KDP Termination Problem (AI Content?)

Summary

Dave Chessen from Kindlepreneur discusses the increase in Amazon KDP account terminations, often due to algorithmic decisions based on various factors. He outlines the differences between warnings and terminations, the importance of checking metadata guidelines, and common violations like incorrect book covers and misleading information. Chessen also speculates on the impact of location on account closures and suggests steps for authors to recover their accounts, providing a link to an article with detailed instructions in the video description.

Takeaways

• 🚫 Amazon has been increasing the number of account terminations and shutdowns, sometimes for seemingly trivial reasons or by mistake.
• 🔍 There is no clear pattern for terminations, but an algorithm is largely responsible for the decision-making process based on various factors.
• ⚠️ Authors should ensure they have access to the email used for their KDP account and that Amazon's emails are not going to spam, as warnings can be missed.
• 📚 The difference between a warning and a termination is crucial; warnings give authors a chance to rectify issues before the account is terminated.
• 🤖 Amazon's algorithm assesses the likelihood of violations and can trigger warnings or terminations based on a sum of variables.
• 📖 Metadata rules are critical; violations can occur through incorrect information such as copyright infringement, misleading titles, or sexual content mislabeling.
• 📚 Authors should check Amazon's metadata guidelines to avoid common issues that trigger algorithmic flags.
• 🌐 Geographic location may play a role in account terminations, with non-US authors facing higher risks, possibly due to an increase in AI-generated books.
• 🔄 The system's sensitivity to potential issues might be heightened to maintain book quality and shopper trust.
• 🛑 Account termination is not the end; there are steps authors can take to recover their account, as detailed in an article linked in the video description.
• 👋 Dave Chessen from Kindlepreneur provides personal insights and advice for authors navigating Amazon KDP's account management.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in Dave Chessen's video?

The main issue discussed is the increasing number of Amazon KDP accounts being terminated or shut down, sometimes for seemingly trivial reasons or by mistake.

Why might Amazon terminate an account without a warning?

Amazon may terminate an account immediately if their algorithm detects a clear violation of their rules without providing a warning first.

What is the importance of having access to the email used to create a KDP account?

It's important because Amazon sends warnings and other communications regarding account issues to this email, and missing these could lead to an account being blocked without the author's knowledge.

How does Amazon decide to issue a warning or terminate an account?

Amazon uses an algorithm that considers various variables and triggers an action such as a warning or termination based on the likelihood of a rule violation.

What are some common metadata issues that can trigger account warnings or terminations?

Common issues include copyright and trademark violations, incorrect book cover titles and subtitles, misleading information, sexual content mislabeling, and confusing information.

Why might authors located outside of the US have their accounts terminated more frequently?

Amazon might be cracking down on authors from certain locations believed to have a higher propensity for creating problematic books, leading to a lower threshold for account closures.

What steps can authors take if their account has been terminated?

Authors can follow the steps outlined in an article linked in the video description to attempt to recover their account.

How does Amazon's algorithm determine the likelihood of a book being problematic?

The algorithm sums up various factors and variables related to the book's metadata and content, assessing the likelihood of a violation and deciding on a warning or termination.

What is the role of the book's metadata in the account termination process?

The metadata, which includes title, subtitle, categories, keywords, descriptions, etc., is crucial as it is subject to Amazon's guidelines, and violations in this area can trigger warnings or terminations.

How can authors ensure they are not violating Amazon's metadata rules?

Authors should check Amazon's metadata guidelines page and ensure their book's metadata does not contain copyrighted material, misleading information, or other violations.

What advice does Dave Chessen give regarding the use of sexual content in books published on KDP?

He advises that if a book contains sexual content, it must be properly labeled within KDP to avoid violations and potential account termination.

Outlines

00:00

🚫 Amazon KDP Account Terminations Explained

Dave Chessen discusses the increasing number of Amazon KDP account terminations, which sometimes occur for seemingly trivial reasons or by mistake. He emphasizes the importance of checking the email associated with the KDP account to ensure Amazon's communications are not missed. Chessen outlines the difference between warnings and terminations, noting that most account closures are algorithm-driven, not by human decision. He mentions that the algorithm considers various factors, including metadata rules violations, such as incorrect book cover titles, misleading information, and sexual content mislabeling. Chessen also provides a link in the description for an article on how to recover a terminated account.

05:01

🌐 Geographic Factors in Amazon KDP Account Closures

In the second paragraph, Chessen explores the impact of an author's geographic location on the likelihood of their Amazon KDP account being terminated. He observes a trend where authors outside the US, particularly from certain countries, face a higher risk of immediate account termination without warning. Chessen speculates that Amazon may be increasing the sensitivity of its algorithms to account for the rise in AI-generated books and to maintain the perceived quality of their marketplace. He suggests that this heightened scrutiny could be a strategic move to protect consumer trust. The paragraph concludes with Chessen's advice on steps authors can take if their account is terminated, with a reference to an article in the description for further guidance.

