# D2D books getting yanked from Amazon?



## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

Someone in another forum I frequent posted they received this email:

We have finally received follow-up communication from Amazon concerning the suspension of Draft2Digital books that took place on Thursday, January 30th. They offered us no opportunity to appeal or correct their complaints, and showed little concern for the impact that action has had on our users, but they did at last provide some detailed information concerning the fate of the books in our account.

Any of your books listed at Amazon through Draft2Digital will be removed from sale shortly. They recommended that you upload the books through your personal KDP account. We asked them to provide some way to migrate the current books (with rank and reviews intact), but no such option is available.

However, we were assured that if you list the book again using the same title and contributor names, their system will automatically recognize it as a match and transfer the existing reviews to the new book.

We understand and sincerely regret the inconvenience this causes you. We have made every effort to comply with Amazon’s requirements and to resolve their complaints, but Amazon’s absolute failure of communication and hostility toward our business model thwarted our best efforts.

We will continue to pursue a more stable business relationship with Amazon, but for the immediate future, we will cease all distribution there. We did receive assurances that they intend to make timely payment for all book sales that occurred through our account.

In the meantime, if we can assist you in any way, please contact our customer support and we’ll do our best to ease this transition.

Sincerely,
Kris Austin
CEO
Draft2Digital, LLC


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

And Amazon again proves that it knows how to be a contrary dick. For the time being, they can do so because of their sheer size. Until one day, they will find that it comes to bite them in the butt.

Here's to all businesses in the world who know that "collaboration" is not a shorthand for "take-over".


----------



## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)

This is so sad!  Draft2Digital has been so absolutely wonderful to work with, bending over backwards to give us authors some of the best tools.  Their dashboard and interface is so ridiculously easy to use.  They are the "go-to" site I send newbies who want to start self-publishing.  I hope that someday this has a happy ending.


----------



## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

I wonder if this includes CreateSpace? I have a print in Amazon thru D2D.  I had everything through them until last week when the first letter came out. So sad. I love working with D2D. They're awesome. I plan to leave my books there for everything except Amazon... But I really don't get many sales anywhere else.


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

DDark said:


> This is why I'm a huge fan of going direct. I only use D2D for Apple, but I have no alternative. And I love working with D2D.
> 
> Is there something I'm missing here? Is Amazon going to buy Smashwords now? They already have Goodreads and Sheflari.


LOL not that I know.

Smashwords doesn't distribute to Amazon, at least not for prawns like us.


----------



## belindaf (Jan 27, 2011)

Whoa! I go to Amazon directly, but WOW! D2D was on my to-try list, and I still might for other channels, but this makes me leery.


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Patty Jansen said:


> And Amazon again proves that it knows how to be a contrary dick. For the time being, they can do so because of their sheer size. Until one day, they will find that it comes to bite them in the butt.
> 
> Here's to all businesses in the world who know that "collaboration" is not a shorthand for "take-over".


What was the issue between D2D and Amazon?


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

This is my own e-mail. I only had one book that I had published to Amazon this way so will lose that one.



> Dear Franklin Eddy:
> 
> We have finally received follow-up communication from Amazon concerning the suspension of Draft2Digital books that took place on Thursday, January 30th. They offered us no opportunity to appeal or correct their complaints, and showed little concern for the impact that action has had on our users, but they did at last provide some detailed information concerning the fate of the books in our account.
> 
> ...


----------



## David Adams (Jan 2, 2012)

I guess it now makes sense why Smashwords have been having so much trouble with Amazon distribution. :/

That sucks. Still, at least your rankings and reviews will be intact, right?


----------



## GearPress Steve (Feb 4, 2012)

Sorry to hear you've been having trouble!


----------



## DRMarvello (Dec 3, 2011)

David Adams said:


> That sucks. Still, at least your rankings and reviews will be intact, right?


Kris' email said that Amazon did not offer a migration solution that would keep rankings and reviews. That makes sense if Amazon is making you upload the book through a KDP account under a new ASIN. The system will see it as a new book.

What you might try to do is figure out what the ASIN is right now for your D2D titles and then ask Amazon to move the ratings/reviews after you upload the book via your own KDP account. I don't know if they'll do that, but it might be worth a try.


----------



## Sonya Bateman (Feb 3, 2013)

If you upload a book to KDP with the (exact) same title and author name as it was published under previously on Amazon, then Amazon will send you an email asking you to confirm that you are the copyright holder of the book (IIRC, all you have to do is give a brief explanation: I'm the author, it was published through such-and-such, and I retain all rights -- if such-and-such is a publisher, you need to give them a copy of your rights release letter, but you shouldn't have to with D2D). 

