When Amazon first introduced Kindle Vella – it’s platform for episodic writing – I wasn’t particularly wild about it. In my opinion, there were simply too many restrictions that hindered an author’s ability to be successful on the platform.
Since then, Amazon has mellowed a bit and loosened up some of the restrictions. (For instance, you previously couldn’t publish Vella stories in any other format. Now, however, you can publish completed Vella stories as ebooks, paperbacks, and so on.)
The changes were welcomed by a lot of authors, including yours truly. So welcome, in fact, that now I’ve not only warmed to the notion of Vella, I’ve actually published a story there.
It’s called Glimmerblade, and I’ve actually mentioned it a couple of times recently. For those who fear I’ve abandoned existing projects to do this, let me state that Glimmerblade is a trunk novel. (For those who may not know, a trunk novel is a book that – for some reason – the author never published. Basically, it got tossed into a “trunk” and just sat there. Sometimes forever…)
As with all stories on Kindle Vella, the first three episodes are free. Are that, you have to unlock additional episodes using tokens that you purchase. But fear not; Amazon will give you hundreds of tokens for free to get you started on your Vella reading journey.
If you enjoy an episode you’ve read, you can give it a thumbs up (which is pretty much the equivalent of a “like”). You can also grant stories a “fave.” However, unlike a thumbs-up (which you can give to as many episodes as you like), you can only give one fave per week. Moreover, you must have purchased tokens in order to give a story a fave. (In other words, the free tokens you get from Amazon can’t be used for “fave” purposes.)
Anyway, if you get an opportunity, I hope you’ll check out Glimmerblade. And for those hoping for an update on Smoked (the Kid Sensation spinoff), I’ve been a little under the weather recently but I’m trying to wrap it up asap.
Thanks for your support, and have a great holiday weekend.
How do you obtain a “clean link” in Kindle Vella, since technically, it’s not considered an e-book?
I think that you can just right-click on the cover/image of the Kindle Vella story you’re interested in and then just click “copy link address.” However, with respect to my story, that always seems to open at Episode 2 when I do it. Ergo, I usually copy a link to Episode 1, so as not to confuse prospective readers.