Veronica Forand | Amazon Unlimited Knows When and What You Are Reading, and Are Rewarding Authors For It

Amazon is closer to Big Brother than the federal government. They know you prefer unsalted cashews in bulk, pink t-shirts that celebrate life after breast cancer, music from the ‘70s, like Cat Stevens and Carly Simons, and are on auto buy for all of Bella Andre’s books (and her alter ego Lucy Kevin).

On a good note, they can send you sales announcements for exactly what you want and not waste your email storage with advertisements for auto parts, because only your mechanic cares about the parts and components in your SUV. On the other hand, it can be really creepy to receive an email that says, “Fiona, so glad you enjoyed the My Butt Hurts hemorrhoid cream. We loved the five star review you posted. We can also help with your yeast infection. If we don’t hear from you in four days, we’ll send an automated note to your doctor to make sure you’re receiving treatment.”

For authors, Amazon is one of the best places to sell a book. The more successful you are, the more Amazon promotes your brand to the people most likely to want the information. How do they know who wants the latest J.D. Robb story? They use their customers’ buying history and a computer algorithm so complex that NASA is sending their scientists there to study how to capture information on which Congressmen favor space travel.

Now Amazon have taken their omniscience to another level. They will pay authors in the Kindle Unlimited program royalties based upon pages actually read. My first reaction was a cross eyed kind of look on my face. How do they know how many pages each person reads? And what if someone is skimming the pages, as I often do when reading a twenty page in-depth description of the whaling industry. Does that count or does Kindle know that I skimmed it and the author receives nothing for those twenty pages?

Again, Amazon has a complicated algorithm to figure this all out. And it must work, because I’m seeing results. In the month I’ve watched the program play out on my own books, I’ve become aware of one thing. People are reading my books. Not buying and throwing them in a TBR pile, but actually reading them. And they’re reading them all the way through. How do I know this? Because the page numbers read tend to be a multiple of the number of pages in the books sold.

So at this point, I’m not complaining. My royalties are up, and my ego is happy. Now if they’d only figure out how to autoship a large Toblerone when I’m in need of a chocolate fix… I’ll mention that to the NASA scientists on their next outing to Amazon HQ.

About Veronica Forand

Veronica Forand is an attorney and an award-winning writer of romantic suspense. She's lived in Boston, London, Paris, Geneva, and Washington, DC and currently resides near Philadelphia. An avid traveler, she loves to roam across continents with her husband and kids in pursuit of skiing, scuba diving, and finding the perfect piece of chocolate. Her novel Untrue Colors, a romantic thriller based in the art world, was a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.

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About UNTRUE COLORS

She’s on the run…

Brilliant art appraiser Alex Northrop’s ex used stolen art to fund his nefarious activities. Now he wants her dead. But it isn’t just herself she’s worried about – if he discovers who she really is, he’ll kill her family.

Professor Henry Chilton is shocked to find a beautiful stranger passed out in his bed, and even more so when she reveals a priceless painting is a forgery – the painting he’d planned to use to fund a woman’s shelter. She’s mysterious and frightened, and he is determined to discover why.

Alex’s knowledge of art is undeniable—just as Henry’s attraction to her is irresistible. But in order to help him recover the real painting, Alex isn’t just risking exposure…she’s risking her life.