Ok, here's the Vella post! Happy to elaborate on anything or speak more to my own experience if y'all would like, just send me a message :)
What is Vella?
Vella is Amazon's attempt to get in on the "web serial" thing (think Radish, Royal Road, Wattpad). At the moment it's in beta, so there's still no app and it's available only to Amazon users in the US via the iOS Kindle App or web browser.
How does it work?
Writers upload stories one episode at a time, which readers can unlock with tokens (100 words = 1 token = $0.01US - authors get 50% of token income). Readers can leave thumbs up, faves, follows, & reviews on stories; there's a "top faves" list in lieu of a bestsellers list. They recently launched a monthly bonus program for writers, based on some truly mysterious calculations - you can find some crowdsourced data here if you'd like to try to try and make sense of it!
What kinds of stories are successful?
9 of the top 10 faved as I write this are tagged "romance" or "erotica." The most successful genres (in terms of faves) are: romance, fantasy, paranormal, action & adventure, and sci-fi. The least successful are: children's stories (with 0 stories), non-fiction, historical fiction, LGBT fiction (my genre :|) & dystopian.
Is it worth it for writers?
Obligatory disclaimer: Amazon and its role in publishing are, of course, broadly bad for writers (& everyone else)... but if we're going to look at Vella relative to other serialization and self-publishing options, though, it's kind of a mixed bag. The token payout is pretty bad, but the bonuses are relatively generous. There aren't a lot of readers on the platform, meaning it's easy to secure a spot on the top-faves list and equally easy to get 0 reads, ever. There are weird glitches and unclear policies, and customer support is ill-equipped to solve or answer questions about them.
Personally? I just cross-posted the serial I was already writing for Patreon with no expectations and ended up making hundreds of dollars without putting in much extra work, so it feels very worth it to me. But I got in early & I got lucky! If you're considering it - I'd make sure to research their policies, others' experiences, and the other options available to you before committing. And feel free to message me with any questions!
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Follow @selfpublished for more resources on self-publishing 😇