Keywords

💡Amazon

Amazon is a multinational technology company known for its e-commerce platform and various other services. In the context of this video, it refers to Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), which is a platform for authors to self-publish their books. The script discusses Amazon's policy of account terminations and warnings, which is central to the video's theme.

💡Account Termination

Account Termination refers to the action taken by a service provider, such as Amazon, to close an account due to policy violations or other issues. The script highlights that Amazon has been increasing the number of account terminations, which is a key concern for authors using the KDP platform.

💡Warnings

Warnings are notifications sent to users, in this case authors on Amazon KDP, indicating that there is an issue that needs to be addressed within a certain time frame to avoid more severe consequences like account termination. The script explains the difference between receiving a warning and immediate termination.

💡Metadata

Metadata in the context of book publishing on Amazon KDP includes the title, subtitle, categories, keywords, descriptions, and other information entered when publishing a book. The script mentions metadata rules and how violations of these rules can lead to account issues.

💡Copyright and Trademark Violations

Copyright and Trademark Violations occur when copyrighted material or trademark names are used without permission in the metadata or content of a book. The script cites this as a common reason for account warnings or terminations on Amazon KDP.

💡Misleading Information

Misleading Information refers to content that may deceive or confuse readers, such as incorrect or false claims about a book. The script discusses how Amazon's system can flag books that potentially contain misleading information in their metadata.

💡Sexual Content

Sexual Content in books refers to explicit or suggestive material. The script mentions that if Amazon detects sexual content without proper labeling during the publishing process, it can result in a violation and possible account termination.

💡Confusing Information

Confusing Information is data that does not clearly convey the book's content or genre, potentially due to mismatched categories, keywords, or descriptions. The script uses this term to describe a reason why Amazon's system might flag a book for review.

💡Algorithm

An Algorithm in this context is a set of rules or processes used by Amazon to automatically evaluate and decide on actions regarding KDP accounts, such as sending warnings or terminating accounts. The script explains that most decisions are not made by humans but by Amazon's algorithms.

💡AI Books

AI Books refers to books created using artificial intelligence tools, which have been increasing in the marketplace. The script suggests that the rise in AI books might be a factor in Amazon's increased scrutiny and sensitivity in account management.

💡Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance in the context of Amazon KDP is the process of ensuring that the books published on the platform meet certain standards to maintain consumer trust. The script implies that Amazon may be tightening its policies to uphold the quality of books available on its platform.

Highlights

Amazon has been increasing the number of account terminations or shutdowns, sometimes for seemingly trivial reasons or by mistake.

There is no clear pattern to account terminations found on social media platforms or forums.

Amazon uses an algorithm to decide on account warnings or terminations based on a variety of variables.

The algorithm assesses the likelihood of violations and can trigger warnings or terminations accordingly.

Account terminations can occur without a prior warning if the algorithm detects a clear violation.

It's crucial for authors to have access to the email used for their KDP account and ensure Amazon's emails are not marked as spam.

Metadata rules violations are a common trigger for account issues, including incorrect book cover titles and subtitles.

Amazon's system may flag accounts for misleading information or targeting other books in metadata.

Sexual content in book covers, descriptions, or content without proper labeling can lead to account termination.

Confusion in the system about a book's content due to mismatched categories, keywords, or descriptions can cause issues.

Authors located outside the US, especially in certain countries, may face a higher risk of account termination.

The increase in AI books might have led Amazon to increase the sensitivity of its account warning or termination algorithm.

Account termination is not the end; there are steps authors can take to recover their account.

The speaker provides a link to an article in the description with steps to recover a terminated account.

The video offers a breakdown of how Amazon's termination system works and key factors to consider.

The speaker shares personal observations and opinions on the current state of Amazon's account management practices.

