# BLOCKED BOOK / COPYRIGHT MEGATHREAD



## ashel (May 29, 2011)

Seems like there are lots of threads about this. I saw Alondo suggest maybe we could all post in one place, so...

If your book has been blocked or removed from sale due to a copyright notice (or something) else, post here. It's probably good to indicate a couple of things

- Was your book blocked? = you can't make changes, book is in review
- Was your book removed from sale? = *shudder* exactly what it sounds like
- Was your book removed from the store? 
- What precipitated the blocking / removal? Price change on an already existing book, new book, etc?
- Did you receive an email from KDP? What did it ask you to do?
- Was the situation resolved? How? If so, how long did it take? When did the whole thing start?

I had this happen with a book when I updated the back matter. I got an email saying they thought the content was freely available on the web, and asking me to affirm my copyright within 5 days. (ETA: this was the 1st or 2nd of August.) The email said my book would be removed from sale until I complied, though it remained on sale the entire time. I replied with the requested information, and, barring some bureaucratic hiccups, it was resolved and the new version of my book went online.

Here's who we've got so far:

MJWare
Phoenix Sullivan
Shauna G
EveLanglais
Istvan Svabo
Dam_Good
ChristopherBunn
sibelHodge
WilliamEsmont
Alondo
Anne Frasier?
DDark


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## AmberC (Mar 28, 2012)

We did a price change last week and had the book blocked. We got a copywrite request email from KDP that same day. We responded with the information requested. The book was blocked for several days and we didn't ever get a responce from KDP but the book did eventually become unblocked. I am not sure if the book was taken down but during that time another one of our books was gone from Amazon with a 404 error. Total days of craziness was four. (Monday-Thursday)


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

During my account-blocking kerfuffle earlier this year, KDP flat-out told me my future books "may" be blocked when I upload or change them, which considering everyone else is getting blocked/deleted, I'm interpreting as "always." Makes me much less likely to change descriptions, prices, etc.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Lots have reported it:

MJWare
Phoenix Sullivan
Shauna G
EveLanglais
Istvan Svabo
Dam_Good
ChristopherBunn
sibelHodge


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## Jeroen Steenbeeke (Feb 3, 2012)

TexasGirl said:


> Lots have reported it:
> 
> MJWare
> Phoenix Sullivan
> ...


Don't forget Alondo. Blocked, removed, and no response after 4 e-mails.


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## David Adams (Jan 2, 2012)

If it helps, I've recently changed pricing and product information on some of my stuff and it didn't get taken down or blocked. Not complaining about good luck though.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

The new short story I uploaded yesterday has been blocked. I will report back if it's ever unblocked.


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## melissafmiller (Feb 17, 2011)

Last Wednesday evening, I changed the prices on books 2 and 3 of my series for a limited time promo. The price change on book 2 went through and was live within 5 hours. Book 3, however, was stuck in review for 20 hours or so, then blocked early Thursday afternoon

I got an email shortly after giving me 5 days to confirm copyright (no mention of it being freely available elsewhere). I responded immediately.

KDP lifted the block early Sunday morning. No response to my email. The book never went off sale. This whole thing stinks on ice, though.

Thanks for tracking this in an organized fashion!

Oh, also I cancelled a free run on book 1 on Sunday at 7 pm but it remained free until the day's Select books rolled off of free sometime after 3 am PST.


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,123319.0.html
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,123059.0.html 
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,122696.0.html
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,123191.0.html


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## Jeroen Steenbeeke (Feb 3, 2012)

David Adams said:


> If it helps, I've recently changed pricing and product information on some of my stuff and it didn't get taken down or blocked. Not complaining about good luck though.


That certainly gives me hope for my upcoming cover/blurb change


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

David Adams said:


> If it helps, I've recently changed pricing and product information on some of my stuff and it didn't get taken down or blocked. Not complaining about good luck though.





Jeroen Steenbeeke said:


> That certainly gives me hope for my upcoming cover/blurb change


David is protected by the Hugh Howey effect... 

Betsy


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## Jeroen Steenbeeke (Feb 3, 2012)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> David is protected by the Hugh Howey effect...
> 
> Betsy


Yeah... there goes my hope, right out the window...


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> David is protected by the Hugh Howey effect...
> 
> Betsy


I'm in the same genre, but it didn't protect me!


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

I've also made changes to my title and it's gone through the process as normal. However, I made NO price changes or blurb alterations, only added series information and changed categories. 

I will be uploading a new novel in a couple of weeks, so I'll have to report back whether it all goes through OK. I wish Amazon would just issue an email or statement on this so as to inform their authors.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> Seems like there are lots of threads about this. I saw Alondo suggest maybe we could all post in one place, so...
> 
> If your book has been blocked or removed from sale due to a copyright notice (or something) else, post here. It's probably good to indicate a couple of things
> 
> ...


I'm on the list already, but here are my answers.

- Was your book blocked? = you can't make changes, book is in review Book was blocked on Sunday after I tried to make a price change. I queried it and on Monday received an email from KDP apologising and saying they didn't know why it happened. They converted the status to "Draft". I then hit "publish" and it was immediately blocked again. 

- Was your book removed from sale? = *shudder* exactly what it sounds like Yes, shortly after it was blocked for the second time. 

- Was your book removed from the store? Yes. It's effectively vanished.