Once you've confirmed this, they'll merge the book you just published with the existing listing, and your reviews / rankings will still be there.

Just don't ask them to take down the previous version once you have the new one up and merged, because all of your reviews will disappear.

I know this from experience, having lost nearly 30 reviews on Amazon UK.


----------



## DRMarvello (Dec 3, 2011)

S.W. Vaughn said:


> If you upload a book to KDP with the (exact) same title and author name as it was published under previously on Amazon...


+1

Excellent information. Thanks for sharing it.


----------



## Sonya Bateman (Feb 3, 2013)

Happy to help!


----------



## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Unlocking and merging with subsequent similar thread...


----------



## Octavia Wildwood (Jan 10, 2014)

D2D's letter mentions being given no opportunity to appeal or address complaints.  Does anyone know what the issue was?  This is the first I've heard about it.


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

Amazon just pulled my book so it is real.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Wild Rivers said:


> Amazon just pulled my book so it is real.


Me, too. <sigh>


----------



## StarWriter (Jan 18, 2014)

Why would anyone give 10% of your earnings to a service that you can easily do yourself?  I'm new at this, but am I missing something?


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hi, Ken,

Let's keep this discussion to the D2D/Amazon issue--you can repost your question in the general D2D thread--
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,137808.0

Thanks!

Betsy
KB Mod


----------



## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

KenLozito said:


> Why would anyone give 10% of your earnings to a service that you can easily do yourself? I'm new at this, but am I missing something?


Because if you're not computer savvy (like me), it can be overwhelming to figure out how to upload to every retailer. Not only that, but they handled the formatting beautifully, all I had to do was upload my Word doc., and total sales was in one place (could look at break-out reports I'd wanted to), the changes to prices, MS, or blurbs happened within hours even on Apple (for me anyway), and they did a great job handling print for CreateSpace, leaving me a huge chunk of time to work on WIP. Not to mention their outstanding customer service skills! Monthly pay, immediate human on the line if you call... I could go on, but that's the big stuff. So sad for D2D


----------



## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Hi, Ken,
> 
> Let's keep this discussion to the D2D/Amazon issue--you can repost your question in the general D2D thread--
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,137808.0
> ...


Whoops, sorry! I was typing when u posted. Want me to delete?


----------



## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

Does anyone have an idea what the disagreement between Amazon and D2D was?

Is there any other distributor out there who distributes to Amazon?


----------



## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

KenLozito said:


> Why would anyone give 10% of your earnings to a service that you can easily do yourself? I'm new at this, but am I missing something?


Well for me it is because D2D offer payment by paypal, which Amazon doesn't. Having to deal with all those foreign currency cheques is a complete pain, and when you don't sell a lot, it can take a long while to recieve them.


----------



## sarahdalton (Mar 15, 2011)

I go direct to Amazon but use D2D for B&N and Apple. Well, this sucks. I hope Amazon change their mind soon. D2D is really easy to use. I hope they don't end up losing their reach.


----------



## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

KenLozito said:


> Why would anyone give 10% of your earnings to a service that you can easily do yourself? I'm new at this, but am I missing something?


I want to keep my pen names entirely separate. That's impossible if you distribute both directly through Amazon because you're allowed only one seller account for everything. Site and software glitches in the past outed not just the real names of authors, they also outed all the pen names.

D2D would have been a handy solution to keep Amazon from linking the two identities.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Bummer, guys.  I know from experience that the same author name and a _similar_ book name will sometimes get automatically combined with an older book, though, so you should be OK with the reviews transferring over, at least.


----------



## Guest (Feb 5, 2014)

Really poor treatment from Amazon I think. Their treatment of D2D and it's customers is appropriate for a rule breaking troll who can't be reasoned with. The average self publisher doesn't deserve to be treated this way, much less a reputable service like D2D. 

As someone previously mentioned D2D was a way to publish on amazon without affecting other pen names if there was ever any disagreements or cold fisted freezing of accounts.

Without knowing all the facts, it's hard to say more. But in 2014 I'd have hoped we'd be going forward rather than backward.


----------



## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

I've heard more than one story of people appealing directly to Bezos and getting a good response. If I was the boss of D2D, I would at least try to get dialogue going with him. Couldn't hurt at this stage right?


