Feedlits: how workable is this business model?

[Feo Takahari]

I saw a flyer for Feedlits, and sent them an email asking for specifics on what they were looking for. I don't have anything in the requested 30-60k word range*, but I thought their business model was interesting.

Rather than selling individual books, they sell subscriptions for $12.95 a month. Each month, they send a new book to all their subscribers. Each book is a first edition, and Feedlits never reprints them, though their publication contract allows authors to print new editions anywhere else. Subscriptions can be canceled at any time, and if you don't like a book, you can return it for a refund.

I can see two obvious weaknesses in this model:

Any writer's sales with Feedlits are effectively capped by how many subscribers they have at the time of publication.

Feedlits's willingness to take any fiction they judge "intellectually stimulating" may discourage fans of specific genres from subscribing--if you love intellectually stimulating fantasy, you may not be interested in sometimes getting an intellectually stimulating crime novel or travelogue.

What do you guys think of this model? Is it workable, and do you think Feedlits will survive?

*It's hard to publish stories that are 30K words, so if you've got one sitting around, there are probably worse places to send it to.

 

[CupofJoe]

... though their publication contract allows authors to print new editions anywhere else.

That is unusual. For that alone I like the idea.
I don't know if it will work but this is kind of how I see publishing going.
It is [I think] not aimed at genre readers, but for those that like "literature" [what ever that is].*
If Feedlits set up a portfolio of imprints in different areas then readers could get a more targeted product but I like the BECAUSE-WE-LIKED-IT attitude. I rather have a book that someone thinks is worth reading than one just because I ticked the box marked "Fantasy".

... and if you don't like a book, you can return it for a refund.

That I think is what will knock them stone dead. The attrition rate could be extremely high and so will the replacement rate...

I wish them luck.

* There is a UK magazine called Granta that sort of has the same idea but you buy a yearly subscription...

 

[Devor]

There's so many threads about "how to fix self-publishers" right now, but I think this is so much closer to the answer than anything that's been suggested.

The problem is, Feedlit is still waiting for authors to come to them. They should approach good authors who are already self-published.

Think about it this way:

I sign up for $8 a month. Each month, I receive 3 self-published books that somebody picked out as quality books for me and sent to my kindle. The author of those books gets $1.50 for every subscriber, possibly a pass of editing, will continue to sell their book online, and can promote themselves with the fact that they were selected. Win-win-win for everyone.