When Amazon Says You’re a Disappointment
And suddenly quitting feels like the sensible option
Yesterday, for the first Wednesday in months, I didn’t publish a piece on Vocal.
Believe me, I wanted to. I had it all written up and ready to go. I was going to share the news that I had officially become a published author.
I sat there looking at my Amazon Bookshelf, hitting refresh all day long. Finally, at 4 p.m., I hit that refresh button for the last time, and those angry, red, offensive capital letters glared back at me.
BLOCKED
Then below it:
Your title is unavailable for editing due to either a copyright restriction or blocked content. Check your email for more details.
Huh?
I would have loved to check my email, but I had some issues with keywords earlier in the week, and I’ve discovered it takes exactly four hours for the email to come through once they’ve flagged an issue in your Bookshelf.
Oh, and by the way, Amazon, thanks for not bringing up the major copyright issue the other day when you gave me the impression that I just needed to fix a few minor keywords and I’d be on my way.
Feeling deflated, it was time to pick up my son from daycare. The perfect way to end a terrible afternoon would have been to get a nice, big bear hug from my loving child.
As always, at pickup, he ran straight past me and into Dad’s arms. He went on happily saying, “That’s my Dada,” all the way home.
We got home and then spent an hour in terrible two land with tantrums, hitting and screaming before we finally put him to bed.
After that, I had just enough energy to sit and stare into space for an hour before my Amazon email finally arrived:
Based on our review, we won't be accepting your submission for publication because the book(s) might result in a disappointing customer experience.
There it was, the crappy icing on the terrible cake that had been my day. To my exhausted mum brain, Amazon was telling me my book wasn’t good enough for publication.
I emailed them straight back, asking for more information.
Is it not obvious that authors need that information to resolve the problem? You can’t just flag something as having a copyright issue, then say it might be disappointing to the customer, without telling the author why?
Do they not realise a dedicated person has poured hours into this project? They’ve used up everything they have left in them to get this book, a book that means the world to them, published. They need to know how they can fix the issue.
I got a reply almost straight away saying:
We received the information you submitted for the following book(s).
We need some additional time to review everything. We'll contact you again within 5 business days with more information.
Five business days. Great. I’ll just sit here for another week wondering if I’ll ever get this book published.
Once they get in touch with me, I’ll have to use my tiny snatches of spare time to fix the issue, go through the whole submission process again, and wait another 72 hours to find out what the next issue is.
In the meantime, my brain will continue wondering:
Am I good enough? It’s a common writer problem I’ve wrestled with throughout this whole process.
Is it all even worth the stress?
And if it ever does get published, will I even sell more than a few copies to just family and friends?
I’m not giving up just yet. But first, I’m going to sit in a dark room, watch a horror movie, and eat a block of chocolate.
Then we’ll see.
About the Creator
Sandy Gillman
I’m a mum to a toddler, just trying to get through the day. I like to write about the ups and downs of parenting. I’m not afraid to tell it like it is. I hope you’ll find something here to laugh, relate to, and maybe even learn from.
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Comments (17)
WTF?!?!?! Idiots... this is so annoying. Especially with all the crap I read because of stupid booktok (IKR why did I even jump on the wagon...), at least let the reader decide if something is disappointing for them. I'm pretty sure your writing is 100x better than those over-hyped books I read. Don't give up on this! 💗 They can have all the stupid reasons, but don't let them discourage you. Once I tried to self-publish my novel on Google books and they blocked my entire account because according to them I can't even prove if I wrote it... but they didn't tell me how to prove it. You're going to find a way to publish it.
Congrats on your top story, too! I got so caught up in yakking that I forgot to say it!💗😊
No, Sandy, do not give up! I have published a handful of children's books on Amazon, and let me tell you that they do NOT always get things right. Is it annoying? Hell, yes, but trust me when I tell you that your writing is well beyond good enough. A five-day wait is frustrating, but I believe you will resolve whatever issue is looming, likely an AI thing. I am currently working on my debut poetry collection, set for release this year. I will not allow Amazon's publishing process to weigh me down. Please stick with it and keep your chin up. You can always email me, if you like, if you need another set of eyes.
So sorry to hear this - a couple of thoughts. There is another book on Amazon of 10 horror stories with the same title https://www.amazon.com/Whispers-Your-Mind-Stories-Before-ebook/dp/B0BY7DDH2K, so that could be the problem. Plus, where did you create the cover? There has been an issue with people using Canva, as apparently, even if you have a Pro account, you don't hold the copyright to images, so Amazon may not accept them.
I'm speechless. I would have to echo all the previous comments. You know I am a fan and so are many others...I'm sure this is a fluke in the system.
So sorry that is happening to you! Please don't let this be the end! Keep, keeping on! Your writing is great!!❤️
I will echo that this has nothing to do with the quality of your work. A living human being has probably yet to look at your books. You've likely been passed through a series of AI filter to check for copyright infringement, which you likely haven't come close to actually committing. But the filters are super sensitive.
Don't be upse,t Sandy. This is, I believ,e probably because of some copyright image issue or something. It happened to one of my friend when she used international brands images or something on those lines.She removed it and republished it and it got approved. Just try something on these lines, I think it should work @Sandy Gillman
NO! This is crazy! Saying that without any notes or comments, and then making you wait a whole week?! I’m so sorry, Sandy! Say what they may, you are an amazing writer, and as a reader and a big fan of your work, I’ve never been disappointed. Not once. I hope this gets resolved quickly!
Still did not get. Why blocked? Is the content that creepy?
I'm shocked. Your writing has *always* been of an unnervingly high standard? I've never heard of someone's self-pubbed e-book being banned from Amazon, either. And trust me, I've read some duddy self-pubbed poetry e-books that (most certainly) would have resulted in a disappointing experience for the reader, ha! You might have run into a new set of standards that they've recently introduced? Or just an auditor who was having a bad day, who knows? If it doesn't end up on Amazon, there are other options. You deserve a published book of stories, my sweet.
How dare they say it would be a disappointing customer experience??!! The audacity!! Like Kay mentioned, there's a sea of AI-Generated books on Amazon but they decide to block you??!! That's crazyyyyyy! Atrocious! Gawdddd, you gotta wait 5 business days to hear back from them? I hope they tell you it was a mistake and let you publish your book. Please keep us updated
I have never even seen such a thing. What an unhelpful thing to say. I know someone who just copied and pasted directly from AI and they're published which is insane. I'm so sorry. I hope it is rectified soon!
I'm sure it's only gotten worse trying to publish on Amazon considering how many people are uploading entirely AI-generated "books." Rooting for you!
I think look no further than our Sir Paul Stewart who has had rejections. Don't need anybody to tell you you are not good enough
Of course you have the right to know. I hope they get it straight. Like you said, how would you know how to fix the 'issue' without knowing what it is. Plain and simple. I don't see an issue with the title. Love the cover also. 🤩 Best of luck, Sandy. And Congrats on all the work you put in to get it to this point. I'm sure they'll publish it. 🙏🏾
Awww that's tough, Sandy. From what I can see, you are dedicated to your craft and a talented writer, so don't let the buggers grind you down! But you're right, that is one of the least helpful editorial notes I have ever seen, so I can say now that it doesn't come from the kind of nuanced professionalism you would expect in publishing. As for the MS, it's hard, but put it to one side for a couple of weeks, even a month and read it with fresh eyes again. Pay particular attention to the first chapter and see whether it grabs attention.