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PAGES READ FOR MAY, 2016
For May, 2016, Kindle Unlimited pages read paid $0.004686 per page, which is down 5% from April’s rate of $0.00495663.
Since the per-page rate was up nearly 5% in April compared to March, it’s basically just come back to where it had been.
However, it’s still considerably up compared to January’s rate of $0.00411.
Kindle Unlimited continues to thrive, as the KDP Select Global Fund has risen to $15.3M for May, 2016 (compared to $14.9M for April).
(Sorry I haven’t been active lately with my blog. I’m caught up in more projects than normal. But I’ll continue to update Kindle Unlimited payments. Hopefully, in the coming weeks, I will get back to blogging more regularly.)
Write happy, be happy. 
Chris McMullen
Copyright © 2016
Chris McMullen, Author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers
Click here to view my Goodreads author page.
- Volume 1 on formatting and publishing
- Volume 2 on marketability and marketing
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chrismcmullen 
Chris, I’ve been following you for awhile now! Your information has always been helpful in what I have been trying to do. I really appreciate all you are doing for those of us chasing the writers life!
Thank you very much for the encouragement. Good luck with your books. 🙂
You’ve been missed.
Thank you. 🙂 Back soon, hopefully.
Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog.
Thank you. 🙂
You’re welcome.
Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
Thank you for the reblog. 🙂
😀
Thanks for the updates, Chris.
You’re welcome, Carol. 🙂
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Let’s run the numbers. That $0.004686 per page works out to about 94 cents for a 200-page book.
– At Apple, where the royalities are always 70%, that corresponds to selling it for $1.34. Pricing it a bit more but still inexpensive, say $2.99, and an author would earn $2.09 per sale, which is over twice as much.
– At Amazon, where the royalties on less-expensive ebooks are a measly 35%, that corresponds to what the author would get on a retail price of $2.69. Priced at that same $2.99, the royalties jump to 70% less an inflated download fee, leaving the author’s earnings about $2.00 per sale, which is still over twice the rental fee.
———
My take on those numbers:
1. If your typical reader isn’t likely to buy your book but will subscribe, your best option is with Kindle Unlimited. Reasons they might not buy include:
a. Too few fans, either because you’re not that good a writer or you’ve yet to build up a fan base.
b. Your genre is so glutted with books (i.e romance fiction) that it’s hard for even good writers to sell well.
c. Your genre (perhaps scifi) attracts cheap skates who think it’s a crime to charge for books because “thought wants to be free.” If that’s true, I suggest changing your genre. Let them give away their own thoughts.
2. There’s a break point at about 50%. If half or more or your reader base likes what you write well enough to pay $2.99 or more for your book, then you’re better off selling it. Free, which is how subscribing appears to them, demeans an author. Paying, they’re more likely to value your work and continue to buy it.
3. Be confident about the value of what you are doing. Given the number of hours it takes to read a typical book, the cost of an inexpesnive ebook works out to perhaps a quarter for each hour of reading enjoyment. That’s far less expensive than any other media. You’re offering your readers quite a deal. Don’t undervalue it.
My thoughts, take them as you will.
–Michael W. Perry, co-author of Lily’s Ride (A historical adventure about a brave teen girl and a powerful throughbred horse.)
Beware that what Amazon calls a “page” as far as payment is concerned isn’t the same as what Apple calls a page.
Thank you for this very helpful information.
You’re welcome
From one aspiring to become a published author. 🙂
Good luck with your book. 🙂
Thank you I am working on a book about race relations. It is on the blog under “Caught Between Two Worlds.” Getting good feedback so far.