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

If I had to do it over again, I would put all of my books on D2D since they are very easy to work with.  Having to deal with only one site has advantages.

Maybe that is the problem.  D2D is too good a site and is perceived as a danger to Amazon?


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Wild Rivers said:


> If I had to do it over again, I would put all of my books on D2D since they are very easy to work with. Having to deal with only one site has advantages.
> 
> Maybe that is the problem. D2D is too good a site and is perceived as a danger to Amazon?


Since D2D doesn't sell, but is only an aggregator, they should be a threat at all.



Nic said:


> Does anyone have an idea what the disagreement between Amazon and D2D was?
> 
> Is there any other distributor out there who distributes to Amazon?


Violation of Amazon's TOS, unspecified.


----------



## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

This sucks. I only use D2D for dist to the iBookstore, so if Apple decided to pull an Amazon, I'd be out of luck.


----------



## JaroldWilliams (Jan 9, 2014)

Octavia Wildwood said:


> D2D's letter mentions being given no opportunity to appeal or address complaints. Does anyone know what the issue was? This is the first I've heard about it.


I, also would like to know what the problem was/is.


----------



## Jash (Apr 4, 2013)

Wild Rivers said:


> D2D is too good a site and is perceived as a danger to Amazon?


In what way could D2D possibly be a danger to Amazon?


----------



## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

L.L. Akers said:


> Because if you're not computer savvy (like me), it can be overwhelming to figure out how to upload to every retailer. Not only that, but they handled the formatting beautifully, all I had to do was upload my Word doc., and total sales was in one place (could look at break-out reports I'd wanted to), the changes to prices, MS, or blurbs happened within hours even on Apple (for me anyway), and they did a great job handling print for CreateSpace, leaving me a huge chunk of time to work on WIP. Not to mention their outstanding customer service skills! Monthly pay, immediate human on the line if you call... I could go on, but that's the big stuff. So sad for D2D


I second everything that L.L. wrote. I've had nothing but good experiences with D2D and use them for B&N and Apple. I no longer make my books available on Kobo because the number I sold there weren't worth the hassle of dealing with them. I upload to KDP and Createspace directly.


----------



## Nathan Elliott (May 29, 2012)

markecooper said:


> I've heard more than one story of people appealing directly to Bezos and getting a good response. If I was the boss of D2D, I would at least try to get dialogue going with him. Couldn't hurt at this stage right?


If I were an author affected by this, I'd email him. It might mean more to hear from hundreds of d2d authors than from someone at d2d. I don't think Amazon likes to have other intermediaries in between readers and writers. Explain to them why d2d should be allowed to squeeze in there. They might listen.


----------



## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Nathan Elliott said:


> If I were an author affected by this, I'd email him. It might mean more to hear from hundreds of d2d authors than from someone at d2d. I don't think Amazon likes to have other intermediaries in between readers and writers. Explain to them why d2d should be allowed to squeeze in there. They might listen.


To Amazon, D2D is just another account with a LOT of books set up. But yes, you're probably right. However, if I were Bezos, I might read and answer an email. If I got spammed by hundreds...DEL key.


----------



## Cleo (Jan 11, 2013)

I know of another person whose company lost its contract with Amazon (whatever that means) a few days ago, which resulted in titles being delisted. I don't have details beyond that, but it looks like D2D isn't the only one getting a Dear Distributor letter.

I go direct with them, but Amazon causes me more sleepless nights than everyone else put together. Think I'll name my next mercurial, brooding billionaire Zon. Or maybe not.

Big hugs to everyone who had titles pulled.


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

markecooper said:


> To Amazon, D2D is just another account with a LOT of books set up. But yes, you're probably right. However, if I were Bezos, I might read and answer an email. If I got spammed by hundreds...DEL key.


If I were Bezos, Id ask how many of the deleted books had been put back on KDP by the authors.


----------



## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

This is why, while we shouldn't be panicking, we should be pooling resources into fostering a more friendly and transparent sales channel than what Amazon wishes to provide.


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

> If I were Bezos, Id ask how many of the deleted books had been put back on KDP by the authors.


I only had one through D2D and will not put it back on Amazon but will continue to sell it to Apple, B&N and Kobo.


----------



## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Vaalingrade said:


> This is why, while we shouldn't be panicking, we should be pooling resources into fostering a more friendly and transparent sales channel than what Amazon wishes to provide.


But Amazon provides readers, and readers are all that matter.


