The Real Reason Kindle Vella Failed—And It’s Not About Serialized Fiction

Amazon recently announced they’re shutting down Kindle Vella in February 2025 because it “didn’t catch on as we hoped.” No one was surprised. Do you remember the last time someone you know talked about Vella? Yeah, me neither.

There are many (many!) reasons Kindle Vella has low adoption. Vella’s token-based payment system has been hard to grasp, leading to low payouts for authors who only receive a portion of the payment (based on the number of tokens readers purchase). The lack of transparency around the exact payout calculation and a more niche, token-driven system means that authors struggle to predict or maximize their earnings. Amazon hasn’t actively promoted Vella and restricted its availability to the U.S., ignoring half the market 🤯. And the clunky user interface hasn’t helped :/

Was the serialized fiction format partly responsible for Kindle Vella's struggles?

Yes and no.

Look, serialized fiction has always been popular, and increasingly so in romance. Before Charles Dickens was penning novels in weekly installments, the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China had affordable woodblock-printed novels that allowed stories to be circulated among the common people in chapters. These spread to Japan as illustrated adult stories, then went on to take Europe by storm due to the rise of literacy and affordable printing. Charles Dickens famously serialized novels like The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations, releasing chapters weekly or monthly that readers eagerly discussed in cafes and drawing rooms. Other authors like Alexandre Dumas followed, releasing The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo in serialized form.

Some of the most well-known stories of the 20th century, including F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, appeared as serials before being published in book form.

Today, serialization gives writers more flexibility in responding to reader feedback in real-time and allows character development, cliffhangers, and elaborate world-building that can be unpacked over time. Used properly, serialization is great for engagement, bringing readers back week after week and building momentum for a story’s fanbase.

However, Vella and most other romance platforms are making two critical mistakes that will limit long-term growth and keep them locked in niche markets.

First, they’re artificially separating short stories, novellas, and full-length books—despite the fact that the same readers are consuming all formats, and the same authors are writing across them.

Second, they’re creating an unnecessary divide between romance and spicier stories, even though the same readers enjoy both, and the same authors often write across these genres.

This is exactly why Vella authors are flooding Theo Reads and why we’re finding incredible early traction even before public launch.

• We allow authors to publish stories of all lengths - standalone short stories, serialized stories, novellas, and full-length books and book series.

• We make stories across all spice levels available to readers, from innocent romance to more explicit, spicier stories. This is notable because 41% of readers want explicit stories (Source: Theo’s July ‘24 proprietary survey is the most comprehensive survey that’s ever been conducted in romance; in-depth findings are here)

• Theo is easy to use, for both authors to write and publish stories and for readers to discover and read them.

• The pricing model is straightforward: readers can enjoy some stories for free, while others are available through a pay-as-you-go option or a subscription plan.

• Theo offers a classy, elegant design that creates a comfortable, discreet space for readers to share and enjoy stories without feeling embarrassed. Our book covers aren’t cheesy (sorry, Fabio!) and encourage sharing. And readers can filter out stories based on content warnings, ensuring a safe and personalized reading experience.

Authors who join Theo Reads before our public launch are called "Founding Authors" and receive an exclusive royalty rate for non-exclusive stories. This is our way of incentivizing you to bring your backlist from other platforms with you:

• 50% of the list price in year 1

• 40% in year 2

• 35% thereafter

If you're an author seeking a platform that values you, is transparent about terms, and celebrates diversity in all its forms, I'd love to talk. Write to me at [email protected] or you can get on my calendar.

Come on over— the water’s warm! 😊