๐ฅ
9h โข ๐ Updates
๐จ BIG Amazon KDP Update
๐ง๐Amazon just dropped some BIG news for self-published authors today!
๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ+, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป!
This is a pretty significant change, especially for authors who have already turned their books into audiobooks or are considering doing so.
๐ฅ Here's What's Changing:๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ+
Amazon is expanding its subscription program beyond eBooks. Subscribers can now read AND listen to eligible books at no additional cost.
๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ+ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
Previously, Kindle Unlimited royalties were based on pages read. Now, eligible audiobook listening activity will also earn royalties based on pages listened to. Amazon says it's adding additional money to the KDP Select Global Fund to support audiobook listening.
๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ
If you have an audiobook created with Amazon's Virtual Voice and your eBook is enrolled in KDP Select, your audiobook is automatically included in Kindle+.
If you've created audiobooks through ACX, you may also be eligible to enroll them.
However, ACX audiobooks must meet certain requirements:
Exclusive distribution through Audible
Read & Listen (formerly Whispersync for Voice) enabled
Pay for Production payment model (Royalty Share titles aren't eligible yet)
๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
You'll now be able to see pages read and pages listened to separately in your KDP reports, making it easier to track how customers are consuming your books.
๐ก My Thoughts as a Self-Published Author, I think this could be a BIG opportunity for authors, particularly those publishing nonfiction. Audiobooks have been a significant part of my publishing business, and I've seen firsthand how having multiple formats can create additional income streams from the same book.
However, ๐'๐บ ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ.
More listeners could mean more exposure and potentially more revenue, but we still need to see how the new royalty structure performs in practice.
And remember, just because you ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ enroll an audiobook doesn't automatically mean it's the most profitable decision for your business.
๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ? If you already have audiobooks published through ACX, review your eligibility and understand how Kindle+ royalties work before making changes. For now, audiobook listening through Kindle+ is available to subscribers in the United States, with additional marketplaces planned.
๐ Let's Discuss!
๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด?
I'm curious how many of you plan to take advantage of this new opportunity!
๐ Source: Official Amazon KDP announcement โ October 21, 2026.
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๐จ BIG Amazon KDP Update
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