Is this… the end?

Amazon announced this week that it’s pulling the plug on Kindle Vella, effectively killing my ongoing series THE SUBTERKNIGHTS. The entire Vella community is in disarray, as thousands of writers are now in panic as to what to do with their work. I also have no idea what to do next.

Sure, there are a bunch of other serialized fiction sites like Wattpad, Ream, Inkitt, and the rest, but they are just too insular. (When was the last time you overhead someone at the grocery store saying, “Have you read the new Inkitt?”) And I don’t have the numbers to support a Patreon, a Kickstarter, or even a newsletter. The hard truth is, if you want to sell a book, Amazon is still the only game in town.

Of course I had a plan for an ebook version of THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, but mine was different. My plan was to publish it all as a series of novellas, so they could be read like episodes of a weekly TV show or issues of a monthly comic book. A true “ongoing,” as they say in the comic book biz.

But I can’t do it alone. I’ll need an artist as collaborator, not just for the ebook covers, but also for a consistent logo, and for additional artwork for promos and a SUBTERKNIGHTS website. And because I’m not Mr. Computer Whiz, I’ll likely also need a webmaster for this hypothetical website. As I see it, this site could include character profiles, world-building background, and “previously on” notes for readers so they can stay caught up between novellas. Check out author M.D. Cooper’s “Aeon 14” website for the type of thing I’m thinking of.

Therefore, future production of THE SUBTERKNIGHTS will have to become a team effort, rather than me doing everything myself. But… BUT… Amazon has bloodily beheaded the infant Vella in its crib before it could grow an audience. That means I’ve lost all momentum in this project and I’ve fallen all the way back down to zero – zero sales, zero readers, zero everything. What artist and what tech guy would ever want to collaborate with an author in this state?

This circles right back around to having no idea what to do next.

The only silver lining to any of this is the old “art imitates life” thing. In the fictional world of THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, our hero Simon must stand strong against the hopelessness of living under the thumb of an oppressive mega-corporation. Also, one of my goals for THE SUBTERKNIGHTS is to evoke a ‘90s Friday night sci-fi TV show. I suppose getting abruptly cancelled by an uncaring studio is authentic to that experience.

Look at me rambling. If anyone out there is interested in being a cover artist, character designer, and/or webmaster for THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, contact me and we can have a conversation. The money will be crap, but you can live out your sci-fi/fantasy/pulp novel/B-movie/’90s TV/Image Comics dreams.

Finally, here’s the link to THE SUBTERKNIGHTS. You have until February to buy and use tokens to read the story so far. You also have until then to check out all the other Vella authors and discover a whole world of indie authors, before it’s all gone forever:

http://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09TRYXTLF

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