----------



## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

I'd be interested in knowing just what problem they had regarding the TOS. Because D2D behaved no different than for instance any of the various large scale publishers, so I don't see any problem.

And is there any other aggregator dealing with Amazon similar to D2D?


----------



## Guest (Feb 5, 2014)

Wild Rivers said:


> D2D is too good a site and is perceived as a danger to Amazon?


Amazon does not want to deal with sites like D2D or Smashwords. They want each author under Amazon's thumb directly. And I don't say this because I hate Amazon. Far from it. I love Amazon as a customer. I use KDP and Createspace and ACX. But I am also a realist.

Places like D2D and Smashwords may well be the closest thing indies have to a "union." Think about the PayPal debacle involving erotica a while ago. Mark was able to use the collective weight of Smashwords to push back on PayPal and work out a resolution. Despite people's attacks sometimes, Smashwords has been able to leverage its weight on more than one occasion to open doors for indies and do things individual indies could not get done for themselves.

Each of us is nothing more than a single data point to Amazon. Amazon is not our friend. Amazon is a retailer and we are (minor) suppliers. We are REPLACEABLE suppliers. One author selling 100 a month can be replaced. One author selling 100 a month might not even be noticed if they drop off the site. TEN THOUSAND AUTHORS selling 100 copies each through a single organized channel? They can't be as easily pushed around or ignored. I'm not saying this to say Amazon is an "evil empire." It is merely how large corporations function.

So if you think about things from that perspective, companies like D2D are problematic. If they stay small, then they can be kicked around just like individual authors. But if they get too big, you can't kick them around without consequences.


----------



## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> Violation of Amazon's TOS, unspecified.


Respectfully, we don't actually know whether or not it was specified by Amazon: we _know_ only that D2D hasn't specified it to _us_.


----------



## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Cherise Kelley said:


> But Amazon provides readers, and readers are all that matter.


That's all well and good until they decide to stop providing _you_ with readers.

That day may never come, but would you rather be caught completely off guard or have an immediate fall-back plan?


----------



## Guest (Feb 5, 2014)

Vaalingrade said:


> That's all well and good until they decide to stop providing _you_ with readers.
> 
> That day may never come, but would you rather be caught completely off guard or have an immediate fall-back plan?


All of my titles were unavailable on Amazon for two weeks after they closed Mobipocket down and screwed up the port. TWO WEEKS. Most people around here would be freaking out of their books were down for two days. Fortunately, I DID have other options for my readers so it wasn't a business killer.


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Little food for thought here.   It seems that Amazon said you could resubmit your books directly through them and not lose anything.   
Now if I made most of my money through one retailer, I would do what they asked and not bitch or make speculations that I know nothing about.   None of us know what was said between D2D and Amazon.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

cinisajoy said:


> Little food for thought here. It seems that Amazon said you could resubmit your books directly through them and not lose anything.
> Now if I made most of my money through one retailer, I would do what they asked and not b*tch or make speculations that I know nothing about. None of us know what was said between D2D and Amazon.


I was seriously thinking about publishing all my titles through D2D to Amazon, the reason being all the different remittance advices and reports I get plus I just got a stack of 1099's from all of amazon's different outlets. D2D takes their percentage out of my royalties and it doesn't cost Amazon anything for me to go through them. It would have been nice to cut down on all that paperwork, even though it was mostly electronic.

So, I'll spend time reformatting and uploading my books to Amazon today.


----------



## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

cinisajoy said:


> I would do what they asked and not b*tch or make speculations that I know nothing about. None of us know what was said between D2D and Amazon.


The not knowing is why I ask, in the hope that D2D will come out about it.

And one "can do as asked" only if that is an option. It isn't one for me. That's why I bitch.


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

> So, I'll spend time reformatting and uploading my books to Amazon today.


You shouldn't have to do any reformatting since you can get a mobi from D2D and upload that to Amazon. That is what I normally do. D2D is perfectly agreeable with us doing that.


----------



## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

> Multiple sellers may not be aggregated into a single account, unless the aggregating entity is an Amazon subsidiary. In the interest of improving customer experience, every seller must be fully accountable for their customer-facing performance as measured by the Amazon Seller Performance Plan. Each seller must either maintain their own account with Amazon, or sell through the account of an aggregating entity that is an Amazon subsidiary.


Possibly this? But how do publishers do it then? I don't see any difference.


----------



## Fictionista (Sep 14, 2012)

Yes, Amazon just removed my books today.