- What precipitated the blocking / removal? Price change on an already existing book, new book, etc? Tried to lower the price on an existing book.

- Did you receive an email from KDP? What did it ask you to do? First the apology email received on Monday, telling me not to worry, because they had checked and my book was still on sale!!!! (That reads like a sick joke now). Then on Monday, AFTER my book had been removed from sale, an email demanding proof of copyright within 5 days. US Copyright Certificates forwarded to them within one hour. I had an automated email acknowledging my submission. Nothing since, despite 4 emails. 

- Was the situation resolved? How? If so, how long did it take? When did the whole thing start? Problems began on Sunday. No further reply or any resolution so far.


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2012)

My unsubstantiated conspiracy theory is that Amazon is doing it on purpose to dissuade authors from constantly changing and updating their book prices and blurbs more often than they change their socks. Consider it Amazon's way of not-so-gently saying "Stop screwing with the stuff you already published and go write something new!"


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> Ok, IANAL, but you don't need to register your copyright in the US in order to prove you have the rights -- copyright attaches upon creation of the work. It's apparently helpful in the event that you actually want to sue someone, but I don't think that's an issue for most of us. So, I guess theoretically Amazon could start requiring "proof", but that might get kind of messy in the context of actual content thieves. Like, I don't think they can be all "certificate or GTFO" if you allege that someone has violated your copyright.
> 
> And from a support / management standpoint, requiring official documentation from the hordes of KDP authors in order to publish in the first place would be a nightmare. I don't think that will ever happen. Also, they already make you check that "I am the rights holder" button to publish in the first place. I'm thinking glitch in newish automated software. Glitch or it's just...overzealous.
> 
> Anyway, I can't imagine they want to staff KDP support to deal with the increased volume from clusterf*cks like this one. (Working from the assumption that they clearly haven't made KDP support a priority...)


So if they don't necessarily need US Copyright Certificates, exactly what DO they accept? Their email to me was spectacularly vague and only asked for "documentation" showing that you owned the rights. It gave no clue as to what sort of documentation they were expecting or would be acceptable. Are we just supposed to guess what they want?


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2012)

Alondo said:


> So if they don't necessarily need US Copyright Certificates, exactly what DO they accept? Their email to me was spectacularly vague and only asked for "documentation" showing that you owned the rights. It gave no clue as to what sort of documentation they were expecting or that would be acceptable. Are we just supposed to guess what they want?


Documentation can be a simply email affirming your rights.

Once in a blue moon I get a notice like this (generally saying the book will be blocked, not that it is already blocked). I just send them an email reaffirming that I am either the copyright holder or I have the right to publish the book, usually with a link to my product page on my website.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Alondo said:


> I'm in the same genre, but it didn't protect me!


It's not a matter of genre...it's a matter of um, how shall I put this....? *ponders*

Betsy


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Okay, heads up guys - a tiny ray of hope.

My book has just been switched on the dashboard from "Blocked" to "Publishing". The product page is still nowhere to be seen and I have also still had no reply to any of my emails. 

However, it suggests that there is some "movement" taking place!


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> It's not a matter of genre...it's a matter of um, how shall I put this....? *ponders*
> 
> Betsy


Don't get it. You're too cryptic for me, Betsy.


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## Remington Kane (Feb 19, 2011)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> My unsubstantiated conspiracy theory is that Amazon is doing it on purpose to dissuade authors from constantly changing and updating their book prices and blurbs more often than they change their socks. Consider it Amazon's way of not-so-gently saying "Stop screwing with the stuff you already published and go write something new!"


This sounds likely to me, but it could just be my suspicious nature.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> I sent something along these lines:
> 
> "I, [legal name], affirm under penalty of perjury that I am the sole copyright holder for the aforementioned work, published under my authorization under the pen name [pen name] at the following locations:
> 
> ...


Well in essence, this is no more than what the box says that you have to tick when you publish the thing, so isn't this just repetition?


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> That does seem like a good sign. A number of people never received responses, but had everything come back, so...fingers crossed.


Well, even if it does come back, that is certainly not going to be an end of it as far as I am concerned.

I want to know:

1) What will happen if I try to change the price again?

2) What will happen if I attempt to update any of the individual volumes from which the trilogy is taken and for which they now have certificates of copyright?

3) What is going to happen about the new book that I am planning to upload in a few weeks time when the edits are complete?


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## RuthNestvold (Jan 4, 2012)

Wow, I had no idea! I've changed prices and blurbs on my books several times (especially in connection with a promotion), but I've never had anything blocked. I just changed the price of Looking Through Lace yesterday, since I have another book in the series coming out the end of the month, but it's there, and the price and description are changed, and I haven't gotten any threatening emails. 

I'd love to know what triggers this -- don't want to end up in that boat too!


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> Yup, but my understanding is that a positive affirmation, even in email, has more weight, in terms of contract law, than a box that you check. Like, the KDP T&C are pretty open to a challenge under...man, what is it...I asked a lawyer about this. Contract of adhesion? Something. Basically anything where you have to click a bunch of boxes in order to use the service and there's no room for negotiation or whatever.
> 
> Anyway. My takeaway: sending an explicit affirmation, rather than just clicking a box, looks like CYA behavior from Amazon, though it probably wouldn't be useful for much in the event of actual litigation or an audit.
> 
> In short: the whole thing is still stupid.


