Support for Indie Authors discussion

Katja wrote: "Hi,
am in TROUBLE.
I published a kids picture book on Amazon kdp and paperback, and then proceeded to do a coloring book from it. It contained the story and the pictures for coloring.

BUT. The..."

Hi Katja,

I'm sorry for the problem you're facing.

Your message contained a link, which means I have to delete it. I'm sure this was an oversight on your part.

Because I believe you're facing a serious dilemma here and I'm certain someone can help you, I'll paste your message in full (sans link) below:

Hi,
am in TROUBLE.
I published a kids picture book on Amazon kdp and paperback, and then proceeded to do a coloring book from it. It contained the story and the pictures for coloring.

BUT. The book got blocked on Amazon kdp. I got only a generic it didn't comply with the content guidelines. But I thought, ok, maybe they don't get that I am the author of both of the books. So I wrote back, that I am the auhtor of both books.
Next day, the coloring book was live again, and I got an email that I should check the page size. Did that, and submitted the book again.
THE NEXT DAY, MY ACCOUNT WAS SUSPENDED.

I got the following email:Hello,

We have temporarily suspended your KDP account because you have uploaded material through your account for which you did not have the necessary rights.

You can see the violations reflected in the following title(s):

ASIN:(My book)

Before we can reinstate your account, we need you to do the following:
1. Reply to this message with the following declaration: “I confirm that my catalog meets the Content Guidelines [link] and that I have obtained the necessary rights to all titles currently published by me for sale on Amazon. I also affirm that I will not submit any new titles for which I do not have all necessary rights”; and
2. Review your catalog (including cover images and metadata) to ensure that it meets the Content Guidelines, including for trademark and copyright issues; and
3. Remove any additional content that is infringing or does not meet our Content Guidelines within 10 business days.

Until we receive a response from you regarding this issue, your account will remain blocked.

We take violations of intellectual property rights and our Content Guidelines very seriously. The submission of titles that violate third-party rights is a violation of our agreement and may lead to suspension or termination of your account.

If you have questions or believe you've received this email in error, reply to this message.

Regards,

I replied and coping the number 1 part, but then I couldn't login to my account to do 2.and 3. I thought Enough of this, I'll just deleted the bloody book and be done with it, but HOW?

I can't call them- my kdp doesn't show me a phone number, IS THERE A PHONE NUMBER ANYWHERE? so I chose topics and wrote to them explaining the situation, but I only got the same email back.

PLUS I don't think it's the question of double content- because in the beginning of the email it says I don't have 'the necessary rights'.

So WHAT CAN I DO? All help welcome, Thank You already!

Thanks Dwayne! Yes, the link went by accident. I'm a bit shook up.

Hi, thank god, I got my account back, unpublished the book, and now wrote kdp to delete the book FOREVER.

So, The warning for everyone is:

Do not use the same story in even a coloring book.

I though it would be a great idea, but I can understand that it is considered double content, I guess.

Good writing, everyone!

Katja wrote: "Hi, thank god, I got my account back, unpublished the book, and now wrote kdp to delete the book FOREVER.

So, The warning for everyone is:

Do not use the same story in even a coloring book.

That seems odd, though. Books can be published in hardcover, paperback, kindle, and audio versions. Why not a coloring book?

I'm not sure you'd ever get a good explanation from KDP though. I imagine their staff are swamped with this kind of thing and are just overwhelmed.

Katja wrote: "So, The warning for everyone is:

Do not use the same story in even a coloring book.

I though it would be a great idea, but I can understand that it is considered double content, I guess."

I don't understand that at all. If it's your content, then you should be able to do with it what you want. Different formats, different editions, turn it into a coloring book or a screenplay or a musical. The content is yours. Period.

It sounds to me like you may have fallen foul of the unthinking algorithms that substitute for reason on Amazon. The same ones that, if you post a review of a book and happen to follow the author on FaceBook - because, ya know, you're interested in their work (clutches imaginary pearls in horrified disbelief at the very thought) - will delete all your reviews and banish you and your firstborn lineage unto the fourth generation.

The fact they reinstated it so fast makes me think it was just a mistake. Sometimes things are lost in translation. I know I would not want to work in tech support. Maybe just adding 'The Coloring Book' to the title would be enough of a differentiator. Just guesses. :)

Hi,
the whole thing is a bit of y mystery-especially that it was green lit in between. And I had a subtitle in the cover: The story as a coloring book. So, I don't know.

But do I want to fight windmills, and risk it all, and be blocked forever? Nope. I unpublished the book, and even asked them to delete it, and they did, which they normally don't.

It does make one feel a bit in an Orwellian world, though, or maybe more like the film Brazil, when accidents happen in the system, but it is the system, so what can you do.

It might help if you list your other pen name as an additional author.

Katja wrote: "Hi,
the whole thing is a bit of y mystery-especially that it was green lit in between. And I had a subtitle in the cover: The story as a coloring book. So, I don't know.

But do I want to fight win..."

I would have been furious. They messed up for sure. I'm glad you got your account back!

Yeah, me too! I flooded possible every section of their help topics, so now I've been getting those answers, and the lats one is still that they are checking into my request of deleting the book or whatever,

I just hope that if the book stays there unpublished, it is considered non-existing, and doesn't give any more trouble.

Thank You all for support!
Take care!

Katja

Publishing a "duplicate" is against the rules of KDP. If it's the same content but one is colored and the other b&w, they'll flag it. Different versions, as in Paperback, Audiobook, Ebook, and Hardcover are fine, but two of the same thing with identical content is a problem.
You're correct that there is an algorithm involved. Amazon has a tremendous problem with copyright infringement (a ton of coloring pages are taken and assembled into coloring books by rip-off artists; yours almost certainly will be stolen if it's any good).
To get around this, you would have to substantially change the art and the text.
I've never had a problem with KDP support. It can take a day or two to get an email back and sometimes it takes some effort to clarify the problem, but they will work with you.
(It's a no-brainer to do a coloring book from a picture book, but not easy).

Hi, Robert,
yes, they did after the initial email get back to me in 24 hrs and open my account.
It would be nice to get a clear answer, in these kind of cases.
The book is unpublished now. And so it will remain.

New projects await!