----------



## K. D. (Jun 6, 2013)

Nic said:


> Possibly this? But how do publishers do it then? I don't see any difference.


Publishers usually own the rights ...


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Nic said:


> The not knowing is why I ask, in the hope that D2D will come out about it.
> 
> And one "can do as asked" only if that is an option. It isn't one for me. That's why I b*tch.


I think you misunderstood my comment. You (general you) are all assuming that Amazon is the reason the books are being pulled. Therefore you are complaining about the big Zon. For all we know, D2D could have purposely been violating the TOS thinking we have so many authors that Amazon won't kick us out. 
Until you know the facts please quit placing blame.

Now I will use Dish Network as an example. I forgot whether it was Disney or Viacom a few years ago, that decided to raise their prices by some huge amount. Well Dish Network decided rather than give in to their blackmail, he would just pull all their stations and replace them with someone else. Dish did not want to have to raise his prices that much. Guess what after 3 days, Disney or Viacom came back with a better deal because it immensely impacted their bottom line.

My point being is that just because you have a product does not mean that you can rewrite the rules to suit yourself.


----------



## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

zoe tate said:


> Respectfully, we don't actually know whether or not it was specified by Amazon: we _know_ only that D2D hasn't specified it to _us_.


Very true. But Julie's reasoning is darned convincing.

ETA: Any chance D2D's introduction of public book pages pissed off Amazon? Public pages do put D2D one step closer to becoming a retail competitor. Not saying that's D2D's plan, but it might look that way to Amazon. One major difference between Smashwords (not allowed to distribute to Amazon) and D2D (allowed, up to now) was that Smashwords does compete with Amazon as a retail outlet and D2D only wanted to distribute.


----------



## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

cinisajoy said:


> Little food for thought here. It seems that Amazon said you could resubmit your books directly through them and not lose anything.
> Now if I made most of my money through one retailer, I would do what they asked and not b*tch or make speculations that I know nothing about. None of us know what was said between D2D and Amazon.


Only one of the two has a history of knifing their ebook business partners in the back though.


----------



## Guest (Feb 5, 2014)

Nic said:


> Possibly this? But how do publishers do it then? I don't see any difference.


A publisher is a single seller. The publisher is fully responsible for the content. Unlike an aggregation service, that does not engage in any quality control or have any responsibility for the content. As a publisher, I am 100% legally responsible for the content I sell. Unlike D2D, which would not themselves be legally responsible for the content.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Nic said:


> Possibly this? But how do publishers do it then? I don't see any difference.


Multiple sellers may not be aggregated into a single account, unless the aggregating entity is an Amazon subsidiary. In the interest of improving customer experience, every seller must be fully accountable for their customer-facing performance as measured by the Amazon Seller Performance Plan. Each seller must either maintain their own account with Amazon, or sell through the account of an aggregating entity that is an Amazon subsidiary.

Okay, does that mean that since I have a KDP account with Amazon that I cannot put some of my books through the aggregator instead of going direct?

Just trying to understand.


----------



## DRMarvello (Dec 3, 2011)

Becca Mills said:


> Any chance D2D's introduction of public book pages p*ssed off Amazon? Public pages do put D2D one step closer to becoming a retail competitor. Not saying that's D2D's plan, but it might look that way to Amazon. One major difference between Smashwords (not allowed to distribute to Amazon) and D2D (allowed, up to now) was that Smashwords does compete with Amazon as a retail outlet and D2D only wanted to distribute.


Interesting theory. D2D is also talking about rolling out a coupon program, which would give authors a way to give away their MOBI editions without going through Amazon. Amazon eats competitors, so doing anything that makes you look anything like a competitor is dangerous.

I have a friend who started a microbrewery several years ago. He had watched other companies come and go and paid attention to their mistakes. He decided that he would have a tap room, but would not serve food. His main goal was to grow his business, starting locally. Serving food would put him in direct competition against the area restaurants and pubs. Instead, he focused on being a beer _distributor_ and is now selling nationally.

D2D has consistently said they want to focus on being a distributor, even though many have urged them to get into the retail business. (I personally Kris an email lauding this position.) I'm surprised Amazon has put D2D in the crosshairs. I have a theory that it's because D2D is an "entry point" for new books and they distribute to Amazon's competitors. Going through D2D, authors don't have the chance (or option) of entering the Select program.