Being from England, I know little about American law, but common sense suggests to me that if they are going to demand "explicit affirmation" for every kindle book, that's well over a million books. They'll be doing this till Doomsday.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> It would be nice to have answers to those questions, but, um. How do I put this? I am not holding my breath.
> 
> I had similar questions for KDP, in addition to a few others about their policies and what initiates one of these reviews. Unsurprisingly, I did not get a response.


I have already sent the list of questions under the banner of my third consecutive complaint email. Even if I don't get a direct reply, I figure the more emails they get like this, the harder it will be for them to ignore the issue.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

RuthNestvold said:


> Wow, I had no idea! I've changed prices and blurbs on my books several times (especially in connection with a promotion), but I've never had anything blocked. I just changed the price of Looking Through Lace yesterday, since I have another book in the series coming out the end of the month, but it's there, and the price and description are changed, and I haven't gotten any threatening emails.
> 
> I'd love to know what triggers this -- don't want to end up in that boat too!


That's the mystery we're all trying to solve.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Okay, the mystery just deepened further.

I just received this email. 

"Hello from Amazon KDP!

"The book "The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition)" you recently submitted to KDP has been published to the Kindle Store and is already available* for readers to purchase here.

"Now that your book is live, we would like to highlight a great program called KDP Select available to KDP authors and publishers, such as yourself."

My book is now reading "Live" on my dashboard. However, don't cheer yet, because when I click on the link to my product page, I get this:- 

"Looking for something? 
We're sorry. The Web address you entered is not a functioning page on our site"

So it's published...except that it isn't. 

Does anyone have any idea what I should do now


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Alondo said:


> Okay, the mystery just deepened further.
> 
> I just received this email.
> 
> ...


I've experienced that a few times and the book showed up a couple of hours later. so here's hoping...


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## AmberC (Mar 28, 2012)

It comes up for me when I click on your siggy link?


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

I see your book now, Mark.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Monique said:


> I see your book now, Mark.


So do I - except that there's no categories, no rankings and "Pricing information not available". Let's hope the rest follows soon. I'm cringing at the thought of how my ranking will have dropped.


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

Alondo said:


> So do I - except that there's no categories, no rankings and "Pricing information not available". Let's hope the rest follows soon. I'm cringing at the thought of how my ranking will have dropped.


Ouch. I'm so sorry.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Mark--Lodestone Trilogy is back up and purchase-able again.

Whew!

I'm thinking of taking a low-performing short story and making a change to see what will happen.

But I'm skeered.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

MegSilver said:


> Ouch. I'm so sorry.


Okay, the price is back now. Just posted a new thread in the MOA forum advertising a 48 Hour sale, after which I plan to raise the price again - wonder what that will do!

Still no ranking as yet.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

TexasGirl said:


> Mark--Lodestone Trilogy is back up and purchase-able again.
> 
> Whew!
> 
> ...


You're a brave girl! Skeered - is that Texan for "scared"?


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## MindAttic (Aug 14, 2011)

Alondo said:


> So do I - except that there's no categories, no rankings and "Pricing information not available". Let's hope the rest follows soon. I'm cringing at the thought of how my ranking will have dropped.


I was able to buy it just now. Hopefully it'll register on your end.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

MindAttic said:


> I was able to buy it just now. Hopefully it'll register on your end.


There's been no movement on my dashboard as yet, but you're a star!

My ranking is still missing as well - I imagine it takes a while for all the components to join up properly.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Alondo said:


> You're a brave girl! Skeered - is that Texan for "scared"?


You betcha, pardner!

I have to change my price for a promo soon. SO PARANOID! This is the book that pays my bills!!!


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## ShaunaG (Jun 16, 2011)

David Adams said:


> If it helps, I've recently changed pricing and product information on some of my stuff and it didn't get taken down or blocked. Not complaining about good luck though.


Out of the pool, David!!!


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

TexasGirl said:


> You betcha, pardner!
> 
> I have to change my price for a promo soon. SO PARANOID! This is the book that pays my bills!!!


Okay, I just had my first response from KDP. It ALMOST qualifies as an apology, but not quite. Anyway, here's their message and my reply. I kept the comment about "building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company". I was tempted to reply, "You've got a way to go, dear."

Megan,

Thank you for your response. My book has now been re-published, although it's ranking is still missing.

Can I assume from your reply that I can expect to receive answers from either you or your manager, to the important questions posed in my enquiry, which have a significant impact on future updates to my books?

Mark Whiteway

> Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:12:52 +0000
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Your Amazon KDP Inquiry
> 
> Hello Mark, 
> 
> Thanks for your comments about your recent experience updating the price of your book with KDP. I have forwarded this feedback to my manager, and we will be taking action to ensure that no other publishers have a similar experience in the future. 
> 
> Publisher feedback serves an important role in helping us to improve our platform and provide better service. We appreciate the time you took to offer us your thoughts on the KDP publishing experience.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Megan B.
> Amazon.com
> Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
> http://www.amazon.com/your-account


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## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Documentation can be a simply email affirming your rights.
> 
> Once in a blue moon I get a notice like this (generally saying the book will be blocked, not that it is already blocked). I just send them an email reaffirming that I am either the copyright holder or I have the right to publish the book, usually with a link to my product page on my website.


All they asked from me was the below:

To reinstate your account, please reply to [email protected] with the following declaration: "I confirm that I will remove any content for which I do not have the exclusive publishing rights and that I will adhere to all terms in the Content Guidelines when submitting new content."

