I’ve got some news—Lion of Zarall is going wide.

This has been a long time coming, and trust me, it hasn’t been a quick or easy decision. There are good reasons for authors to stay in Kindle Unlimited (KU), and there are also very good reasons to get the hell out and spread your book across more platforms like Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and others. But before I get into why I’ve made the move, it might help to explain what Kindle Unlimited actually is—and what it means for authors like me.

When an author enrolls their ebook into Kindle Unlimited, they’re actually signing up for Amazon’s Kindle Select program. It sounds harmless, even helpful, and in some ways it is. Amazon makes your book free for KU subscribers and pays you per page read. That can be great—especially for authors who have huge backlists, fast-turnaround series, or write in KU-friendly genres (romance, I’m looking at you).

But here’s the catch: exclusivity.

The moment I enrolled Lion of Zarall into KU, I was no longer allowed to sell or give away the ebook anywhere else. Not on Kobo, not on Google Play, not even on my own website. That means a lot of people who prefer not to shop on Amazon were missing out.

I couldn’t do direct downloads. I couldn’t even give away a free copy for a review. Before publication, I was able to run Goodreads and StoryGraph giveaways—and they were brilliant! Those giveaways brought me some of my best readers, who later on became my launch team members.

But once the book was locked into KU… Things I could do to reach out to a bigger audience were severely restricted.

Amazon doesn’t just want to be your biggest retailer. It wants to be your only one.

So you’re probably wondering—why did I sign up at all?

Honest answer? Laziness.

At the time, I didn’t want to deal with marketing across platforms. It was just easier to have one dashboard to monitor. Also, peer pressure. All the authors I knew were all in KU and no one was even considering going wide.

Lastly, I kinda had hope. Even though the payout per book is lower compared to actual sales, the volume sometimes makes up for it. Amazon’s algorithms occasionally bless you with a little magic, and your book starts popping up everywhere. For some, it works. For me, not so much.

I wasn’t seeing the reads. I was seeing some page reads, but not even. I even thought maybe being in KU could help get more Amazon reviews, but that wasn’t happening either. And I was feeling the limitations.

And more importantly, I started thinking about all the readers who aren’t in KU. People who don’t use Kindle. People who prefer to read on Kobo or Apple Books or who like to shop outside Amazon entirely. It is true that there is a migration out of Amazon. And I realised—I’m missing those readers. I’m locking my story away from a whole group of people who might love it.

So here’s the plan:

Starting May 31st, Lion of Zarall will be available on a wider range of platforms—Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and more. I’m giving this a proper shot, for at least a year. And I’ll be celebrating the move with some big giveaways (finally!)—so keep an eye on this blog and my newsletter for that.

Now don’t worry—this doesn’t mean LoZ is disappearing from Amazon. It’ll still be available there like any other ebook. The only difference is, Kindle Unlimited readers will no longer be able to borrow it for free. If you’re a Kindle user who prefers to purchase books, it’ll still be right there for you.

And if you’re a KU subscriber wondering about the sequel—Beast of Zarall will be in KU for its first three months after release, then it too will go wide.

—

Whether you’re reading on Kindle, Kobo, your phone, or your fridge (I don’t judge), I want my books to reach you. This is just the next step in making that happen.