----------



## Usedtopostheretoo! (Feb 27, 2011)

I don't know anything about the mechanics of D2D. Only what I've read here. Does D2D every contact authors with quality control items passed to them by Amazon? Speculating, but this has to be part of the issue. The number of ignored emails, many requiring or requesting action, would be massive. If a reader finds a typo in your book and reports it to Amazon, you get an email asking you to correct it. This is probably "part" of the problem, but who knows.


----------



## Willo (May 10, 2013)

Vaalingrade said:


> That's all well and good until they decide to stop providing _you_ with readers. That day may never come, but would you rather be caught completely off guard or have an immediate fall-back plan?
> 
> This is why, while we shouldn't be panicking, we should be pooling resources into fostering a more friendly and transparent sales channel than what Amazon wishes to provide.


#YES

Amazon has shown consistent lack of consideration for its indie publishers. They could pull the rug whenever they want and severely affect livelihoods/completely reverse livable incomes. I'm unwilling to place that much power in their hands. Period.

I'd switched some of my books to D2d for Amazon distribution for exactly that reason (and made more through D2D than I ever made through Amazon, interestingly enough, that I can cash out through Paypal, no less). I'm more than aggravated that Amazon made this arbitrary decision.

If we relist through Kdp, do we retain also-boughts and rankings? No (last I knew). This is inconvenient to say the least and can affect profits. I will jump ship to the next giant (with abandon) when Amazon finally pisses off too many people and the consequences cost them dearly. I cannot express how exhausted I am with their ridiculousness.

#TrulyPissed

#PowerToTheAggregators/ChampionsOfSideloading (namely D2d and baby Tomely - Smash has... issues to work out)


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

> I don't know anything about the mechanics of D2D. Only what I've read here. Does D2D every contact authors with quality control items passed to them by Amazon? Speculating, but this has to be part of the issue. The number of ignored emails, many requiring or requesting action, would be massive. If a reader finds a typo in your book and reports it to Amazon, you get an email asking you to correct it. This is probably "part" of the problem, but who knows.
> R


I doubt that quality contol filters catch anything from D2D. I had two short stories that were similar on Amazon. One had sex and the other didn't so were meant for different audiences. However, Amazon didn't like my reasoning and blocked the one with the least sales. So I went to D2D where I had already published the book to Apple, B&N, and Kobo. I checked the Amazon box and it was published to Amazon.

So it does seem that publishing Amazon through D2D allowed us to bypass some filters.


----------



## Thomas Watson (Mar 8, 2012)

Wild Rivers said:


> I doubt that quality contol filters catch anything from D2D. I had two short stories that were similar on Amazon. One had sex and the other didn't so were meant for different audiences. However, Amazon didn't like my reasoning and blocked the one with the least sales. So I went to D2D where I had already published the book to Apple, B&N, and Kobo. I checked the Amazon box and it was published to Amazon.
> 
> So it does seem that publishing Amazon through D2D allowed us to bypass some filters.


I've been wondering if this business might have something to do with Amazon's desire to control quality and content. "Inappropriate" content turning up in searches and generating customer complaints has become a sore spot with Amazon, just to judge by things I've seen posted here on Writer's Café. I could easily see Amazon pulling the plug on D2D for that reason alone, if your experience turns out to be representative.

Of course, that begs the question of why D2D wouldn't first be given a chance to take corrective measures.


----------



## Willo (May 10, 2013)

Thomas Watson said:


> I've been wondering if this business might have something to do with Amazon's desire to control quality and content. "Inappropriate" content turning up in searches and generating customer complaints has become a sore spot with Amazon, just to judge by things I've seen posted here on Writer's Café. I could easily see Amazon pulling the plug on D2D for that reason alone, if your experience turns out to be representative.
> 
> Of course, that begs the question of why D2D wouldn't first be given a chance to take corrective measures.


I received a notice from Amazon through D2d last Fall releasing a new series under a pen name, and D2d acted as the middle man to clear up Amazon's confusion. D2d was great communication-wise. Far better than Amazon has ever been with anything (from the kdp end of things, anyways). I truly dread not having a reliable aggregator to go through for kdp now.

It's possible some publishers using D2d ignored their notices, but I'm not sure that's what's at the root of this. D2d doesn't allow books to be submitted to retailers if they go against known guidelines (there's a program of some sort in place that checks keywords, content, etc for trigger words). Offensive content is unlikely to make it out of the gate. There's even a copyright declaration that has to be filled out before a book can be published now. They've proven incredibly efficient and professional.