I never did that because I wouldn't let up on the fact that the book was being illegally offered elsewhere. On the day I got this resolved I received an email saying that they hadn't heard from me (despite having sent a couple of emails and had at least two or three chat sessions), and that they were closing my account. I went into support chat and basically pitched a fit about it and a few minutes later I got an email saying that they had reviewed things and reinstated my account. They are just extremely unorganized over there.


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## nubchai (Feb 4, 2012)

One of my books was blocked with the "content freely available on the internet message."    I had made some minor changes and uploaded the book prior to getting the email.  I did a Google search for my book title and added the word "torrent"  Sue enough my book was on a torrent site.  So I sent an email to Amazon affirming my copyright and sending the torrent link with an explanation of how thieve steal books and put them on those sites.  Two days later my book was unblocked.


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

Now I'm wondering about what will happen to the webserial writers who compile their work into ebooks but keep the episodes available on their sites.


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## cdvsmx5 (May 23, 2012)

Please bear in mind, Amazon works on a network of thousands of computers located across the globe.

Certain functions must be handled by specific nodes for your locale, like changes to your books, etc.

Other functions, like sales can happen anywhere.

It takes time to sync, in both directions.  

Each function has a priority , so some things happen ASAP and other things have to wait for open space.

I hope you rest easier thinking about this.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Greg Banks said:


> All they asked from me was the below:
> 
> To reinstate your account, please reply to [email protected] with the following declaration: "I confirm that I will remove any content for which I do not have the exclusive publishing rights and that I will adhere to all terms in the Content Guidelines when submitting new content."
> 
> I never did that because I wouldn't let up on the fact that the book was being illegally offered elsewhere. On the day I got this resolved I received an email saying that they hadn't heard from me (despite having sent a couple of emails and had at least two or three chat sessions), and that they were closing my account. I went into support chat and basically pitched a fit about it and a few minutes later I got an email saying that they had reviewed things and reinstated my account. They are just extremely unorganized over there.


That's my overwhelming impression too, Greg. It's not malicious, it's just extreme disorganisation. You'd think with such a large and prosperous Company, they could afford to have a shake up and get some A-rated managers in there.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Just registered my first sale since Sunday. It felt good!!!


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

I just uploaded another short story. Well, it's actually a "collection" that includes the blocked short story. I'll see what happens. Something I just remembered is that I actually uploaded and started the blocked book about 10 days ago, then uploaded the mobi file yesterday. So maybe Amazon is treating it as an update rather than new title.  I have noticed that books reflect the pub date of the day the file was created, not the day the book finally goes live. I had a book I couldn't contractually release until a certain date, so I kept it in draft for a month. But when I released it, it reflected the file origination date.


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## MindAttic (Aug 14, 2011)

MeiLinMiranda said:


> Now I'm wondering about what will happen to the webserial writers who compile their work into ebooks but keep the episodes available on their sites.


My first book is was a webserial, but I haven't had anything happen... yet.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

I haven't had any problems yet, even though I uploaded a new cover to one of my books about a week ago. However, after hearing all these horror stories, I'm obsessively checking the status of the titles on my bookshelf the way I used to check my sales!

It would be really nice to know what the heck is triggering the blocks...


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## WilliamEsmont (May 3, 2010)

A handful of sales just showed up for my Omnibus and the status in the dashboard has changed from _Blocked_ to _Publishing_. No email or anything from AMZ though... I guess my copyright registration numbers did the trick


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

cdvsmx5 said:


> Please bear in mind, Amazon works on a network of thousands of computers located across the globe.
> 
> Certain functions must be handled by specific nodes for your locale, like changes to your books, etc.
> 
> ...


I 'get' that this is probably a lot more complicated than we think it is. And believe it or not, I AM grateful that more and more safeguards are being layered into the system.

I just find it extremely frustrating to have unexpected roadblocks thrown up *with no warning*. It's hard enough for indies to choreograph a book release without looking like an unprofessional hack. Seriously. It's like QWOP, only with my livelihood.

Forgive me. I left my sense of humor in my other purse.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

WilliamEsmont said:


> A handful of sales just showed up for my Omnibus and the status in the dashboard has changed from _Blocked_ to _Publishing_. No email or anything from AMZ though... I guess my copyright registration numbers did the trick


my status just changed too. from blocked to publishing. the story i uploaded a hour or two ago is already in publishing status. full speed ahead.


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## Jill James (May 8, 2011)

My Dare To Trust book: Okay, my dashboard shows live, I have no Amazon page, it disappeared from my Author Central page, and no email. I made a price change six weeks ago, that is it.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Jill James said:


> My Dare To Trust book: Okay, my dashboard shows live, I have no Amazon page, it disappeared from my Author Central page, and no email. I made a price change six weeks ago, that is it.


This happened to me for a while but eventually it went reappeared. Everything takes a while to synch.

In the meantime however, my ranking has plummeted from 3,000 to 11,000, and a lot of my visibility on top 100 lists has gone. No explanation. No apology. No offer of redress. It's all so, so unfair.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

MegSilver said:


> I 'get' that this is probably a lot more complicated than we think it is. And believe it or not, I AM grateful that more and more safeguards are being layered into the system.
> 
> I just find it extremely frustrating to have unexpected roadblocks thrown up *with no warning*. It's hard enough for indies to choreograph a book release without looking like an unprofessional hack. Seriously. It's like QWOP, only with my livelihood.
> 
> Forgive me. I left my sense of humor in my other purse.


