book when Amazon sent out notices to authors who had published with them before. They explained the way it would work and what the revenue share would be. An author can release an episode any time they choose. The first three episodes would be free to the readers. After that, readers have to purchase tokens they can use to unlock future episodes. The amount of tokens spent depends on how many words are in the episode. I had already set up this book in my trusty Scrivener like a serialized story since each chapter would be about a place we stayed, not including the first few episodes that covered the purchase of the RV and the preparations we made to transition to a full-time RV life. This is a long winded way of telling you that I decided to release this book on Kindle Vella in episodes. The first three episodes are live and free! What a deal, huh? If you want to check it out click the image below. Also, if you like the episodes please give it a thumbs up at the end of each one. Leaving a review would be nice too!

P.S. Kindle Vella Episodes can also be read on Apple’s iOS Kindle app. Android access will be coming soon but you can still read them in the web browser on your phone.

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4 thoughts on “Kindle Vella, I see what you did there Amazon!

  1. I saw this new program. I don’t think I am consistent enough to publish a book that way. Sounds like fan fiction would do good under that system.

    1. Fan fiction would certainly do good under that system. I’m lucky on this one that I already outlined it in an episodic way before I decided to post on Kindle Vella.

  2. That’s a really cool thing. I’ve checked out the first chapter of the Tales of The RVidiots and I’m looking forward to more. Even funnier is that my wife’s Kindle is still around here somewhere and I’m pretty sure it still works, and what better way to read a Kindle Vella?
    Christopher recently posted…A Three Hour Tour.My Profile

    1. Thanks Chris! I just submitted episode four a few minutes ago. It can take up to 24 hours to show up. I think I still have my old Kindle around here somewhere. It used to be my main reader, but now I mostly use my phone or listen to audiobooks.

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