Vella allows readers to consume books in episodes. These episodes range from 600 to 5,000 words, depending on how the author set them up. Another way to think of them is as chapters. Authors release new episodes on a regular schedule and mark books as complete when no new episodes remain. If you follow an author, you’ll be notified. You can also follow a single Vella story.

To access Vella, head to >> https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella

You’ll see that the top search bar defaults to Kindle Vella, but you can navigate to the main store from here as well. Here on this main page, you can learn more about Vella and browse various categories as well as books currently featured.

If it’s your first time to Vella, you’ll want to head up toward the upper right corner of your screen.

You’ll want to claim your free tokens right away. This will give you 200 Tokens, a $1.99 value, that can open up numerous episodes of Vella books.

One token will get you 100 words, so each episode will be a minimum of 6 coins. A 1,000-word episode will be 10 coins. A 2,000-word episode will be 20. And so on. These 200 Tokens will get you at least 4 episodes, quite possibly more.

Next you’ll want to find books to read. Head back up to the search bar and type in what you’re looking for.

The results should look very familiar to you and will feature non-Vella things too. You’re looking for a result that looks like a circle inside a rectangle with a partial V behind it.

Clicking on the cover, title, or Kindle Vella Story heading will take you to the story page.

The story page will show you the cover, the blurb, and the story tags. In addition it will also show you things like how many episodes are currently published and how many likes it has.

At the time of writing this, Molly Fitz’s The Killer at Cat Castle has four episodes and twenty likes.

You’ll also see that you have the ability to leave a review, see when the book was last updated, and how often it’s been updated. Vella rewards authors for staying current and adding new episodes within 30 days. More on reviewing in a bit.

You can also Follow a story from this main page. There will be a checkmark in the Following Box to confirm you’ve followed.

Now let's read a story!

In your Kindle Vella window, click the blue button to read episode 1.

The reading pane is fairly narrow. At the time of this writing, Kindle Vella stories can be read on Apple's IOS Kindle app and on the computer. More platforms should roll out soon.

At the end of the episode, you’ll see a note from the author, if they left one, a thumb to like the episode, and a button to go to the next episode.

The thumb will turn blue if you liked the episode.

Click the blue button to unlock the episode. The paywall will immediately disappear and you can read the episode as you normally would. You’ll also see that the tokens will have been deducted from your account.

When there are no more episodes available, you’ll see a note at the end.

To purchase tokens click on your tokens in the upper corner. It will bring up the following window.

Buy in whatever number you choose. They’ll be immediately purchased and added to your account.

Once you unlock an episode using tokens after purchasing them, you will be prompted to crown your favorite reads. You get one Fave each week that you can assign each week when you unlock a new episode. It will bring up anything you have paid to unlock that week.

First you must click on the cover image of what you want to Fave. That will highlight the cover and turn the Fave it button blue.

After clicking Fave it, the box immediately disappears.

Faves reflect on Vella books at the top of the hour. The page will then show a crown on top of the book and mark it as a Top Faved. It's a great way to show your support for the authors and make sure the story continues!

It will also appear in the Top Faved lists if it’s high enough.

Click on the link next to the ratings.

It brings up the standard Amazon review. Review as you normally would and click submit.

Then you’re done!