Exactly. It's livelihoods that are on the line here. To delete people's books first without warning or explanation is unforgivable in my book. I know of no other Company that would treat its customers in that way.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

sibelhodge said:


> I've had 2 notifications in the last month.


Did they remove your books from sale?


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## TimFrost (Jan 26, 2010)

I changed the price of "The Shoot" (upwards) and received an email saying that the book had been blocked for copyright reasons. (However it appeared to remain on sale, and live on my dashboard). I replied confirming I was the sole author and received a standard email by return, "Your book is now available".

Oh the mysterious ways of Amazon...


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

I just phoned Amazon and had a loooong chat along the lines of, what about the sales and ranking losses I suffered in the three days I was off sale due to no fault of my own, and what about making changes or uploading books in the future - how can we prevent this from happening? 

I referred to the KB thread and pointed out that a lot of authors were in a complete quandary and were now scared to update their books, and that it was people's livelihoods that were at stake. 

I've been promised a full investigation and a reply within 24 hours.


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## Jeroen Steenbeeke (Feb 3, 2012)

Alondo said:


> I just phoned Amazon and had a loooong chat along the lines of, what about the sales and ranking losses I suffered in the three days I was off sale due to no fault of my own, and what about making changes or uploading books in the future - how can we prevent this from happening?
> 
> I referred to the KB thread and pointed out that a lot of authors were in a complete quandary and were now scared to update their books, and that it was people's livelihoods that were at stake.
> 
> I've been promised a full investigation and a reply within 24 hours.


You can definitely put me in the "scared to update" category.

Anyway, hope this finally gets solved for you now.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

Thank you, Alondo. All the work you've done on this has been very helpful for all of us. I'm very sorry you and a few others have taken the brunt of this, but hopefully Amazon will look into it, and other authors won't have to cope with similar problems. It's absolutely ridiculous for all of us to be afraid to do simple updates on our books, and it's equally absurd (and extremely inconsiderate) for Amazon to be removing books without warning. This is definitely something that needs looking into promptly, and I'm glad you've gotten their attention on the matter.


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## Lefty (Apr 7, 2011)

Alondo said:


> That's my overwhelming impression too, Greg. It's not malicious, it's just extreme disorganisation. You'd think with such a large and prosperous Company, they could afford to have a shake up and get some A-rated managers in there.


I get it that you are upset.

Amazon is serving a lot of masters: customers (people that buy things), vendors (people trying to see things (you)), protecting copyrights, etc., etc., ad nauseum. They also have a million authors that email them if their xyz change is not made in forty-five seconds. If you want better, faster customer service, Amazon will have to hire more people, which costs more money. I imagine authors would absorb that cost through lower royalties.


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## Lefty (Apr 7, 2011)

Alondo said:


> I know of no other Company that would treat its customers in that way.


You're a vendor, not a customer. You have the right to end your relationship with them and focus on a different platform.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

EllenFisher said:


> Thank you, Alondo. All the work you've done on this has been very helpful for all of us. I'm very sorry you and a few others have taken the brunt of this, but hopefully Amazon will look into it, and other authors won't have to cope with similar problems. It's absolutely ridiculous for all of us to be afraid to do simple updates on our books, and it's equally absurd (and extremely inconsiderate) for Amazon to be removing books without warning. This is definitely something that needs looking into promptly, and I'm glad you've gotten their attention on the matter.


No problem, Ellen. The girl I spoke to was very sympathetic and took notes on everything I said. I, in turn, was kind and respectful, but I said they needed to understand the scale of the problem, and that there were a lot of very confused and upset authors out there who rely on this income for their livelihood and really don't know where to go from here. I pointed out that I had spent a lot of time and hard work getting my ranking up to where it was, and I felt Amazon had now pulled the rug out from under me through no fault of my own.

My ranking was a depressing 11,600 this morning, but it's back up to 6700 now, although that's still well down on the 2500-3000 level I was at when all of this started, and I am selling a lot less because I have lost visibility in the top 100 lists, although my showing is a little better in the pop lists.

I guess I'll just have to roll up my sleeves and start all over again.

At least this may prevent the same kind of "disaster" happening to others. I promise I will let you guys have an update as soon as hear back from Amazon. Then maybe we will all have a better idea of how we can move forward.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

CB Edwards said:


> I get it that you are upset.
> 
> Amazon is serving a lot of masters: customers (people that buy things), vendors (people trying to see things (you)), protecting copyrights, etc., etc., ad nauseum. They also have a million authors that email them if their xyz change is not made in forty-five seconds. If you want better, faster customer service, Amazon will have to hire more people, which costs more money. I imagine authors would absorb that cost through lower royalties.


I'm sorry, I don't follow that logic at all. Amazon's profits are more than healthy enough for them to beef up their Admin. and simply pay a slightly lower dividend to shareholders. I've seen it time and again in the business world, where businesses grow quickly and their old Admin. department can't keep up. I should warn you, I am an accountant!


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

CB Edwards said:


> You're a vendor, not a customer. You have the right to end your relationship with them and focus on a different platform.


Again, the logic is faulty, because the same comment could equally apply to customers (i.e. they can go elsewhere). Whether you generate income for Amazon as a vendor or a customer is irrelevant. Simply put, Amazon make money through us, so they ought to care what we think.


