Kindle Unlimited, October, 2019

The Kindle Unlimited Per-Page Rate for October, 2019

$0.0047 is the Kindle Unlimited (KENP) per-page rate for October, 2019.

It’s nearly identical to the rate for September, 2019. (You need more decimal places to see a difference.)

September and October were about 7% better than July and August.

The KDP Select Global Fund reached a new high of $26 million.

Write Happy, Be Happy

Chris McMullen

Author of the Improve Your Math Fluency series of math workbooks and self-publishing guides

Kindle Unlimited: How Much Did Amazon Pay Per Page Read in August, 2019?

THE KINDLE UNLIMITED PAGE-READ RATE FOR AUGUST, 2019

In August, 2019, Amazon paid $0.00439 per Kindle Unlimited normalized page read (KENP), virtually identical to what they paid in July (you have to go to another decimal place to see a difference).

The KDP Select Global Fund rose slightly from $25.6 million to $25.8 million.

(Keeping it concise, not blogging too much right now. Working on some cool projects, like Fun with Roman Numerals, about to go live, and Test Your General Science Knowledge, coming soon. Time to get back to writing.)

Write Happy, Be Happy

Chris McMullen

Author of the Improve Your Math Fluency series of math workbooks and self-publishing guides

How Much Did Kindle Unlimited Pay per Page for March, 2019?

WHAT WAS THE KINDLE UNLIMITED PER-PAGE RATE FOR MARCH, 2019?

In March, 2019, the Kindle Unlimited per-page rate dropped to $0.00451, which is in between the values of $0.00478 for February and $0.00442 for January.

The KDP Select Global Fund for March, 2019, was $24 million, which is also in between the values of $23.5 million for February and $24.7 million for January.

Write Happy, Be Happy

Chris McMullen

Author of the Improve Your Math Fluency series of math workbooks and self-publishing guides

The Kindle Unlimited per-page rate for February, 2019

FEBRUARY, 2019: HOW MUCH DID KINDLE UNLIMITED PAY FOR PAGES READ?

The per-page rate climbed up to $0.00478 for February, 2019, compared to $0.00442 for January, 2019.

This is a nice rebound. As usual, there was a dip for January, but the month after and the months before have been at a relative high.

The KDP Select Global Fund dropped a bit down to $23.5 million. The global fund rarely drops, but this drop probably reflects that there was much more activity in Kindle Unlimited during January than usual following to the holidays. It had been $23.7 million in December, and February is on par with that. The record high of $24.7 million for January had been a big jump.

The per-page rate rose significantly in February, and that’s far more significant than the global fund. My guess is that there were extra free-month trials in January with new Kindles purchased during the holidays, causing January’s figures to be (as usual) an outlier compared to the month before and after.

Write Happy, Be Happy

Chris McMullen

Author of the Improve Your Math Fluency series of math workbooks and self-publishing guides

January, 2019: What Did Kindle Unlimited Pay Per KENP Page Read?

WHAT DID KINDLE UNLIMITED PAY PER PAGE FOR JANUARY, 2019?

In January 2019, Kindle Unlimited paid $0.00442 for each KENP page read through KDP Select.

This is down 9% compared to December, but it isn’t unusual.

It’s fairly common for Amazon to pay more for Kindle Unlimited pages read before and during the holidays, and then to take a dip when the new year starts.

The royalties for pages read varies from $0.004 to $0.005 (and rarely a little over $0.005) per page.

When it’s near (or above) $0.005 per page read, you have to realize that it’s better than usual and enjoy it while it lasts.

When it’s around $0.0045 per page, this is roughly normal. Actually, most of 2018 was significantly above $0.0045, which shows that the per-page rate has been better than usual for several months, but if you go back a few years and examine all the data, you’ll see a few periods where it dropped down close to $0.004 per page.

You can count on it to fluctuate a bit. You can’t expect it to be the same every month.

However, you can count on the KDP Select Global Fund. It hit a new record high of $24.7 million, a clear million above December’s payout of $23.7.

The global fund steadily rises (and the very few times it hasn’t, it was only a very slight drop).

When Amazon switched to paying per page read for Kindle Unlimited borrows (and to a much lesser extent, borrows through Amazon Prime), the KDP Select Global Fund was around $10 million. Over the past few years since the change, the global fund has steadily risen to nearly $25 million.

This shows that the Kindle Unlimited audience is significant and is growing, and that there is enough content worth reading to sustain the program (and the amount of content continues to increase, except for a few specific subcategories).

Amazon is paying nearly $25 million per month (a pace for $300 million per year) just for pages read through Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime for KDP Select. That’s a huge chunk of royalties for a huge audience. There are also a million authors and millions of books participating in the program, and the most popular books are drawing a larger share of these royalties. But the potential is there if you can successfully engage the Kindle Unlimited audience.

That’s what I like about the pages read system. Maybe it doesn’t seem like much per page, and if you don’t have many pages read it won’t add up to much. But if you see significant pages read data for your book, you know that you’re successfully engaging customers. You want people to read your book, not just buy it. When you see those pages read, you know that your book is being read. That’s why we write books, after all. So that people will read them.

And for the books that really engage Kindle Unlimited readers well, the authors and publishers can be well-rewarded for their reader engagement.

There are a few cases where this program might not seem quite equitable, and if you think hard enough about it you might find something you don’t like. It does provide a good value to avid readers, and it does revolve around the idea of reader engagement, which are a couple of pluses that I do like. (No matter what Amazon does, it’s not going to please everyone. But with the payout rising from $10 million to nearly $25 million since the change, it seems to be working well enough to draw in many more readers as well as authors.)

