WHAT TO DO WHEN AMAZON CLOSES YOUR KDP ACCOUNT

Please make a copy of this checklist to keep in your Google Drive so the checkboxes can remain empty for everyone else and this copy can stay clean for the next writer. I will not accept share requests. If you see an error, have an addition, or would like to include your successful email texts to add to the boilerplates, send them to christine@cdreiss.com.

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Forgive any redundancies or mention of steps so obvious they’re borderline insulting. Panicked brains can become very narrow, so we included even the dumbest things.

Don’t worry about doing all these things. Do what you can. Do the easiest things first. Replying to Amazon’s email is the most important. Plug away at the rest as you are able.

  • KEEP EVERYTHING. Emails. Screenshots of rank. Upload notifications. Keep it ALL, no matter how stupid and minor. Seriously, go into your trash file and make sure there’s not a single scrap of information there. We’ll get to what to do with it all later.
  • Ignore auto responses that say this matter is final and you shouldn’t email again.
  • Email Amazon
  • If you have a direct Amazon contact, go to them FIRST.
  • Reps will need the following information:
  • KDP Case # from your emails with KDP (this may not be given to you with your initial email about your account suspension or termination, but will be sent to you once you reply and they send a canned response back.)
  • Email associated with the KDP account
  • The ASIN of the book in question (if applicable)
  • Your KDP ID #, also called a Publisher Code (optional, but helpful) If you were with KDP prior to 2012, they included it in emails sent to you. If not…
  • Go into your KDP account.
  • The upper right hand corner has a tab that says “Your Account”
  • Your account ID will be at the bottom of the left column. It will look like this: A57KPRLB68OUU but obviously not be that.
  • If you do not have an Amazon rep:
  • Reply to the email you were sent. See below for receipts, and send them in a single PDF.
  • Repeat in 12-24 hours
  • IN ADDITION: go to https://author.amazon.com/ and sign in. There’s a HELP tab on the upper right.
  • Click anything. Try “account approval” first.
  • Repeat in 12-24 hours
  • Remind yourself to be nice to the reps. They are not the bastards. They are following scripted prompts. Your goal in repeatedly emailing is to escalate beyond the front line reps.
  • If they ask you to state a specific phrase in your email response to them, do it, even if it feels ridiculous because you’ve already said it but in a different way. They want that exact phrase. (See example below)
  • If you are struggling to remain calm or keep your email tone fairly neutral and polite, give yourself a couple hours to breathe. It’s better to send a well thought out and thorough email when clear headed then to respond instantly while you’re still in freak-out mode.
  • Call Amazon
  • If you have the number for a rep, now is the time to use it.
  • KDP: (no clue, buuutttt - if you know…say so)
  • Repeat in 12-24 hours
  • Again - the rep is not the bastard here.
  • Tell your cohort
  • Your author friends are your number one resource. Ask them for help. If you’re in a private group, this is the place for all the cussing and shit-talking. Keep public discussion productive, but vent away in private.
  • When posting in a public group, remain calm and seek advice. People will be more likely to want to help advocate on your behalf, or connect you with someone who can (ideally someone who has an Amazon rep themselves).
  • Tell your readers They need to know why they can’t find your books. Breathe first. Try to remain at least 30% professional even though you’re panicking.
  • Facebook group
  • Facebook page
  • Facebook profile
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tiktok
  • Newsletter
  • Breathe
  • Gather your receipts–because they’re going to accuse you of something and there’s a 98% chance you didn’t do it. All of the below are as applicable depending on the absurd accusation being hurled at you.
  • Correspondence emails. Keep them.
  • Proof of publication
  • Those dopey emails you get from KDP saying your book is published? Find those.
  • Copyright notices from the Library of Congress (if you have them)
  • If you’re wide, screencap the dates of publication on other sites
  • ISBN registration
  • If the book was taken down, check for it on the Wayback Machine.
  • Go to: https://web.archive.org/
  • Type in your link with just the ASIN, like so: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014Q7QL2I  – Here you can see Hardball was saved four times, starting in 2016. Scroll down to any date it saved, click it, wait for it. The page will appear exactly as it did on that date. The publication date should be right there.
  • Stock photo receipts/licenses
  • If you need the stock photo ID number but can’t find it, the Photoshop psd file will have it in the layer name.
  • You may have an email receipt
  • If not, the stock photo site will have your download history in your account tab, along with the type of license you bought (it will usually be “standard”)
  • Government ID
  • Trademark certificates
  • Incorporation/LLC certification
  • Any screenshots of rank that may have caught the categories (for cases of category violation) These may have been uploaded to social media, so if you think you don’t have them, you or your readers might.
  • Keep all original emails they sent you and any of your responses (which usually shows evidence of you trying to resolve the problem already).
  • Compile screenshots of all receipts into a PDF document so you can send it all to them in one piece.
  • Author’s Guild Members
  • Alliance of Independent Authors
  • RWA Members
  • The website says to email for “professional relations issues” which this may or may not be– but here’s the address → memberadvocacy@rwa.org (Even if you go the AG or ALLi route, let RWA know about this as well, if you are a member)
  • SFWA Members
  • You will also have an internal option for getting support, probably found on the website here: https://www.sfwa.org (Even if you go the AG or ALLi route, let SFWA know about this as well, if you are a member)
  • If you have the money, call a lawyer.
  • If you don’t have a lawyer, ask your cohort. Ask your friends. Ask your real estate/family/divorce/contract/corporate lawyer. Lawyers know other lawyers and they may be able to give a recommendation.
  • Collect proof of sales– In the rare case that your books are still live on Amazon while your account is closed:
  • Keep track of rank the entire time your account is closed (this information will be useful if Amazon tries to withhold those royalties or if you show no sales during those days when you get access to your dashboard again. If your rank stays roughly the same, you’re making sales.)
  • Screencap your KDP chart to show the difference.
  • Download the (old) sales report every day.
  • KDP. Click reports. On the bottom right, just above “Take a Survey” there’s an option for Reports (Old).
  • Download it every day. Make sure the date range includes time before the takedown, up to the current minute.