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## Lefty (Apr 7, 2011)

Alondo said:


> I'm sorry, I don't follow that logic at all. Amazon's profits are more than healthy enough for them to beef up their Admin. and simply pay a slightly lower dividend to shareholders. I've seen it time and again in the business world, where businesses grow quickly and their old Admin. department can't keep up. I should warn you, I am an accountant!


Why in the world should they lower the dividend to shareholders? The stockholders risked their money (arguably risk it every day while it is still invested) when they invested in Amazon. What financial risk do authors (vendors) have? Except for time, very little.

I don't want this thread to devolve, because I think it's beneficial. Fell free to start another one.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> Alondo, it's fantastic that you've got their attention and their ear. It is true that we're vendors, not customers. They are not going to pay you for lost sales; they don't pay people when they accidentally make books free. they are not under any obligation to list your book at all. I think focusing on that might discredit the conversation as a whole. I think it would be wonderful though if you were able to get them to commit to policy changes going forward that would make sure this doesn't happen again - as we all agree, the shoot first approach is pretty outrageous. This never should have happened.


Well, there's what they're contractually obliged to do and what they're morally obligated to do, and the two things are not the same at all. There's plenty of history of big companies making a moral gesture when they've clearly "crossed the line". I'm not saying that's what's going to happen here, and I don't necessarily think that's what will happen, but I don't think mentioning my losses weakens the argument, I think it strengthens it because it introduces a moral dimension and helps reinforce the need to avoid this in the future. That's my take on it, at any rate.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> I'm glad you're able to do this, Alondo. Thank you. I also think the poplist's rolling 30-day average will help you climb back up the charts, especially if you haven't lost too much placement in the alsobots. Here's hoping!


When I last checked, I was still #27 in SciFi Adventure and #3 in SciFi Series, so it's not hopeless! I am running a 48 hour promo. which I hope will make up some lost ground.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

CB Edwards said:


> Why in the world should they lower the dividend to shareholders? The stockholders risked their money (arguably risk it every day while it is still invested) when they invested in Amazon. What financial risk do authors (vendors) have? Except for time, very little.
> 
> I don't want this thread to devolve, because I think it's beneficial. Fell free to start another one.


I agree. This is too off topic. If you want the answer, my rates are very reasonable!


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## Eltanin Publishing (Mar 24, 2011)

Boy, someone at KDP compliance really has too much time on their hands. I got an email regarding our _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_. They wrote, "We are writing you today as we noticed that the digital list price you provided to us for one or more of your titles, listed below, exceeds the list price of a physical or electronic edition listed on Amazon.com or another website."

OK, so it's $0.99 on B&N, and was $2.69 on Amazon, though Amazon price matched it to $0.99. The problem is that Amazon won't let me price it below $1.99 because it is over 3 MB. So the only way to comply is to change my price on B&N to $1.99.

I lowered the price on Amazon to $1.99, the lowest they will allow, and sent an email to KDP Compliance explaining the situation and asking if this is sufficient. In the original email, they threatened, "Failing to make the necessary updates within 5 business days may result in the removal of your book(s) from the Kindle Store. Removed titles will then have to be republished with an updated price, subject to standard publishing delays, to be accepted in the Kindle Store. Note that the pricing requirements in our Terms and Conditions are applicable to all of the titles in your catalog and if repeat violations are found, your account may be terminated."

If the book is removed, we'll lose all reviews. And we're in the same boat with almost all our Oz titles - Amazon _won't let us_ price them lower than $1.99, yet B&N allows $0.99. Hopefully I'll get a response soon...

UPDATE:
Well I got an email back, saying:


```
Hello,

Thank you for your response.

We appreciate you taking the time to ensure your book meets the KDP pricing requirements.

Best Regards,

Lynn M.
```
They didn't really answer my question, but.. I guess everything is ok...


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## Anna K (Jul 2, 2011)

My novel disappeared for about 12 hours following a price change last Sunday.  It was strange: the book name didn't up, my author name didn't appear in amazon's search engine. It never showed as blocked on my kdp dashboard and I received no copyright notice.  Any links to the book showed that 401 error.  Luckily, it had returned by the morning.  I would definitely think twice about doing another price-based promotion though.  

I haven't had any sales since it reappeared Monday morning, and I have never gone so many days without a sale before.  I am not sure if that is just pure coincidence or if my popularity ranking was effected by the book disappearing.  I hadn't been paying close enough attention to know what it was before the book disappeared.  I am just thankful it returned the following day!


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Anna K said:


> My novel disappeared for about 12 hours following a price change last Sunday. It was strange: the book name didn't up, my author name didn't appear in amazon's search engine. It never showed as blocked on my kdp dashboard and I received no copyright notice. Any links to the book showed that 401 error. Luckily, it had returned by the morning. I would definitely think twice about doing another price-based promotion though.
> 
> I haven't had any sales since it reappeared Monday morning, and I have never gone so many days without a sale before. I am not sure if that is just pure coincidence or if my popularity ranking was effected by the book disappearing. I hadn't been paying close enough attention to know what it was before the book disappeared. I am just thankful it returned the following day!


Well, I may be on the wrong track here, but my problems too began last Sunday, so maybe there's a time-related link? How many others were blocked/deleted last Sunday?


