Blogs on your eReader: Convenient? Yes! Available? Maybe. Free? No.

A good friend of mine and regular reader here, Diane, made a simple request: "Can I subscribe to your blog on my Kindle?" Of course, I said "Yes!" It's been something I've been wanting to do and there's no excuse to delay it any further.

So I went to Amazon and signed on as a publisher. I gave them all my info and it's published! And it will cost you $1.99/month. Excuse me? I'm not looking for income, I'm looking for readers. And I'm certainly not looking to charge those who have been so kind and loyal.

From Amazon's Kindle Publishing for Blogs Overview:

Can I set the price for my blog?

No. Amazon will define the price based on what we deem is a fair value for customers.

Can I make my blog free?

No, Amazon will define the price based on what we deem is a fair value for customers.

So I've added my blog to Amazon but I would only recommend subscribing if the convenience of direct feeds to your Kindle is worth the $1.99/month. That's just for my blog, mind you. At that rate, I'll get 30% (60 cents or $7.20 per year per subscriber). But I'm not looking for subscription money from my readers. And if you want direct feeds of other blogs, each will cost you.

With the iPad frenzy, I thought Amazon would be a bit more customer-friendly and allow blog subscriptions for free. But at least they're trying. I have not found direct self-publishing options for blogs or eBooks for Barnes & Noble's Nook, Sony's Reader or the Apple iPad (although with a web browser and RSS feeds, the iPad has you covered).

There is a third-party service worth checking out that allows independent authors to publish eBooks (but not blogs) for free, and distribute to many of these eReaders: Smashwords.

There are also iPhone and Droid apps available as eReaders on your smartphone.

But please, dear readers, share your thoughts! If you're a blogger/author, please tell us about your experiences with eReaders. And thank you, Diane, for the nudge.