Going Wide: Is Amazon Exclusivity Costing You Readers?

Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you’re starting out: choosing where to sell your book is just as strategic as writing it. And “going wide” — making your e-books and audiobooks available beyond Amazon — isn’t automatically better or worse than Kindle Unlimited. It depends on your genre, your output speed, your marketing bandwidth, and honestly, what you’re willing to manage.This week, LL and Tara get into all of it. LL shares a mistake she literally discovered while preparing for this episode — a series book accidentally left outside KU that quietly tanked her read-through rate. Tara explains why she’s staying in KU for now, even as AI-generated books flood her cozy mystery genre and she keeps a wary eye on the exits. And both hosts break down the numbers: what you actually earn per book in KU versus wide, why the library distribution game-changer matters, and why wide can mean juggling five platforms instead of one.This is not a verdict. It’s the real conversation — the one that factors in your time, your readers, and the truth that KU readers and wide readers are not the same people.Have you gone wide, stayed in KU, or done both? Tell us what worked — drop it in the comments!Find our books: Find Tara’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tara-Lush/author/B00O5M5T5G Find LL’s books: https://llkirchner.com/booksShow notesEpisodes referenced:* Episode 15: Author events* Episode 8: Decoding Kindle Unlimited* Episode 9: KU promos* Episode 6: AudiobooksPlatforms & tools discussed:* Amazon KDP — https://kdp.amazon.com* Kindle Unlimited — https://www.amazon.com/kindle-unlimited* Draft2Digital (aggregator for wide distribution) — https://www.draft2digital.com* Kobo — https://www.kobo.com* Barnes & Noble Press — https://press.barnesandnoble.com* Google Play Books — https://play.google.com/books* Apple Books — https://authors.apple.com* IngramSpark — https://www.ingramspark.com* Libby (library e-books) — https://libbyapp.com* Hoopla (library e-books) — https://www.hoopladigital.com* K-lytics (genre market research) — https://k-lytics.com* CozyMystery.com (cozy mystery aggregator/resource) — https://cozymystery.com* Dreamscape (audiobook distributor, mentioned by LL) — https://www.dreamscapepublishing.comWhat we’re reading:* Tara: Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews* LL: The Secretary by Renée KnightComing next:* Episode 17: Reader magnets ⚑ Thanks for reading YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WRITE THAT! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit youshouldtotallywritethat.substack.com