Author Topic: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing  (Read 2779 times)

Lysmata Debelius

A friend posted this on Facebook:



**Heads up if you’re uploading to Amazon... **

apparently ALL external links will get you blocked in review.
You may only have Amazon buy links and a link your amazon page. No newsletters, no pages, no websites no nothing.

Many of the authors who’ve been stuck in review for days this is the reason



She says that an amazon rep told them this on the phone, and once they removed the external links, the book was published with no problems.

Anyone else confirm this?
 

TimothyEllis

  • Forum Owner
  • Administrator
  • Series unlocked
  • ******
  • Posts: 6437
  • Thanked: 2511 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Earth Galaxy core, 2618
    • The Hunter Imperium Universe
Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2018, 11:03:42 PM »
Are you talking about the book blurb?
Genres: Space Opera/Fantasy/Cyberpunk, with elements of LitRPG and GameLit, with a touch of the Supernatural. Also Spiritual and Games.



Timothy Ellis Kindle Author page. | Join the Hunter Legacy mailing list | The Hunter Imperium Universe on Facebook. | Forum Promo Page.
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2018, 11:11:33 PM »
Timothy, from the conversation I had with this person no, these were links in the backmatter, so in the book itself.

I've just checked and as far as I can see the TOS and guidelines have not changed, so I'm not sure what's going on. She says the Amazon rep told her that "from now on" external links will not be allowed, but I don't know if this is true.

 

TimothyEllis

  • Forum Owner
  • Administrator
  • Series unlocked
  • ******
  • Posts: 6437
  • Thanked: 2511 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Earth Galaxy core, 2618
    • The Hunter Imperium Universe
Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2018, 11:17:04 PM »
If that's true, it's only just changed. I resubmitted a book only a few days ago, and it has Facebook and newsletter links in it. It went up without a hitch.

The problem here is we don't know the question which was asked. So the answer makes no sense. A lot of people ask the wrong question, and misinterpret the answer as a result, or get the wrong answer because the question took the rep in the wrong direction.

Genres: Space Opera/Fantasy/Cyberpunk, with elements of LitRPG and GameLit, with a touch of the Supernatural. Also Spiritual and Games.



Timothy Ellis Kindle Author page. | Join the Hunter Legacy mailing list | The Hunter Imperium Universe on Facebook. | Forum Promo Page.
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2018, 11:20:52 PM »
If that's true, it's only just changed. I resubmitted a book only a few days ago, and it has Facebook and newsletter links in it. It went up without a hitch.

The problem here is we don't know the question which was asked. So the answer makes no sense. A lot of people ask the wrong question, and misinterpret the answer as a result, or get the wrong answer because the question took the rep in the wrong direction.

Exactly.
For what it's worth, I had a quick look in the TOS and guidelines documents, and they are still unchanged. Most external links allowed, just not affiliate links, links to competing book sites, or links to singup forms :) 

But the way things seem to be glitching over at Amazon at the moment, maybe this is a thing?

 

TimothyEllis

  • Forum Owner
  • Administrator
  • Series unlocked
  • ******
  • Posts: 6437
  • Thanked: 2511 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Earth Galaxy core, 2618
    • The Hunter Imperium Universe
Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2018, 11:26:56 PM »
Exactly.
For what it's worth, I had a quick look in the TOS and guidelines documents, and they are still unchanged. Most external links allowed, just not affiliate links, links to competing book sites, or links to singup forms :) 

But the way things seem to be glitching over at Amazon at the moment, maybe this is a thing?

Its worse for all the other platforms. When I was at D2D, I removed all links, and had a separate backmatter I added to the D2D copy. Apple for instance allows nothing at all which mentions anything. (Edit: Except for what D2D add in for you).

If you're looking for why certain books are delayed, I think you need to look further than this.
Genres: Space Opera/Fantasy/Cyberpunk, with elements of LitRPG and GameLit, with a touch of the Supernatural. Also Spiritual and Games.



Timothy Ellis Kindle Author page. | Join the Hunter Legacy mailing list | The Hunter Imperium Universe on Facebook. | Forum Promo Page.
 

SCapsuto

Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2018, 04:51:38 AM »
I doubt it. I have links to my blog in the front matter and back matter, and no platform has rejected any of my books yet.
Steven is a full-time professional translator. His blog, "Between Wanderings," explores Jewish life and culture from the 1850s to 1920s through the words of people who lived then, and he is translating and publishing books from that era on the same topic. Steven is also the author of "Alternate Channels," about the portrayal of lesbian and gay characters on 20th-century American television. "Alternate Channels" was a semifinalist for an American Library Association book award.
Translator, Author and Lecturer
Steven Capsuto | Between Wanderings: Jewish Life, 1850s-1920s | Steven Capsuto, Translator | Steven Capsuto, Media Studies Author and Lecturer
 

Kyra Halland

Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #7 on: November 08, 2018, 05:02:20 AM »
I only put links to my website in my books - book pages with buy links, email signup page, and the home page - no store links at all in any edition for any store, and I've never had a problem because of it.


Strong women, honorable men, worlds of magic

Kyra Halland | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Genres: Epic Romantic Fantasy; Western Fantasy
 

Writer

Re: Anyone else experience this? External links cause problems publishing
« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2018, 05:10:36 AM »
I guess it could be an overnight policy change but it seems more likely this rep is new and/or the author is misunderstanding them. My books that were stuck in review? Went through after a delay, with no complaints about the links. Same with most other people's. So links aren't the reason most are getting stuck, though any with links to non-Amazon stores may run into problems.