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## AmberC (Mar 28, 2012)

Ugh. Our books have been on sale the past two weeks. I tried to change price this morning and it's giving me an error message.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

i just updated the book that was blocked two days ago because i forgot to include a description!!!!  we'll see what happens.    living on the edge...


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

Anne Frasier said:


> i just updated the book that was blocked two days ago because i forgot to include a description!!!! we'll see what happens.  living on the edge...


Good news! I just updated the price on my Trilogy because it was coming off sale, and it went from "In Review" to "Publishing" within FIVE MINUTES of upload!


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Alondo said:


> Good news! I just updated the price on my Trilogy because it was coming off sale, and it went from "In Review" to "Publishing" within FIVE MINUTES of upload!


*runs to look* mine is publishing too! i'm going to faint. i was so afraid to tamper with it, but it needed a description. heh.


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## AmberC (Mar 28, 2012)

One book had updated really quickly. The other book is still stuck "in review". Crossing fingers, saying a prayer and throwing salt over my shoulder.


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

Sweetapple said:


> One book had updated really quickly. The other book is still stuck "in review". Crossing fingers, saying a prayer and throwing salt over my shoulder.


Omg no! It's Friday! On Friday, you must sacrifice a chicken with a shoelace wrapped around your tongue after throwing a pair of eye glasses at a picture of JJ Walker while singing all the lyrics to Winger's _Seventeen_.

Get it straight, woman. Sheesh.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

MegSilver said:


> Omg no! It's Friday! On Friday, you must sacrifice a chicken with a shoelace wrapped around your tongue after throwing a pair of eye glasses at a picture of JJ Walker while singing all the lyrics to Winger's _Seventeen_.
> 
> Get it straight, woman. Sheesh.


Don't worry, I think this is making all of us a bit crazy!


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

I have now received the following email from KDP.

Hello Mark,

I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused due to the delay in updating your book.

During each submission or re-submission to KDP, your books undergo a review, and if we require more information, we will send you an email from [email protected] Your book may stay "In Review" or may be moved to a "Blocked" status while we await your response. We perform these actions to protect our authors and publishers, because we want to make sure that no author or other copyright holder has their work claimed and sold by anyone else.

We have updated our systems, so that you will be less likely to receive notifications if you need to update "The Lodestone Trilogy (ASIN: B006OOC5MC)" or the individual volumes of the trilogy. We look forward to publishing your new book.

We will not be able to offer any additional insight or action on these matters.

Best regards,

Megan B.
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
http://www.amazon.com/your-account
______________________________


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

genevieveaclark said:


> Has anyone else been caught up in this, or does it seem like the craziness has subsided a bit?


See my previous post. Basically, they avoided taking any responsibility for having wiped out my product page for three days and told me to get lost. No explanation. No apology. But that's just the kind of bloody-minded behaviour I've come to expect from KDP.

My ranking is a lot lower and my sales are about a third of what they were as a result. And anyone who has the temerity to update their product page from now on may suffer the same fate.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I'll bite. I have an updated version of my Kindle book that I haven't uploaded, and a lot to lose as it's my best title. But I want to include the link to my new related novel. I've just been gun shy.

I'll report back.

Off I go, into the smoke and fire!


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

I made several updates to prices and descriptions the other day, and they seem to have gone through without incident *knocks on wood*.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

I uploaded a new cover and new interior file (I wanted one with up-to-date links to my other books) for my bestselling title yesterday. It went through without a hitch, and it's now live on the site. So either the problem has resolved itself, or it had more to do with pricing changes than other alterations (cover, etc.).


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I have moved from "In Review" to "Publishing."

Fingers crossed!

I changed the book itself and took two words out of the description.


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## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

I updated the price of one of my books Monday, and all is well with it. No email, no blocking.


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## Margo Karasek (Feb 29, 2012)

TexasGirl said:


> I have moved from "In Review" to "Publishing."
> 
> Fingers crossed!
> 
> I changed the book itself and took two words out of the description.


I was in the same boat you were: I had to change the cover, the book itself (to give credit to the book designer), plus the categories. I was petrified, especially since I had already changed the price 3 times in less than 2 weeks! Luckily, everything went smoothly, and quickly. Of course, in prepping my print edition, I just discovered a typo, so I'll have to re-upload the book again, and I'm petrified all over again.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

It went through without a hitch.

Whew!


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

I just pushed an update, too.

Freaking. Out.

Hold me.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Pamela reported a book el poofed last night. Things are better, but it's not over.


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## LTucker (Aug 8, 2012)

I had a short blocked last night. Content available free on the web, search the web for text from your books, and so on.

Is anyone else including sample chapters from their other works? I thought maybe that triggered it.


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## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

LTucker said:


> I had a short blocked last night. Content available free on the web, search the web for text from your books, and so on.
> 
> Is anyone else including sample chapters from their other works? I thought maybe that triggered it.


That message usually means that they found the book on the web somewhere. I don't know if content included inside the book would trigger it. These things are automated, not human driven.


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## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

genevieveaclark said:


> I kind of hope that, since it's automated, they're able to flag certain ASINs as "already handled / dealt with," so the same issues don't keep triggering the bots, but I am not holding my breath...


One would hope, but I have my doubts. But then there's no reason that a mistakenly blocked book now could actually warrant blocking later, so I'm not sure that's a viable solution either.


