Has your KDP account been suspended or blocked? What do you do when your Kindle publishing or Createspace accounts get terminated?
Find out my answers in today’s post!
Welcome to Self-Publishing with Dale where you get tips and strategies for publishing your own books. Have you had your KDP or Createspace account suspended or even terminated? If so, what did you do? Drop your experiences in the comments.
While on the topic of KDP and Createspace account safety, would you like to know the most sensible and safest practices to launching your next book? Then, you’ll want to download your free copy of the Best Seller Book Launch Checklist at SelfPublishingWithDale.com/checklist.
KDP Account Termination
Recently, a viewer reached out to me with a big issue. He recently had his KDP and Createspace accounts blocked. Having made a significant income from these two sources, he was at a loss and found himself with a deep back catalog of books and no idea what to do next.
Rather than going into why his accounts were terminated, I wanted to address this issue from a more global view. Regardless of what you get your Kindle publishing or Createspace account terminated for, Amazon can do it with no real recourse.
Amazon really doesn’t have to have a reason to suspend or block your KDP account. That’s why they keep their guidelines ambiguous, so they can make up the rules when it serves them best.
The Difference Between a KDP Account Suspended or Terminated
It should be noted, there’s a difference between a suspension and termination. Amazon appears to have no hard and fast rule when it comes to account suspensions and terminations.
Suspensions typically happen when Amazon determines you are in violation of their policies and guidelines. It’s essentially a slap on the hand and will last as long as they deem necessary. After their “further review” of your violation, they’ll usually reinstate your account with a stern warning.
I’ve known some people to get suspended twice followed by a third strike resulting in termination. Whereas, other self-publishers get an immediate termination with no exact rhyme or reason. They’ll usually get some canned response stating essentially “you know what you did.”
In regard to suspensions, you typically have to just wait it out. The smartest idea is to only give information when specifically asked. In their minds, you’re guilty until otherwise proved innocent. Don’t stack any evidence against yourself by sharing more than what Amazon wants to know.
In Case of KDP Account Termination
Here are my recommendations should you ever have your KDP and Createspace account terminated.
1 File an Appeal
Appeal the termination. It’s taken some publishers upwards of 3 months to get their accounts back. But, if you got through the right people, you could possibly get your accounts back. Createspace is very lenient, so they may be the first to cave. KDP might be a little harder to win over. Since your account won’t be accessible, you may have to either communicate with them via email or call.
2 Consider the Alternatives
Push forward with your business and utilize the Amazon alternatives.
For print, consider Lulu, IngramSpark, or Nook Press. Keep in mind, you may have to buy your own ISBNs for those options.
For ebooks, you have tons of options including Lulu, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Smashwords, PublishDrive, and Bookrix. I lean heavily in favor of D2D since they have distribution to KDP now. You can always publish directly to the big 4 Amazon Alternatives in iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Rakuten’s Kobo, or Google Play.
Keep in mind, you do not want to republish content from your blocked KDP or Createspace accounts. Aggregate publishers like Draft2Digital have a strict vetting process that detects any content related to blocked accounts. Don’t try to fool them by repurposing or reworking your content. The best idea is to push forward and release new content through these other viable options.
3 Do-It-Yourself
If all else fails, create a website where you self-fulfill the orders. If you have an email list, you can start shooting exclusive offers to them and collect all your royalties. Ultimately, you don’t want to rely on Amazon for your payday. It’s for reasons like this that I tell authors to build an email list. Amazon can be unreliable sometimes and will pull the rug out from hard-working publishers. And, they don’t even need a reason, they can just do it because they feel like it.
What Happens Next?
Hey, these few options are the only way you can recover from an account termination, but it’s certainly a good start. At the very minimum, ask questions and try to find out precise reasons for your KDP and Createspace account suspension or termination. That way you don’t repeat it later.
Speaking of KDP account suspensions, find out in my video on the Kindle Publishing Loophole: How I Got My KDP Account Suspended a few years ago. Yep, I screwed up, but good.
Till later, this has been Self Publishing with Dale, and I’ll catch you soon.