Award-winning author Linda Watkins tells us how her account was banned from Amazon and how she got it back. Consider it an important public service announcement for writers.
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Twenty-twenty-three came in with a bang and I was full of enthusiasm and hope. But that all ended on January 3rd when I went down the KDP rabbit hole …
But First Things First
A little background: In 2016 I wrote a book called, Summer Girl, A Novel. It’s the story of two teens who meet and fall in love on an island off the coast of Maine in 1965. When I wrote it, I composed two very different endings — one quite literary and the other, more romantic. I published the novel in 2017 through Gatekeeper Press, which is not a traditional publishing house.
I had met the CEO of Gatekeeper at a literary meeting and decided to try his company’s editing, formatting, and distributing services for Summer Girl. Thus, the novel was published in print and eBook formats in under the Gatekeeper imprint. There was no contract with Gatekeeper and I never relinquished any of my rights to Summer Girl.
In 2018, I decided to put my books on #KindleUnlimited. Since books on KU are exclusive to Amazon, Gatekeeper ceased to distribute the eBook and it was returned to my control.
The book sold and gained 92 reviews, some of which bemoaned the fact that the ending was “open” and did not resolve the romance between the two protagonists. This bothered me and in late 2022, the book had become stagnant. I decided at that time to take a stab at rewriting it using the alternative ending I had written in 2016. At the same time, I decided to freshen up the cover which seemed kind of dated to me. So, I did it and in late December 2022, I republished the eBook with the new ending and the new cover.
Now, We Come to the Rabbit Hole
On January 3rd, 2023, I received an email from KDP’s “review group” stating that they were questioning my rights to the novel and that I had 5 days to respond or they would take the novel down. I answered them promptly, then went to take a look at my book online. Surprise! It had already been taken down. I emailed the “review team” asking what happened to my 5 days and was rewarded with a repeat of the first email with one notable difference. The “5 days” sentence had been deleted and replaced with a “your book has been removed, etc.”
At this point, I contacted Gatekeeper Press and let them know what happened. The CEO provided me with a letter stating that I retained 100% of the rights to the novel, Summer Girl. I promptly forwarded that letter to KDP. They responded saying they needed 5 more business days to complete their investigation.
They Really Didn’t Need That Extra Time
The following morning, I got an email from them saying that my KDP account had been cancelled, all my books wiped off Amazon, and that I was prohibited from opening another account with them. At no time, did the “review group” tell me precisely what it was they had a problem with. I provided them with the letter from Gatekeeper, a link to the cover photo on Pixabay verifying that it was “free” and other pertinent information. Subsequent emails to them from me went unanswered.
With no other option, I turned to the Authors Guild, of which I have been a member for several years. The AG provides its members with legal services free of charge to review contracts, etc. I sent them a message, attaching the initial email from KDP, the letter from Gatekeeper, and the email about closing my account. Then, I went to work furiously putting all my books (which had been on KU) on B&N, Kobo, GooglePlay, and iBooks. In two days’ time, I had all my novels on every site except for iBooks.
Another couple of days passed before I got a response from the lawyer. He told me that this has been happening to lots of authors lately and could I please send him all the correspondence I had had with KDP, which I promptly did. He responded that he thought he could help and that I could expect to hear from Amazon directly, apologizing and reinstating my account and my novels.
There Was No Apology
Well, I finally heard from KDP, but there was no apology. They reinstated my account but continued to block Summer Girl. Also, my paperbacks were missing as were some of my reviews, my rankings, and my genre categories. I sent a copy of their email to my attorney who instructed me to go back to them and ask why they were still blocking my book. He also said he would work things from his end, too.
A day later, I got an email from KDP. “Congratulations,” it said. “Your book has been reviewed and will be published … etc.” Again, no apology. I checked, and Summer Girl was no longer blocked. It took a few days to get all my paperbacks back online correctly (I had to republish two because they had changed the price on each to something exorbitant), and get my rankings and reviews back.
I had to then furiously remove all my ebooks from B&N, Kobo, Google Play, and iBooks because they were still on KU when my account was restored. That will be remedied soon. I will no longer be exclusive to Amazon.
Ten Days in the KDP Rabbit Hole
And, that’s the synopsis of my journey down the KDP rabbit hole. The whole episode took only about ten days, but, to me, it seemed way longer. I found KDP’s “review team” unresponsive and unhelpful. Instead of trying to resolve whatever their issues were, their solution was to wipe me off the face of the Earth. Thankfully, I had access to an attorney who straightened things out for me. But not all authors have that kind of access and hiring a literary lawyer could cost up to $400/hour and, thus for many, be out of consideration.
Finally, while I’m glad this is all over, I will never trust Amazon/KDP again. I haven’t written a word except for this post so far this year. I just don’t feel like writing. They have stolen my joy.