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

/snivel

My "canary" file update died. The book says "publishing" in dashboard, but has disappeared from Amazon. No email yet.

Details: Bundle of books 1 and 2 in series; book 1 is price-matched free, book 2 is available for regular sale, so yes, this file contains content available elsewhere for free. And yes, I already went through one round of sending in links to verify publishing rights, which means they are NOT flagging files as validated.

Not. Enough. Chocolate.


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

My boxed set has disappeared. I updated the set so it had a new excerpt in the back, and now it's completely gone from Amazon. Just poof. And I haven't gotten an email about copyright or anything either. This is rather distressing since I sell between 175-200 copies of the boxed set per day and it's priced at $6.99. That's a chunk of change I'm losing. I'll let you know if it pops back up.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

Geez, just when you think they've fixed it... *headdesk*


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

LilianaHart said:


> My boxed set has disappeared. I updated the set so it had a new excerpt in the back, and now it's completely gone from Amazon. Just poof. And I haven't gotten an email about copyright or anything either. This is rather distressing since I sell between 175-200 copies of the boxed set per day and it's priced at $6.99. That's a chunk of change I'm losing. I'll let you know if it pops back up.


Good lord.

Did I mention I'd planned 5 more cover/file updates before releasing book 6 at the end of next week?

I'm, um... gonna go twitch in the corner now.


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## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

LilianaHart said:


> My boxed set has disappeared. I updated the set so it had a new excerpt in the back, and now it's completely gone from Amazon. Just poof. And I haven't gotten an email about copyright or anything either. This is rather distressing since I sell between 175-200 copies of the boxed set per day and it's priced at $6.99. That's a chunk of change I'm losing. I'll let you know if it pops back up.


Have you checked its status in KDP?


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## AmberC (Mar 28, 2012)

LilianaHart said:


> My boxed set has disappeared. I updated the set so it had a new excerpt in the back, and now it's completely gone from Amazon. Just poof. And I haven't gotten an email about copyright or anything either. This is rather distressing since I sell between 175-200 copies of the boxed set per day and it's priced at $6.99. That's a chunk of change I'm losing. I'll let you know if it pops back up.


Oh no. 
Just when it seemed like these problems were getting better.


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## MegSilver (Feb 26, 2012)

Oh, now this was just rude: I got the "Congrats, you're published" email and got all excited and relieved. So I went to my bookshelf to visit my US page and...



> Looking for something?
> We're sorry. The Web address you entered is not a functioning page on our site


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

LilianaHart said:


> My boxed set has disappeared. I updated the set so it had a new excerpt in the back, and now it's completely gone from Amazon. Just poof. And I haven't gotten an email about copyright or anything either. This is rather distressing since I sell between 175-200 copies of the boxed set per day and it's priced at $6.99. That's a chunk of change I'm losing. I'll let you know if it pops back up.


OMG§ That's awful. Hope it shows up soon. 

I've just updated a file and changed price on my third book (new editor input) fingers crossed it doesn't hit a glitch.


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## Alondo (Aug 30, 2011)

LilianaHart said:


> My boxed set has disappeared. I updated the set so it had a new excerpt in the back, and now it's completely gone from Amazon. Just poof. And I haven't gotten an email about copyright or anything either. This is rather distressing since I sell between 175-200 copies of the boxed set per day and it's priced at $6.99. That's a chunk of change I'm losing. I'll let you know if it pops back up.


This is exactly what happened to me - no explanation, no nothing. Interestingly mine was a set too, and was priced at 6.99, though that's probably co-incidence.

Mine was gone for three days and not only did I lose a bunch in sales, but the ranking crashed, and with it my visibility. I am still only selling a fraction of what I was. I feel your pain...

The email they sent me said they had taken steps to ensure that this wouldn't happen to any other publisher, but apparently that was a load of horse hockey.


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## JGreen20 (Jul 10, 2012)

MegSilver said:


> Oh, now this was just rude: I got the "Congrats, you're published" email and got all excited and relieved. So I went to my bookshelf to visit my US page and...


Don't worry about this too much. It's happened to me twice. If your product page doesn't show up in a few hours just hit publish again. Even though it will take 12 hours to review and publish, the product page shows up almost immediately.

That's what I did both times. The first one, I also sent an email to KDP but it was unncessary. Problem got solved immediately.


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

Okay, it popped back up this morning. Whew. It looks like ranking dropped from 622 down to 977 in the short time it was down, so hopefully it can get back up there. It was down about 12 hours total.


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## JodyWallace (Mar 29, 2011)

None of mine got blorped when I tinkered with them to add in the India distribution. But I need to change backmatter and frontmatter. I'm skeered...Texas skeered!


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

JodyWallace said:


> I'm skeered...Texas skeered!


Now that's skeered!

Amazon has me skeered a lot these days. Enough that I'm skipping Select for my next launch.


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

The first episode of my Zombie Wars Online got blocked today when I uploaded a new copy of the book that included a link to the second episode. They didn't take down the sales page though. Hopefully, blocking the book won't prevent me from earning royalties from it. Does anyone know?

What really sucks is that I was going to release episode 3 tomorrow.   Now I'm not sure if I should wait for the book to be unblocked or not. 

On the plus side, getting blocked gave me the opportunity to ask them in an email if they could make the book permanently free, since I plan to keep it permanently free everywhere else. Hopefully they will do it, since getting $.99 price matched to free has become a real PITA.


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