Thanks to my buddy, Mandy M. Roth, for allowing me to paraphrase her explanation here. I love her to pieces–go read her books, she’s fantastic!
QUESTION: What do you mean when you say you are leaving or entering KU? (Kindle Unlimited)? Can I still buy books for my Kindle?
ANSWER: All ebooks on the Amazon platform are considered Kindle ebooks. (Just like all e-books on the Barnes & Noble Nook platform are Nook ebooks, etc.).
HOWEVER…NOT all ebooks on Amazon are part of the Kindle Unlimited Subscription Program.
Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service (like a paid library service) offered by Amazon that lets you read as many ebooks as you want for a monthly fee so long as those ebooks are enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited Program. As I said before, not all ebooks available on Amazon are included in the Kindle Unlimited program, but all ebooks on Amazon are considered Kindle ebooks.
When I enter KU, the books I enroll are available on the KU venue, and they are still available to buy from Amazon.
When I leave KU, my books will no longer be part of that program and can no longer be added to your KU library. HOWEVER, you can still buy the books as a Kindle ebook–like buying any regular e-book.
Either way, you can buy the print version off of Amazon.
If you’ve never had a subscription to Kindle Unlimited or if you bought the ebook via Amazon and elected NOT to read it as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription, when I leave KU it doesn’t mean anything for you, so no worries.
When I do leave the KU program, it means you can no longer re-read them via Kindle Unlimited unless I re-enroll in the KU Program. You would have to actually buy the book to read it again.
But, for me to enroll in KU, means my books are no longer available to those who read via Kobo, Nook, or other vendor platforms. Which is why I make them available at the other vendors during preorder–so that Nook, KOBO, and Apple readers can still buy and read them.
As always, Amazon KU Terms and Conditions do apply, and they have the final say. If you borrow a book that is in the KU program, it may or may not be available later, depending on Amazon’s policy at the time.