© Linda Watkins
USA Today Bestselling Author
About Linda Watkins
Linda Watkin’s novel Summer Girl is a multi-award winning novel:
- 1st place in Chanticleer Intl Book Awards
- Readers Favorite silver medal
- Book Excellence Awards finalist
Here’s where you can find her.
- Blog: LindaWatkins.biz
- Author website: LindaWatkins-author.com
- Mateguas Island site: MateguasIsland.com
- Amazon Author page: amazon.com/stores/author/B00HQOY94Q/
- Facebook: @LindaWatkins.Author
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Linda, I’m so glad you contacted Jeff Bezos at Amazon. It’s vital that we go beyond the customer service people at Amazon when we have troubles. Your experience is a warning to all authors. I too have a book that the orinr publisher has returned copyrights to me (the CEO passed away and they closed up shop). I have a letter from their attorney stating they have returned all copyrights to all authors. I am considering republishing print editions next year. Do you have any suggestions for authors who are planning on republishing their books on Amazon from previously owned copyright publishers? Any contact names or departments? Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks, Paula. If your book is not currently on Amazon, I think you will have no problem publishing it with them, using your name as publisher. You have that letter from the publisher’s attorney as backup. If the book is still on Amazon, in any format, under the former publisher, that could raise a red flag with them. Their “review team” has no contact number and I think that is by design. They don’t want to talk with you. I had a letter from my publisher stating that I owned all the rights, but that wasn’t enough for them. Perhaps because your letter is from the publisher’s atty, that might carry more legal weight. If you’re just publishing paperbacks, you might want to consider publishing thru B&N instead of Amazon. Linda
After this post was published, I thought I’d reach out to Jeff Bezos and let him know what was happening now that he is not in charge of day-to-day operations. I emailed him last night including a link to this blog post. I got a response this morning which I am posting here –
“Hello Linda,
My name is Bryan Carlsen from Kindle Direct Publishing Executive Customer Relations.
Jeff Bezos received your email and I’m responding on his behalf.
Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts about your previous publishing experience. I’m sorry to hear about the account termination process you went through.
We’ll consider your input as we plan further improvements. Feedback like yours helps us continue to improve our author and publisher experience.”
Sincerely,
Bryan
Executive Customer Relations
Kindle Direct Publishing
http://kdp.amazon.com
Right on!
I’ve emailed him in the past and always got a response from one of his exec assistants. But, since he’s stepped away from day-to-day, I figured it was a shot in the dark. Guess, I was wrong! Bezos is still in charge!
Wow, what a nightmare. Glad you got it straightened out as soon as you did, but the stress..!
I published n KDP in May, 2022, but reluctantly so. I was having health issues the and wanted to get the thing – a memoir – published while I was able to. I say reluctantly because I don’t like Amazon and try not to do business with them. I’ve decided to let it stay until this coming May and might move it to Smashwords where I have an account. If you’re wondering why I didn’t put my book there to start with, it needed to be formatted and I wasn’t up to that. Luckily, I found someone willing to format it for me for nothing but she insisted in doing it to Amazon. Now that I have read your experience I am renewing my resolve to get my memoir off KDP and over to Smashwords.
Good luck in your further endeavors and thanks for being here. I intend on checking in from time to time.
Good luck with your move to Smashwords, Neil. Perhaps consider setting up a Draft2Digital account instead. They merged with Smashwords early in 2022.
Good for you, Linda, for pursuing this ludicrous situation. Well worth the time and frustration you spent. Congratulations!
Thank you, Carole!
I read Linda Watkin’s account, and am glad the Author’s Guild offered her some help. When I had an issue and asked for their help, there was almost nothing from Author’s Gulld. They were worse than Amazon and ACX at responding. My situation never did get fully explained, and Author’s Guild did almost nothing to help me.
I’m sorry that you’ve not had a positive experience with Authors Guild. For my part, I have had only good interactions with their legal department. They have reviewed contracts for me, giving me good advice. And, this time, they really stepped up to the plate. KDP was no longer responding to me after they deleted my account. Within a few days of speaking (via email) with the attorney assigned to my case, my account was reinstated and my novel put back on Amazon. Their dues are the best money I’ve spent since being a published author.
I have long hated that the author has no right to contest anything Amazon says. They are not interested in the truth it seems. Thanks for sharing with us.
You’re correct about the right to contest Amazon’s decision, Bernard. Sad but true.
Thank you, Bernard. Sad, but true. They rule, we don’t.
Holy Cow! Amazon needs to be brought down a peg or five. They seem to forget that if authors avoided them like the plague, they would soon go under financially.
I can’t help but feel you, Linda, have been very, very lucky. I suspect this is Amazons way of thinning out what they sell. If a book doesn’t sell that well they chop from their list of available books.
I would suggest you get an agent and go traditional if you can. After hearing about all the grief KDP can cause I want to stay away from them.
Getting an agent is expensive, especially if you’re a newbie.
