This blog isn’t for the people that buy a $5 romance eBook once a month. Carry on. Keep doing you. We love you. I’m also not talking about paperbacks or audio. This discussion is about eBooks only.
I’m going to talk to the people that voraciously read a book or two a day and want to read as much as they can for as little money as possible, including enjoying all books by big name authors and as many widely available authors as possible. This is for the people that mostly read in KU but get frustrated when a book they want to read isn’t there.
You can totally read big release books if they’re available through a mainstream distribution channel without breaking the bank or supporting sketchy hackers. You can do all of it for the same price as 4 lattes a month.
Step One: Get your Kindle Unlimited subscription for $12. Sure, I’m moving my romance wide over the next few months, but Kindle Unlimited is still a great deal. (My pen name erotica is there, so yes…I totes still love KU since I make my Subaru payment and pay for my kid’s piano lessons with it each month.) With KU, you can get your Haunting Adeline and your Meghan Quinn. You also support a ton of indie authors. You can read all you want for $12 a month.
But…some authors aren’t in KU. Many big authors aren’t there. How can you read them for cheap as voraciously as you read your KU authors?
Step Two: Get Kobo Plus. It’s now available in North America and it comes with a free 30-day trial. (I highly suggest the trial to make sure it’s a good fit.) Guess what? You can read wide authors (authors not in Kindle Unlimited) if they’ve chosen to be part of Kobo Plus. Click here for details.
Cost: $8 a month
For example, here’s a link to my book Loved in Las Vegas on Kobo Plus.
Don’t like my work?
Just kidding. That’s cool. There are plenty of options.
If you like Skye MacKinnon’s alien romance, you can get it on Kobo Plus. Like Rebecca Hefner’s vampire paranormal romance? It’s there. Some of Elle Kennedy’s books are there. Nana Malone has books there. Oh, and they have K Webster, Sam Crescent, Kristin Ashley, Sawyer Bennett, Kennedy Fox, and a ton of romance you won’t find on Kindle Unlimited because, well, they’re not on Kindle Unlimited. If that’s not enough…Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers series (commonly known as “The Beard” series) is in Kobo Plus as of the time I write this. You heard me. No hold time at your library or lamenting that your library doesn’t have the tax base to buy steamy romance necessary.
Let’s talk about that a second. A lot of libraries won’t buy the really steamy stuff for their collection unless it’s massively popular. If there are books you like that aren’t in KU or in your library collection, check Kobo to see if it’s in Kobo Plus.
Example: Lauren Biel’s Captured was banned in eBook format from Amazon for being too…extra. She took it wide and put it in Kobo Plus. It’s there. You may be able to find it in some library apps, but a lot of libraries stay away from content that pushes the envelope.
Note: If you read on any phone, iPad, or android tablet that’s not a Kindle, you can easily download the free Kobo app. If you read on a Kindle…Amazon can be a little proprietary about accessing the Kobo app on their device. Make sure you can get to it through your preferred device.
Step Three: For authors that are wide (not in KU) and have opted NOT to have their books in Kobo Plus, there’s Libby AND Hoopla if your local library has them. Cost: Free. This is a good choice to read authors like Tessa Bailey. She’s wide, but her books aren’t in Kobo Plus. I just read a couple of her books on Hoopla. I just finished Verity by Colleen Hoover on my local library’s Libby app. (I’m lucky enough to have a library that has both Hoopla and Libby. Your library may have both too.)
Why do I add this after Kobo Plus? Well, some people have library systems that don’t have a lot of money. They may only purchase big names for their Libby app or cap off Hoopla borrows for books to a certain number for each book. Hold times for some popular books can be insane. If you want to read an author not in KU, Libby is a good choice…if your library has the budget. Kobo Plus can fill in the gap for budget restraints and hold times.
Click here to see my blog on how to request a title from your Libby app if your library has not purchased it yet.
Here’s where it gets fun:
Long hold time in Libby for the new Colleen Hoover? First, check Hoopla if your library has it there. Wide authors mostly distribute to Hoopla, but each library has a checkout limit for books. Put the hold on at Libby, check Hoopla periodically during the hold time, and head to KU or Kobo Plus to read something while you wait. If the book is on Kobo Plus…score! And I know waiting for Libby holds sucks.
Wait, Tori…I’m looking in Libby and can’t find that Lucy Score I want to read. I see it in my library system in paperback but not eBook! She’s not even there to request a purchase.
Well, Lucy Score’s eBooks are in KU as of the time I write this, so it’s not available for library purchase in eBook format. See step one and read it in KU.
Wait, there’s a wide indie author I want to read, my library won’t purchase it for Libby, and we don’t have Hoopla. Answer: Check Kobo Plus because an indie is probably there if they’re wide.
You dig?
You’re welcome.
And happy reading!
Author Tori Ross (The Smutty Book Lady) 