The headline isn’t exactly correct, but it is the implication of the new book subscription services being offered. The three biggest are Amazon Unlimited, Scribd, and Oyster.
If you are unfamiliar with them, now is the time to do a little digging. In fact, after you’ve read this post, pick one and sign up for the 30 day trial and see for yourself.
Each offers the reader unlimited reading access to their catalog for a monthly price of around $10. You can read as many books as you want and pay no more than the monthly fee. So if you are a voracious reader you win! If you only read one book per month or less, then you might as well just buy the book. Some pundits are calling it the “Netflix of Books.” But like the streaming media offerings (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime) each service has something the others do not. No one place has all the books all the time. Let’s look at each in turn.
Scribd
This service hit the news this week because they just signed an exclusive arrangement with Harlequin to make 15,000 romance titles available to their readers. This is significant because romance readers are generally considered the most voracious of all.
Scribd also has an arrangement with HarperCollins for their entire catalog which includes Zondervan and Thomas Nelson books. Harper also licensing select content with other services, but Scribd has access to their whole catalog. And since HarperCollins just bought Harlequin…you see the connection.
Scribd isn’t only limited to Harper titles. They have also recently added 10,000 titles from Simon & Schuster (which includes Howard Books). Their fee is $9 a month. So you can save a buck versus the other two services!
An interesting difference with Scribd is they also give access to thousands of documents, which include court cases, scientific studies, and even self-published books.
You are limited to reading the books on the various Sribd apps or on the web. You cannot send your books to your dedicated ereader (like a Kindle or Kobo device).
Authors get paid via a licensing arrangement they have made with the various publishers. Our agency’s clients have seen some income credited to their account. But the service is still newish so any substantial volume has yet to appear.
Try Scribd here (www.scribd.com)
Oyster
I tried out Oyster Books on my iPad to see what the hullabaloo was about. Kept the service beyond the initial trial period to run it through its paces.
They have a nice selection of books. Again, not an exhaustive offering, therefore many bestsellers do not appear. But there is still plenty to read with over a half a million books to choose from. I dipped into old classics and even recent bestsellers like the biography of Steve Jobs. It was easy to browse and add books to a potential reading library.
But after a while the virtual shelf simply reflected my own bookshelves which is already filled with hundreds of “some day” books and I could not justify continuing.
However, it is a beautifully designed app both on the iPad, the iPhone, and on the web (and Android). I could change fonts, backgrounds, etc. As with Scribd, you cannot send your books to your dedicated ereader (like a Kindle or Kobo device), you must use the free reading Apps.
In many reviews Oyster is the #1 choice. But those who read romance may shift to Scribd to get access to the entire Harlequin catalog.
Try Oyster Books here (www.oysterbooks.com)
Amazon Unlimited
Not to be left out Amazon entered the fray with a lot of noise. They have over 600,000 books but none of the Big Five (Harper, PenguinRandom, Simon & Schuster, etc) are participating. They do have exclusives with the two biggest YA series published by Scholastic (Hunger Games and Harry Potter). The balance of their offerings are those authors who have published using the KDP Select (Kindle Direct Publishing) program.
There is some great content available because all the Amazon publishing imprints (like 47 North) are part of the service.
They also be downloaded into your Kindle dedicated e-reader device.
Authors are paid once a reader has read 10% of the book. And they are paid a full royalty as if the reader has purchased the book.
This one is still somewhat new so the jury is out. It will be interesting if any of the major publishers license their books to this service.
Try Kindle Unlimited here (Amazon Kindle Unlimted)
A Comparison
For tickles and grins I searched each of these subscription services to see which ones had selected bestselling books (a check mark shows if the service has the book available). This is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, Christian and general market titles. Who publishes the book makes a huge difference because if that company has yet to participate none of their titles will show up. It was also interesting to note that when some of the titles are searched and not found, the service provided alternative books in that same genre!
| Title |
Scribd |
Oyster |
Amazon Unlimited |
| Redeeming Love – Rivers | |||
| Jesus Calling – Young |
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| Wool – Hugh Howey |
√ |
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| Divergent – Roth | |||
| The Shunning – Bev Lewis |
√ |
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| Crazy Love – Frances Chan | |||
| Blind Side – Michael Lewis |
√ |
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| Seven Habits of Highly Effective People – Covey |
√ |
√ |
√ |
Your Turn
Have you used any of these three services?
What advantages or disadvantages do you see to a service like this?
Other than the subscription fee, how is this any different from your local library?
Which (if any) service do you think will eventually win out? It’s tough to bet against Amazon here, right?
I’m trying out Kindle Unlimited. As a garden-variety “voracious reader,” I figured I’d get my money’s worth, and that’s proven true. But I still purchase some books that aren’t available on Unlimited (just shelled out for Lisa Wingate’s The Story Keeper, for example).
I notice that most of the books on my current Unlimited list are narrow-focus nonfiction books on various aspects of writing, publishing, marketing, health, and devotionals. Not much fiction on the list, because the novels/authors I want to read haven’t been available on Unlimited. Since I usually buy nonfiction for the topic, not the author’s name or the book’s reputation, I seem to find more nonfiction choices available on Unlimited.
