How do authors get paid for Kobo Plus?
Why do Kobo Plus reads get paid per minute instead of by pages read, for example?
We have updated our eBook and audiobook subscription service to be more fair and balanced for authors across the board. Now, authors will be paid for every minute read or listened, including re-reads, and even if a reader reads less than 10% of the book.
How does the free trial for Kobo Plus work?
Gaining new audiences for our self-published authors is a key goal for us, and offering free trials of our Kobo Plus subscription is a great way to showcase our offering, including your books and audiobooks, to new and existing booklovers. We liken this to offering a first in series free, or other types of promotions for your titles, and these terms are the same for both traditional publishers and self-published authors. Our goal is to continue building excitement for the service in order to gain reading momentum for your books, while concurrently gaining new audiences.
We truly believe that this exposure will benefit you, however it is always your choice, and if you are uncomfortable with the free trial period, we have made it easy for you to opt out of whichever territory you choose.
Will Kobo Plus affect my a la carte sales?
For authors with books opted into Kobo Plus, their a la carte sales have remained steady (and for some, have increased); what’s more Kobo Plus reads have generated additional income on top of those strong a la carte sales. We see Kobo Plus reads complementing a la carte sales, not replacing them.
The second trend we have noticed is that Kobo Plus tends to give backlist titles a boost. When we look at sales of books published before 2016, we see a significant increase in income generated by Kobo Plus reads for books opted into the catalogue.
We will be closely watching sales patterns, and are confident that we will see a similar increase in overall sales.
What if I want to opt out of Kobo Plus?
We want you to feel good about what you create and how you are compensated. These are your books and your business, and it’s important that you have autonomy over how you sell your intellectual property. If subscription models aren’t for you, it is easy to opt out of Kobo Plus, or out of specific territories in which Kobo Plus operates. Opting out will in no way impede readers from buying your books a la carte. The idea behind our eBook and audiobook subscription is to reach new audiences, not to take away from your existing readership--in the end, it is whatever you choose and think is best for your content.
We decided to offer this option based on customer feedback asking for an all-you-can-read eBook service; this is in line with much of today’s digital content consumption, which gravitates toward subscription models. Our experience in other markets shows we are able to attract new readers to digital reading who had never bought eBooks before, which is the case for Kobo Plus subscribers in the Netherlands. We’re aiming to grow the total earnings for authors and publishers, and our data shows that Kobo Plus can help achieve this goal.