In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many authors had their stories published in periodicals, where chapters or installments would appear on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Authors were often paid by the installment, and together with the periodicals, they would respond to audience reaction and adjust course if necessary.

Today, sites like Wattpad allow writers to digitally publish their serialized fiction in “episodes” or installments, while readers eagerly wait to find out what happens next. Now, Kindle has entered the game with its own platform for serialized fiction that fills gaps in its market for both readers and authors.

What Is Kindle Vella?

In April 2021, Amazon announced the launch of a new storytelling platform for KDP called Kindle Vella. It allows authors to self-publish serialized stories by episode, much like Wattpad.

Although stories are not yet available to readers, authors can already upload their serial installments so they’re ready for readers to dig into immediately. Kindle is expected to make the platform available to readers in the coming months.

Readers will be able to unlock the first three episodes in a series for free, but they’ll need to pay for tokens to unlock subsequent installments. The number of required tokens will be based on an episode’s word count.

For example, according to KDP, a 638-word story requires 6 tokens. And although pricing is not yet set in stone, KDP has plans to make several bundle options available, allowing readers to buy 200 tokens for $1.99, 525 for $4.99, and so on.

Kindle Vella is currently available to English submissions from U.S.-based authors and will open to U.S. readers later this year, although other countries are expected to quickly follow. Readers will find your stories in the Kindle Vella store on Amazon, or in the Kindle app on iOS.

Kindle Vella for Authors

If you’re an author interested in publishing serials on Kindle Vella, you’ll be happy to know that the process is pretty straightforward.

Publishing Your Series

You can create new stories or episodes directly from your KDP dashboard, where you can find your Kindle Vella Library. From there, you can click on Create new episode.

Here’s the information you’ll need to provide for each episode:

your name
your story’s title
a story description
an image (think of this as the “cover” or logo for your series)
two categories (which function the same as traditional Kindle categories)
up to seven tags that describe your story (similar to Amazon keywords)

The image below shows what readers will see when they first come across your story:

Once you’ve provided all those details, you can create and publish your episode by uploading it as a .doc or .docx document, or by typing it directly into Kindle Vella’s online editor. Stories can range from 500–6,000 words. You can also choose your desired release date.

Can You Publish Your Book on Kindle Vella?

Kindle Vella does not require exclusivity, which means you can publish your stories that are also available on other platforms.

However, there are some key restrictions. You cannot publish stories that are available elsewhere for free, such as on a blog or Tumblr. You also cannot publish episodes that have already been published as a book or long-form content, in case you were thinking of breaking down a previously published book into episodes and then releasing them on Vella.

This restriction applies even if you unpublish the book. On the other hand, if you wish to publish a completed Kindle Vella story or group of episodes as a book or other long-form format, the last episode must have been available to readers in the Kindle Vella store for at least 30 days.

Royalties

Authors will earn 50% of what readers pay to unlock episodes. As previously noted, pricing is still not definite, and since Kindle Vella plans to sell tokens through in-app purchase systems, OS providers (Apple and Android) will take a fee, which means authors could actually end up earning around 35% of what readers originally paid.

Vella for Readers

Kindle Vella will allow readers to interact with your stories by “liking” or “favoriting” them. Readers can also follow stories to get updates when you publish new installments.

Readers can give episodes they like a thumbs up, and choose one “Fave” per week. The most Faved stories will be featured in the Kindle Vella store. Note, however, that there is no commenting function.

Another cool feature is the Author’s Note, which you can add at the end of an episode to share your additional thoughts, insights, or the expected release date of your next episode.

Should You Publish on Kindle Vella?

So now that you know the basics of how Kindle Vella will work once it’s available to readers, you may be wondering if this platform is for you.

Kindle Vella functions very similarly to sites like Wattpad and Radish, whose primary audiences are teens and young adults. These readers typically read on their phones as opposed to a Kindle device, and prefer reading in installments. And according to TechCrunch, the most popular genres on Radish are romance, paranormal/sci-fi, LGBTQ, YA, horror, mystery, and thriller.

So if your target audience and genre are similar to those of Wattpad and Radish, Vella might open the door to untapped opportunities. Of course, you’ll also need to consider whether serial or episodic writing fits your style. To be successful, you’ll need to publish new episodes often—at least weekly is ideal, since the target demographic likes to binge-read and isn’t big on waiting. You don’t want to lose their interest!

And finally, keep in mind that you have three episodes to hook readers before they decide whether or not to pay for more episodes, which means it’s probably not the right platform for a slow-burning story.

If you’re thinking about writing for Vella and are new to writing serialized stories, check out 6 engaging ways to start a story that will captivate readers.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

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Kaelyn Barron

As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.

6 Comments

Elizabeth Mueller on October 3, 2022 at 10:22 pm

Many a time the crowning moment is fleeting! Do you have a formula that will keep the crown on for a longer length of time?
Bethany on October 8, 2021 at 3:54 am

“You also cannot publish episodes that have already been published as a book or long-form content”

If I previously published a free blog on my website, and later removed that blog from my website, does this mean that copy cannot be repurposed into episodes and published on Kindle Vella?
- Kaelyn Barron on October 9, 2021 at 6:45 pm
  
  Hi Bethany, I think as long as it’s been removed it’s fine!
  - Bethany on October 10, 2021 at 12:46 am
    
    Thank you!
Christine Michelle on July 10, 2021 at 12:40 pm

Correction: You can publish the long-form (full book version) of your Kindle Vella story and still keep it in Vella. According to Amazon, the requirement to do so is that your last episode in Vella needs to have been released 30 days prior to releasing the long-form version of the story.
- Kaelyn Barron on July 10, 2021 at 8:12 pm
  
  Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Christine! I’ve updated the post.