I imagine Amazon would just unpublish books individually rather than punish D2d if it was an issue tied to one of their notices. Definitely thinking this is more of a power move to keep us corralled in their system, as suggested earlier in the thread (which sucks).

edit: nitpicky typo fix


----------



## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

DRMarvello said:


> I have a theory that it's because D2D is an "entry point" for new books and they distribute to Amazon's competitors. Going through D2D, authors don't have the chance (or option) of entering the Select program.


This is a really good theory. Amazon really pushes their Select program.


----------



## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

I don't know what the problem is/was... I only know it's very frustrating and I feel so terribly bad for D2D. If you'll notice, on the other thread, the D2D rep went from saying 'we' to 'they' between last weeks letter and the final word from Amazon that they were being delisted. I tend to pick up on these little things. I'm sure it's a huge loss of revenue for them, and maybe even resulted in lost jobs. I've uploaded directly to Amazon because I have no choice. But in honor of how I feel for Draft 2 Digital, I've changed my profile pic to my sad face.

This face is for you, D2D.


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Vaalingrade said:


> This is why, while we shouldn't be panicking, we should be pooling resources into fostering a more friendly and transparent sales channel than what Amazon wishes to provide.


Amazon is my friend. I am their ASIN. They say jump. I ask how high.

Aint this a great country?



> Amazon has shown consistent lack of consideration for its indie publishers.


They have shown me great consideration and have scrupulously complied with all contract provisions.

God Bless Amazon.


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

I published a new novel to D2D tonight and checked Apple, B&N, and Kobo.  I also checked Amazon out of curosity and it said it was temporarily disabled.

Then I took the mobi that was created by D2D and uploaded it to Amazon and published it there.

I usually publish it that way so there was no difference.

Franklin Eddy


----------



## MrBourbons (May 1, 2013)

I had the email the other day and saw yesterday that my sole D2D release had been dropped by Amazon. Granted, I've only had one sale since October so I wasn't particularly bummed about it.

I'll be putting it through KDP in the next couple of days, and probably writing a blog post to see if I can double my sales.


----------



## Pamela (Oct 6, 2010)

Since Amazon was on the scene way before D2D I uploaded all my books there first.

I love Amazon, but with the new logarithms, Select free is not working any more like it used to.

I, like many people, removed my books from Select and sell through D2D - to B&N, Kobo, iTunes.

Amazon might think that D2D is responsible for many of us leaving Select, when it's really their policy of not helping out authors any more when they have a really amazing free run. I did a free run and was in the top 100 free for a few days and in the top ten in all the sub-genres, and still didn't get sales afterward because my book never got on the bestseller and popularity lists. I watched and waited for days and the books never were made visible in any way. The ranking also stayed low. The free downloads showed the book was wanted by readers, but after the free run it was invisible on Amazon.

This is Amazon's fault, and has nothing to do with D2D. I find D2D to be a great service. They promptly answer emails, make uploading easy. They are way better than Smashwords. I'm sticking with D2D and wish them every success for their fine service.


----------



## KerryT2012 (Dec 18, 2012)

DDark said:


> This is why I'm a huge fan of going direct. I only use D2D for Apple, but I have no alternative. And I love working with D2D.
> 
> Is there something I'm missing here? Is Amazon going to buy Smashwords now? They already have Goodreads and Sheflari.


Good point, never thought about that one. Maybe this is the reason. Just seems a bit weird after months of working with them to now say no, there is a bigger reason for it.


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Amazon recently announced it had 475,000 titles in Select. I doubt they care about people leaving. Those folks are overwhelmed by others who are joining.

My completely uninformed speculation is that Amazon wanted an access fee from D2D, and they couldn't agree.


----------



## KerryT2012 (Dec 18, 2012)

Terrence OBrien said:


> Amazon recently announced it had 475,000 titles in Select. I doubt they care about people leaving. Those folks are overwhelmed by others who are joining.
> 
> My completely uninformed speculation is that Amazon wanted an access fee from D2D, and they couldn't agree.


I´m going with the theory that D2D were not complying with Amazon´s criteria on quality. Why else would D2D say they couldn´t appeal? This is my conspiracy theory.


----------



## JaroldWilliams (Jan 9, 2014)

I am thinking about using D2D, but for Apple and Kobo only. I go direct for Amazon.


----------



## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Sarwah2012 said:


> I´m going with the theory that D2D were not complying with Amazon´s criteria on quality. Why else would D2D say they couldn´t appeal? This is my conspiracy theory.