Linda’s books are selling well, Tom, so Amazon wouldn’t be using poor sales as a metric.
I published my first novel in 2014. It was an Amazon bestseller and an award-winner. I know have 15 books published, most of which are also award-winners. I don’t think Amazon is culling books that don’t sell. I think their “review team” is not qualified to determine who has rights and who doesn’t. Further, they’ve been given too much power, leaving the author with no higher authority to appeal to. I am lucky I had the foresight years ago to become a member of the Authors Guild. I have utilized their free legal services to review contracts and, now, to help get me reinstated. Per the attorney assigned to my case, Amazon is doing what they did to me to multiple authors lately. Why, I don’t know. Perhaps it has something to do with Jeff Bezos stepping away from the day-to-day operations of the company.
Linda
It’s a shame The Author’s Guild is American (and expensive for a newbie) as I’m a Brit.
Perhaps in the future?
You’re right about Amazon having power and abusing that power. I’ve heard too many stories to prove it’s true.
Thankfully you came out on the plus side of your run-in with them. I’ve had no problems, but am keeping my fingers and toes crossed.
Wow, what a nightmare. Thanks for sharing this. It’s so frustrating dealing with online companies that make a priority of not staffing people you can actually talk to. No personal contact. No explanations. No apologies. Just form letters. It feels like talking to a giant skyscraper from the sidewalk, hoping “it” will somehow fix the problem it created for you. I want to ask, “How did we all come to accept such a business model?” Then I remember: Oh yeah, price and fast delivery. They’ve got us. It’s good to hear that some authors are turning to other options.
Thanks, Judi. I love your giant skyscraper analogy. Now every time I look at a skyscraper, I’ll think of Amazon’s support.
An interesting blog post which adds to my confusion as to whether it’s best to go exclusively Amazon or to publish with other vendors as well as Amazon.
Go wide, young writer, go wide.
I rarely get called young, so you made my day 🙂
🙂
I just published on KDP in May last year, but I first published on Smashwords in 2011. Have had no problem with them and they have merged with Digital 2 Digital or D2D. I’ve only heard good things about them too. Of course there’s Barnes and Noble, KOBE, etc.
That must have been so frustrating! I’ve been seeing reports like this a lot. Is it specific to issues with KU books or does it also happen with titles that are “wide”?
This is all about Amazon’s KDP program, not just Kindle Unlimited, Loretta. 🙁
So, my conclusion is that going wide won’t protect from this kind of thing from Amazon, although it will give readers other options for accessing books that Amazon has booted, even temporarily. The problem, as I see it, is that many readers use Amazon as a book discovery tool, and other options for advertising/etc. are limited and/or expensive.
It opens other streams of income, Loretta, and if Amazon doesn’t figure out a way to fix their problems, they’ll lose many excellent authors.
Thank you for your insight and for sharing your experience. I have been mulling over pulling my books off KU and being exclusive on Amazon for some months now, and I believe this has given me the push I needed. I appreciate your candor. Jana
Many writers would agree with you, Jana. Going wide is good insurance.
FYI, if you do go wide, Kobo has a subscription plan similar to KU but it is not exclusive like Amazon’s. It’s called. “Kobo Plus.” After my experience with KDP detailed above, I am also leaving KU and taking all my books wide.
Thank you. I plan on going wide, and will most certainly look into Kobo plus. Appreciate the heads up.
I’m writing books that I hope to self-published as E-books and was told that Amazon pays the most; yet I agree with the author in the “rabbit hole” report, that they can’t be trusted. I’m currently in a hassle with them over a very expensive Canon color laser printer I purchased online that was promoted on Amazon’s website as new, but proved to be used and I want my full refund. But Amazon deducted $155 “restocking fee!” Calling and filing an AZ Complaint has been ignored….so far. My question is, where is a better place to promote and sell my E-books? Thank you for any advice!
Maybe try Draft2Digital, Caroline.
In addition to Amazon, they distribute to the following:
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Kobo (including Kobo Plus)
Smashwords Store
Tolino
OverDrive
Bibliotheca
Scribd
Baker & Taylor
Hoopla
Vivlio
BorrowBox
See the D2D FAQs for more information.
Thank you Kathy! I’m new at this though I’ve written several articles on health and nutrition for a nonprofit’ newsletter that I founded years ago. Need to learn much more to get E-books published to help raise funds for my nonprofit to battle childhood cancer. I read all of your e-newsletters and appreciate your expertise.
Caroline Olson
Phoenix
Thank you, Kathy! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your experience, Linda.
Thanks for sharing your story. Wow, I was thinking of publishing my work on Amazon, but after hearing this and other stories about getting penalized, etc. I have to ask myself, is it really worth it?
Hi, ZL. Going wide would include Amazon while providing other avenues of income. Amazon is the biggest, but will they stay that way? The Roman Empire collapsed …