Write Happy, Be Happy

Chris McMullen

Author of the Improve Your Math Fluency series of math workbooks and self-publishing guides

Kindle Unlimited KENP Read for June, 2017

Image from ShutterStock.

KINDLE UNLIMITED PER PAGE RATE FOR JUNE, 2017

The per-page rate for KENP pages read for Kindle Unlimited was $0.004223 in June, 2017.

It’s only a couple percent less than the rate for May, 2017, which was $0.00433, but it’s a continued drop from April, 2017’s rate of $0.00457.

On the other hand, the KDP Select Global Fund for June, 2017 was $18M, which is a slight increase over May’s fund of $17.9M.

I don’t just look at the per-page rate only. I look at both numbers, the per-page rate and the KDP Select Global Fund.

The per-page rate goes up and down. When it happens to go down two months in a row, or when it approaches its relative low, it’s easy to panic (and I usually read discussions, comments, and articles of authors who do). But it usually goes up and down. Enjoy the highs, survive the lows. Focus on your current and future writing projects, keep marketing, and let these tasks keep your mind off the per-page rate when it hits a valley.

But even when the per-page rate drops or hits a valley, the KDP Select Global Fund has very steadily risen. Amazon just paid out $18,000,000 in royalties for June, 2017, and that’s ONLY considering pages read through Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime for KDP Select books. That figure doesn’t include traditionally published books like Harry Potter that are included in Kindle Unlimited, it doesn’t include All-Star Bonuses (I have contacted KDP about this very issue), and it doesn’t include royalties for sales. This is a huge amount of royalties for KDP Select authors to receive collectively each month:  That rate reaches over $200M annually.

The steady growth of the KDP Select Global Fund shows me that Kindle Unlimited continues to thrive, that there is a huge active market here. And many of these customers are indeed reading KDP Select books.

Copyright © 2017

Chris McMullen

Kindle Unlimited per-page Rate for March, 2017

Image from ShutterStock

KINDLE UNLIMITED, MARCH, 2017

The KENP per-page rate for Kindle Unlimited dropped a little in March, 2017.

The rate per page is $0.0046 for March, 2017, which is down a little from $0.00497 for February, 2017.

The KDP Select Global Fund is $17.7M for March, 2017, which is up nearly $1M from $16.8M in February.

So although the KENP per-page rate took a slight dip, Amazon poured an extra $1M into Kindle Unlimited royalties compared to February.

This shows that many people are reading pages in Kindle Unlimited, and the program appears to continue to grow.

At this rate, Amazon will pay $200M in royalties just for Kindle Unlimited (and Amazon Prime) pages read for KDP Select books. That’s on top of royalties for sales, on top of the All-Star bonuses, and on top of whatever Amazon pays traditionally published books that participate in Kindle Unlimited (or Amazon Prime borrows, or both).

$200M shows that Kindle Unlimited is a significant market.

Copyright © 2017

Chris McMullen

Kindle Unlimited per-Page Rate for January, 2017

Image from ShutterStock.

Image from ShutterStock.

JANUARY, 2017 PER-PAGE RATE FOR KINDLE UNLIMITED

The KENP per-page rate for Kindle Unlimited dropped down to $0.004754 for the month of January, 2017.

But I’m not worried:

  • The per-page rate (and Prime borrows before that) generally take a noticeable dip in January. It’s not a surprise. (What’s a surprise is that it didn’t drop in December.)
  • The per-page rate in January, 2017 is much higher than it was in January, 2016.  It was at an all-time low of $0.00411 one year ago. Compared to the previous January, $0.004754 is sweet.
  • The per-page rate has been fairly consistent. It was over half a penny per page for a few months in a row, at a lengthy relative high, and before that, $0.004754 would have seemed like a good number. Again, it’s typical to see a drop in January, so I wouldn’t panic.
  • The KDP Select Global Fund hit a new high, climbing up to $17.8M for January (from $16.8M in December). It’s also typical to see the Global Fund rise in January. It’s a good sign: Amazon paid $1M more than usual, which shows that Kindle Unlimited is holding strong.

Copyright © 2017

Chris McMullen

Per-Page Rate Back Up for June, 2016 (Kindle Unlimited)

KINDLE UNLIMITED PER-PAGE RATE FOR JUNE, 2016

Kindle Unlimited paid $0.004925 per page read, which is up 5% from May’s rate of $0.004686, almost back to April’s rate of $0.00495663.

The per-page rate has flip-flopped up and down 5% every month since March, but every month has been considerably higher than January’s rate of $0.00411.

The KDP Select Global Fund for June was $15.4M for June, 2016, slightly higher than May’s $15.3M.

To see the payout in other countries, see here:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/07/17/kindle-unlimited-payout-funding-jumps-in-june-2016/

What does all this mean?

  • The per-page rate has held fairly stable for half a year, between $0.0045 and $0.0050 per page.
  • The per-page rate has risen as high as 5% on multiple occasions. So while it occasionally dips as much as 5%, it rises almost as often.
  • There was a tendency for the per-page rate to dip initially, which also happened when Prime borrows were first introduced, and also happened when Kindle Unlimited was first introduced, but both of those programs stabilized after the first handful of months. It appears that Kindle Unlimited v2.0 has finally reached a point of stability.
  • Kindle Unlimited is thriving. Amazon is paying $15M per month in royalties just for pages read (and that’s on top of All-Star bonuses). The KDP Select Global Fund is still on the rise.
  • Since the Global Fund continues to rise, whereas the per-page rate appears to have stabilized, it looks like the Kindle Unlimited program continues to grow.

Write happy, be happy. :-)

Chris McMullen

Kindle Unlimited Pages Read, May, 2016

Image from ShutterStock.

Image from ShutterStock.

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

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