Transcripts

hi I'm Dave chessen of kle prur and as

you probably have heard Amazon has

seemed to have increased the number of

accounts they've been terminating or

shutting down sometimes this happens for

ridiculous reasons and sometimes it just

happens by mistake and if you go to

Facebook or you go to forums you won't

find any Rhyme or Reason well not

exactly as you will see there's

definitely something going on and in

this video I will explain how Amazon is

doing this what some of the main reasons

and triggers are and also some of my

personal take on this as well but before

I get into that if you'd like more

videos about Amazon KDP book marketing

be sure to hit that subscribe Button as

well as the little bell icon to the

right of it so as it get notified when

my next video comes out and with that

let's begin okay so before we get

started let's talk about the differences

between warnings and terminations

sometimes authors get a warning this is

an email that states that there is

something wrong and generally are given

a certain length of time to fix it if

you don't then they terminate your

account which by the way now is an

important time to make sure that you

have access to the email address that

you use to create your KDP account and

that Amazon's emails are not going to

spam you have no idea how many authors

I've talked to where there was an email

warning them and they totally didn't get

it and next thing you know their account

was blocked however sometimes instead of

getting a warning you get terminated

immediately with an email that gives a

broad reason for the infraction if this

has happened to you there are still some

things that you can do to get your count

back and I'll have a link to an article

I wrote showing you exactly how to do

that in the description below this video

okay so now that we know the difference

between a warning and a termination and

that process let's go ahead and look at

how Amazon actually handles these and

what they do to make that decision you

see when it comes to Amazon KDP account

warning or termination it's important to

note that a mass majority of the time it

wasn't from an Amazon human making the

decision it was actually an algorithm

that made the call you see Amazon has a

system where it looks at a lot of

variables and if enough quote unquote

happens then it triggers an action as

you will see the Amazon system looks at

the likelihood that you are violating it

sometimes it is clear and sometimes it's

a possibility but in the end it sums up

and generates a decision sometimes this

action is to send a warning sometimes

it's a termination and most of the time

it's a publish and good to go but it is

because of this reason that you

sometimes here of one author getting

banned for what they claim is something

super minute and sadly Amazon when they

send you the email that says your

account has been flagged or terminated

they just list one of their copy and

paste non-specific reasons and not all

the reasons that their system flagged

you I mean talk about a total killer so

you may be wondering what are some of

these variables well I'm going to start

by showing you some of the biggest

variables there are after this I will

then share with you my opinion it's very

important to me to differentiate what I

know and what I think and by the way

with each of these variables as you will

see there are differing levels of

severity or weit to them the first major

variable is a violation of their

metadata rules metadata is the

information you enter when you publish

your book on KDP this includes title

subtitle categories keywords

descriptions and more there are actually

many rules to your book's metadata and

Amazon lists them on a special metadata

guidelines page which I will list and

highly recommend you check those out

here and while there are many things to

consider when entering your book's

metadata here are some of the common

issues I see that trigger violations

copyright and trademark violations this

is using copyrighted material or

trademark names in the metadata that is

popular enough that their system sees it

and picks up on it this also includes

using names or properties like Amazon's

own Kindle or Kindle unlimited Etc

incorrect book cover titles and subtitle

this one is one of the biggest violators

for many authors it is required that the

title and subtitle of your book be on

your cover many authors will put the

title but not their subtitle and yes

their system can pick up on this

although it isn't always the best at

this which is why some get away with it

or some are okay until maybe a couple

months later misleading information

ultimately many of the rules of the

metadata is based on ensuring that you

aren't misleading authors things like

targeting other books or mentioning

other authors with this in mind remember

that Amazon system is probably grading

the likelihood that something could be

misleading and if you have enough of it

it may trigger the violation sexual

content from book covers to inside the

book to even your description if Amazon

thinks that your content has sexual

content and you didn't label it as such

inside of KDP when you publish your book

that's a major violation and will get

you knocked out pretty quick confusing

information something I've seen a couple

of times is when the system just gets

confused as to what your book is about

this could be from having selected

categories that don't match your

keywords and description or could be

from conflicting information entered

into other places in KDP many times I've

seen where an author entered the wrong

information for the wrong book and

suffered the consequences okay so those

are some of the major C culprits now

this one is one that I think might have

be affecting a lot of people you see on

kindlepreneur I get a lot of emails from

authors and I've seen over the past

couple of years a growing number of

account closings for authors who are

published on the US market but are

located outside of the US mainly I've

seen Amazon just go straight to a

termination with these I'll also venture

to say that certain locations or

countries have a higher chance of

automatic shutdown than others and I

mean if you really think about it that

kind of makes sense if you have a

certain location that has a propensity

of creating problematic books you would

probably move the threshold to account

closure even lower for those from that

location and some of me wonders too if

Amazon has started to crack down on

locations as well as other variables

with a heavier hand due to the increase

in AI books in their Marketplace after

all it's important for Amazon to ensure

the quality of books stays put or else

otherwise Shoppers will lose faith in

their system so if you were Amazon what

would you do well the simple answer is

increase the sensitivity of your account

warnings or termin algorithm and start

removing anything that is deemed a

possibility and again like I said

earlier this is a system that is looking

at the likelihood that your book could

be problematic if you clearly violate

something then boom warning or

termination automatic if you are

possibly violating enough over a couple

then boom warning or termination but if

you are solid and maybe have a thing or

two that could be then you'll probably

pass and so as you can see the system is

looking at all the different variables

and trying to make one particular

decision and so there you have it a

breakdown on how Amazon's termination

system works some of the key factors and

a couple of observations of mine now if

you did have your account terminated

it's not the end of your writing World

there are some steps that you can take

to fix your situation and like I said

earlier I've got a link to that article

listed in the description below you can

check that out and start taking those

actions to hopefully get back your

account and with that I'm Dave chessen

of kendle prur signing off cheers