In a world where indie publishing is becoming increasingly popular, it’s only natural that we see more platforms emerge to host authors’ content. At the same time, it’s become increasingly important for writers to arm themselves with knowledge of how to use these platforms effectively to achieve their writing dreams.
That’s why we invited Christina Farley, a top-faved Kindle Vella author, to create a class specifically for those looking to publish on this platform. Below are three takeaways from this, our latest offering: Publish On Kindle Vella: Tips On Writing a Top-Faved Story.
Takeaway #1: You need a rock-solid premise and a killer hook.
This may sound obvious—after all, doesn’t every story need a strong premise and a good hook?
No one is denying that, but the truth is that goes double for serialized fiction. On Kindle Vella, a reader has the first three episodes available to read for free before they’re required to pay a certain amount of tokens (a number determined by the chapter’s word count) for every chapter that follows. That means, if you want to get paid, you must make sure you’re enticing readers from the get-go.
Deliver on all the promises of your premise, or at least hint how well you’ll do it in the future!
Takeaway #2: Writing for Kindle Vella will teach you things you never knew about yourself as a writer.
It’s safe to say most writers have dreams of writing a novel, and if you’re approaching Kindle Vella as a novelist (or an aspiring novelist), you might think of a Kindle Vella episode as being identical to a chapter of a book. But it’s a actually little more complicated than that.
Serialized fiction is a different art form in the same way short stories are different from novels, poetry is different from short stories, and so on. Below are just a few of the questions Kindle Vella may prompt you to answer.
- Are you comfortable with writing on regular, recurring deadlines?
- Do you find it easier to write in bulk, ahead of schedule—put another way, to batch your episode writing, so you’re through with an episode weeks before it goes live—or write “hot” (when what you’re writing is due to be published that same week)?
- Can a single project hold your attention for months, or are you likely to lose interest before a long-term project is completed?
- Does your style of writing lend itself to a less literary, more “genre” style, with quick pacing and an emphasis on dialogue?
- Would you appreciate having instant feedback from readers (via comments) on every episode you finish?
Takeaway #3: Familiarizing yourself with Kindle Vella’s exclusivity policy is a must.
Kindle Vella requires that your story be unique to their platform when it’s first published—as in, it can’t have been posted anywhere on the Internet previously.
After it’s published? You must wait 30 days after your last episode goes up to publish it in any other form elsewhere.
Of course, Amazon’s Kindle Vella Content Guidelines should always be the first stop for information on Amazon’s own policies, but in the class, Christina does do a great job of providing examples of how you can continue to use your content after those thirty days are up.
Curious to hear what else Christina Farley had to say? You can still catch the replay of our Publish On Kindle Vella Class!
That’s also the only way you’ll get to see the handout of essential resources and Christina’s Kindle Vella stats tracker spreadsheet template!
Plus, once you claim your access, you’ll also become part of our online writing community!
We kindly ask that you make your purchase on your laptop or desktop. Apple and Android take big cuts–up to 30%—when you purchase on mobile, so this will ensure more of your money goes where you intended to send it!
