Amazon is launching the Kindle Vella, giving users serialised stories in a mobile-first interactive reading experience.
Since its hinted release, people have been excited about the new Kindle Vella, Amazon’s latest update to the Kindle family since the Amazon Kindle Oasis (2019 model).
Read on to find out what the Kindle Vella is and where you can access it.
How can I access Kindle Vella?
Despite what the name might suggest, you can’t access Kindle Vella on Amazon’s Kindle e-readers, instead, you’ll have to go to the Amazon website or download the Kindle app, which is currently only available on iOS.
You will also need to make sure you’re US-bound, as currently the only way to be a reader or writer on the platform is if you live in the United States.
How does Kindle Vella work?
Kindle Vella is a platform for both readers and authors. It gives authors the chance to publish their stories and earn a small commission, and it gives readers the ability to search for stories through the broad tagging system.
Stories on Kindle Vella are between 600 to 5,000 words, with the first three ‘episodes’ of a story being free to access by the readers. If you want to keep reading, you will have to invest in Tokens, which are used to purchase and unlock subsequent episodes in a story.
Tokens can be purchased both on the Amazon US website, or in the Kindle iOS app. They can be bought in bundles ranging from $2 for 200 to $15 for 1,700 tokens.
The bigger bundles should give you about 34 episodes, though as a general rule of thumb, the more words you want to read, the more money you’ll have to spend.
The authors will receive 50% of the revenue, with bonuses based on engagement, which is determined using the platform’s social media-style features.
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The social media elements include the ability to follow a Kindle Vella story, leave a Thumbs Up on any episodes and Share stories through Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels to help promote a story.
Readers who purchase Tokens will also be able to grant a Fave to the story they enjoyed most that week. Stories that receive the most Faves will be featured in the Kindle Vella store to help promote the platforms most popular stories.
Amazon claims that there are thousands of stories available on the platform right now, with more stories and episodes being added every day, and with the detailed tagging system it seems that this platform should have something for everyone.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