When I choose Unlimited books, I keep a running tab of what they would have cost if I’d purchased them individually ($2.99, $5.99, etc.). So far I’ve easily gotten my money’s worth with the Unlimited fee compared to regular price. OTOH, would I be more selective in my choices if I had to pay for them individually? Probably. Even at two dollars here and three dollars there, when you read as much as I do, it adds up.
Upshot: If you buy a lot of books, and aren’t too picky whether it’s a “name” author or bestseller, Unlimited can be a good deal. However, I still buy other books not available on Unlimited. I haven’t tried Scribd or Oyster, so I can’t comment on those.
Hope my opinion is useful to someone.
Signed up for Scribed yesterday. There is currently a free promo offer on the Dear Author blog, which will give me a nice, long trial period. The blog also did a thorough comparison of the three programs, but I really like the way you searched specific titles. thanks!
Robin,
That is a great tip! The Dear Author blog is offering a limited time coupon for a three month free trial of Scribd. Here is a link for you: http://bit.ly/1nXbjZl
Thanks for the link. I just signed up and will now be able to compare Scribd to Unlimited.
First potential problem: I have to read Scribd on something other than my beloved Kindle (I have a Paperwhite, not a Fire.) However, initial selection of books looks impressive.
Another informative post that I will flag for when I get a tablet. Someday. Thank you, Steve, and to everyone commenting.
I adore our local library and will continue to give them my family’s business now more than ever because of budget cuts in our city. And my two boys LOVE going to the library and picking out a handful of books. I am one of “those people” who will cling to the old school method of printing on paper as long as the industry lets me 🙂
Interesting post, Steve! Thanks for explaining what each service offers, including the publishing houses each one carries. Interesting that certain houses went with specific services rather than with all three.
I haven’t jumped on this bandwagon yet. I have so many books on my physical and virtual TBR pile that I can’t justify spending the money right now. 🙂
I’ve been trying out the Kindle Unlimited service which has been great for a “scanner” like me, at least for nonfiction books. RV books? Check. NaNoWriMo? Check. Mixed media? Check. I may cancel, though, because the novels offered aren’t appealing to me, at least so far. After reading about Scribd on this post, I’ve signed up for the 3-month free trial. At first glance, the fiction choices are awesome! My problem, though, is I can’t download the Scribd app to my iPad – the app needs IOS6 or higher but my iPad is elderly and will only update to IOS5.2, no matter what I try in the way of workarounds. According to the FAQs on the Scribd site, I should be able to access books online on the iPad and download them for later use, without using the app. We shall see …
Steve, a very well researched and brilliantly presented article, thanks! Looking down the road I can see “physical” books being increasingly relegated to “collector items”. Maybe even, gasp, “decorator pieces”.
In time, as older people taper off, this phenomena will accelerate. Younger people tend to be more “with it” and have enthusiastically embraced electronic media. Another large factor working against “actual” books is the internet. Reference books are particularly hard hit here. There is no longer a need to buy a book (or go to the library) to learn about, or how to do, something. (Watch a video on YouTube instead.)
This revolution occured in the art (paintings, etchings, mosaics, ect.) world long ago. At one time almost every home bought and displayed original works of art. Modern (last century or two) photography and printing has largely obviated the need for original paintings. It has not killed it entirely but greatly diminished it as a widely common practice. Exceptionally fervent
devotees still purchase and own original works but are definately the exception, no longer the rule.
I believe physical books are on the same long, slow road. Fortunately we can see it coming and ponder ways to accept and adapt to this evolution. At the end of the day gifted writing and great story will not be changing, all of this to-do only amounts to a DIFFERENTdelivery system. So really, for writers, agents and readers, its really not that big of a deal. Conversely, for the printers of physical books some profound adjustments may be necessary.
Has anyone received their physically printed and mailed version of the Sears, Roebuck & Co, catalog lately? That WAS a widely popular tradition that has quietly, like an old soldier, just faded away.
1 Corinthians 12:6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
God Bless!
I love holding books in my hand. I do not peruse the local library as it is not a very good one. I must drive to another city to get better service. Those who oversee my local library decided to purge the library of most books, movies, etc. They even rid the library of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. For quite some time, I have been collecting books and building my own library. I love reading books over and over and adding new books and authors to my own library shelves. I also have ebooks that I read. I recently joined Amazon Unlimited. I feel this will give me a chance to try out books that I am curious about and if I like them, I will definitely either buy a print or ebook version of the book. I was hesitant at first about paying for this kind of service and have decided that when I no longer feel the service is worth it, I will cancel my subscription.
Steve, thank you for the information. I really see this as the way things are going and am In agreement with M. Rochellino that our beloved hardbacks and paperbacks are on the way out. The comparison of what books can be found was interesting–even eye-opening. What does this mean for authors? That seems scary.
After you subscribe, do you get to keep the ebooks you download? or is it like a library book that becomes unavailable within a certain time frame?
I understand they may not have a certain book available because the publisher hasn’t released it, but if they offer a book, is it always available? or might you have to get in line, like for some popular library books, and wait your turn to read it?
Fascinating topic! Can’t wait to learn more about it.
Christine,
As I understand it… As long as you are a member/subscriber your “library” is accessible. But if you stop paying your account is not longer accessible and the books “go away.”
In addition, if the service no longer has the right to a particular title your access will go away.
Think of it like the Netflix of Books. If the movie is there you can watch it anytime. If it isn’t you can’t.
Thank you! Good to know.