Too much PLR stuff?


----------



## Lady Vine (Nov 11, 2012)

Here's hoping Google sees an opportunity here and agrees to work with D2D. It's starting to become a serious competitor now. God knows we need one.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Lady Vine said:


> Here's hoping Google sees an opportunity here and agrees to work with D2D. It's starting to become a serious competitor now. God knows we need one.


D2D has announced new outlets coming up, hopefully not Sony.


----------



## Thomas Watson (Mar 8, 2012)

It won't be Sony.

http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2014/02/sony-shuts-down-the-reader-store/


----------



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

My D2D sales are way down for this month.  Hopefully sales will pick up later in the month since this happens sometimes.


----------



## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Total speculation here but could the new channel at D2D be Google Play and KDP don't like it?


----------



## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Lady Vine said:


> Here's hoping Google sees an opportunity here and agrees to work with D2D. It's starting to become a serious competitor now. God knows we need one.


I'm in the first place Google has installed its new Google Fiber 1-gigabit cable service. TV and internet. It's great.

They include a Nexus-7 tablet with the service. It's not an option. You get it. It's a very nice machine, and I immediately loaded the Kindle app. Works great. It is tied into the user's TV system, but also works as a normal Android.

However, when I started looking through the Google movie offerings, it became obvious they could use the same system for books. A user could flip through selections of books on his TV, and click what he wants. It gets downloaded to the Nexus, and the user's Google account gets charged. There is one Google user account for everything.

They could tie it into the TV and movies the user watches, and feed up a selection of recommended books. The DVR that is included can hold 500 hours of recordings. That info alone can be a good indication of what kind of books a user might want.

The Google book reader sits right at the bottom of the first page on the Nexus.

We are just at the beginning of this game.


----------



## Ella Blythe (Oct 25, 2013)

Yeah, I too am wondering how this will affect me and several of my writer friends. Fortunately the only book I initially put through D2D for Amazon was a paperback copy of one series (via CreateSpace, indirectly...surely Amazon won't pull books that were put together by a company they own...will they??). Everything else I did directly through KDP. But many of my friends use D2D for _every_ submission, which is gonna hurt.

The most annoying part for me, timing-wise, is that all of my books are FINALLY out of Select (woooooo!), so I'd been gleefully putting them all through D2D for Apple & Kobo etc. (ease of use & fantastic customer service, as many have mentioned)...just in time for questions to arise about D2D's future. For their personal service alone I'll be heartbroken if this is a truly bad omen for them.



So...what do we do while we await a more satisfying statement regarding why D2D is undergoing such drastic changes? Is everyone in the process of setting up direct pub accounts with Kobo, Apple & B&N?


----------



## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

If Amazon is pulling books from aggrigators, as someone said above, does that mean that they'll get around to pulling books from Smashwords too? or has Smashwords enough pull with Amazon that they won't do that?


----------



## T.K. (Mar 8, 2011)

Just curious... Does this violate Amazon's TOS? (Listing for free at other outlets but .99 at Amazon)

*Vendors & Pricing*
*Can I list my book for free?

Yes! To some vendors, anyway.

Of our current sales channels, only the iBookstore and Kobo allow publishers to choose a list price of $0.00. If you put that in the price field (on the publishing page), we'll list your book for free wherever they'll let us, and list it for the minimum list price (usually $0.99) at any other vendors you've selected.
*

Found here
https://www.draft2digital.com/faq/


----------



## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

T.K. Richardson said:


> Just curious... Does this violate Amazon's TOS? (Listing for free at other outlets but .99 at Amazon)


I've read some lengthy discussions of this exact point in another forum. There are certainly some arguments for saying that it breaches Amazon's terms of service.

In one conversation I read, some people had written to Amazon to ask them whether it breaches their terms of service. Even Amazon's staff responses (quoted in the thread - some of them even "pasted in" in their entirety) didn't resolve the matter. My own interpretation was that technically it does, but they know people do it and they tolerate it.

Unless and until D2D gives us more information (and maybe not even then), we're not going to know exactly why this has happened. At the moment, they're certainly not saying.


----------



## Daizie (Mar 27, 2013)

beccaprice said:


> If Amazon is pulling books from aggrigators, as someone said above, does that mean that they'll get around to pulling books from Smashwords too? or has Smashwords enough pull with Amazon that they won't do that?


Books are not delivered to Amazon through Smashwords, so this is not a factor. There was a disagreement years ago and it has never polished out.


----------