SAMPLE EMAILS

Copy and paste or change to reflect your specific information. Keep in mind that these have worked, so don’t change too much. Repeat sending every 24 hours. If they tell you the matter is closed, that’s because it’s a bot talking. Do not give up.

1) If Amazon gives an explanation and tells you how to reply, then reply with exactly what they’re asking for. Do not offer extra information.

For instance,if you get a response that includes something like this:

“Reply to this message with the following declaration: ‘I will improve the quality of all future submissions and will correct the issues with the outstanding titles I have for sale on Amazon.’”

REPLY WITH THAT EXACT PHRASE.

2) If they offer no explanation, reply to their email with the below, or send the below to the general KDP support email or use the author central interface:

My account was closed in error today. I'm writing to have it restored as quickly as possible. I have been a long time partner, always publishing in accordance with the terms of service.

If there is any further action needed on my part, please advise. Otherwise I trust that this erroneous account closure will be rectified promptly.

Separately, forward your reply email to andy@amazon.com (the CEO of Amazon; the account is monitored by a team called the Executive Customer Relations team) and add:

I have replied to this email, but I would like this erroneous account action investigated. From discussions in the author community, I know this is something that happens regularly, to small publishing partners who are always well within compliance expectations.

While I understand Amazon has an important responsibility to ensure that partner accounts are monitored, this kind of sudden closure without any history of warnings, etc., is deeply disruptive, and almost certainly is being triggered by automated reviews that would not flag the same way on human review.

This disruption to my account has cost me sales, interfered with scheduled promotions, and caused customer confusion as well. I truly hope Amazon is looking at improving how these account reviews take place.

Best regards,

[YOUR LEGAL NAME]

Rinse. Repeat.

DO NOT GIVE UP